Hosted by the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region
“Based on a recommendation from our report Nonprofit Board Diversity: A Snapshot of the Capital Region, the Community Foundation has partnered with Angela Dixon, Senior Vice President/Chief Diversity Officer of Berkshire Bank to design a training series on ways to create a welcoming board culture inclusive of traditionally underrepresented communities. The training series is designed for current nonprofit leaders committed to fostering inclusive leadership within their organizations.
The goals of this training series are to: raise awareness and knowledge of the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion for nonprofits; build inclusiveness and diversity on nonprofit boards; advance the cultural competency and sensitivity among nonprofit leaders; educate and inspire those who participate; and provide critical training to advance equity in our community. The series will be offered in three monthly sessions in April, May, and June. All sessions are FREE to attend.
We encourage at least two leaders from each organization to register for these training sessions to assist with the transfer of information and learning. Board chairs and others responsible for board development and DEI in your organization are highly encouraged to attend.
Session III: Taking Action
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
1 pm – 4 pm
Based on feedback from local nonprofits, the most difficult part of the journey to advance equity is moving from learning to action. In the first two workshops, we learned how to build a case for DEI and strategies to create inclusive cultures. This session will explore how systemic oppression shows up on nonprofit boards and discover strategies to advance our goals.
The workshop will begin with a two-hour training by Lyndon Cudlitz of Lyndon Cudlitz: Consulting, Educating and Training diving into these issues and how you can move to action. The training will be followed by a panel with local nonprofit board leaders sharing their experiences serving on boards and providing strategies to advance inclusion.
During this workshop, participants will learn the following:
Understand how systemic oppression shows up in nonprofit boards and ways to distribute power among all members
Learn strategies to engage and embrace individuals from underrepresented communities
Create realistic and impactful goals
Identify tangible steps to increase diversity and build inclusion on your board
This training will be recorded, however, we encourage people to participate in the live session in order to engage in activities and discussions. Participants who did not attend the first two session are welcomed to attend. You are strongly encouraged to review the recording of the first session and the summary from the second session on the Community Foundation’s website: https://www.cfgcr.org/nonprofit-board-inclusion-training-series/”