November 13, 2009

Latinos Underrepresented in California Non-profits

Posted by M. Junaid Levesque-Alam at 4:14PM

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A new report released by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, the Urban Institute, reveals that few Latinos lead the foundations and charities in California -- a state that is more than one-third Latino.

According to the 55-page report (PDF), titled "Measuring Racial-Ethnic Diversity in California's Nonprofit Sector," only six percent of foundation and charity executive directors were Latino, and only nine percent of board seats were filled by Latinos.

The report's authors observed that, statewide, 25 percent of executive director positions were held by people of color, who comprise 57 percent of the state's population. Latinos actually had it worse than other communities of color, as they "hold fewer than 10 percent of non-profit executive director positions." Asians, too, were underrepresented, but "other racial-ethnic groups have about the same share of executive directors as their shares in California's population."

It's not all bad, though: the state's non-profit boards were more diverse than the national average (28 percent versus 14 percent) and a slim majority of seats were held by women, whereas nationally they hold slightly less than half.

The authors make clear that the report is of the fact-finding variety, and not analytical. "[I]t does not address questions pertaining to such issues as the relationship between diversity and quality of service, why some organizations are more diverse than others, or how diversity can be promoted in the sector."

I don't believe there needs to be a one-to-one correlation in background or identity between community members and those aiming to serve those communities. But such a wide gulf, especially at the leadership level, does raise questions about how synchronized an organization's aims and programs might be with ground-level needs -- particularly when language differences can impede communication from the grassroots to the leadership levels.

The report surveyed 1,736 groups and was commissioned by the California Endowment, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, and David and Lucile Packard Foundation.