CNPE’s Anti-Racism Commitment Statement

CNPE’s Board of directors approved this statement on March 23, 2022:

CNPE is committed to being an anti-racist organization. We will act to end racial inequity in all facets of our work, including board governance, membership, consulting, operations, communications, programs, and training. 

CNPE will use this definition of anti-racism from the National Museum of African American History & Culture: “When we choose to be anti-racist, we become actively conscious about race and racism and take actions to end racial inequities (individual, systemic, and structural) in our daily lives. Being anti-racist is believing that racism is everyone’s problem, and we all have a role to play in stopping it.”

CNPE’s Role in Ending Racial Injustice*

Influenced and informed by:

• recognition that the nonprofit sector has played a role in perpetrating racial injustices;

• heightened awareness of the racial injustices in our community;

• A Path Forward for Louisville and other community-driven solutions and recommendations; and

• living and working in one of America’s most racially segregated communities,

CNPE believes that structural racism perpetuates inequities that threaten our community’s well-being. The nonprofit sector must learn what systemic changes are needed to build a more inclu­sive and just society – and it must learn from those most impacted by these inequities.

CNPE’s Reckoning:

The CNPE Board and staff acknowledge these injustices and their impact on Black communities and the role nonprofits have in creating a just and equitable community. The CNPE Board and staff will work to understand how CNPE, a white-founded and white-led organ­ization, has been complicit in racial inequity. (We define “complicit” as remaining silent about racial injustices and not taking direct action to change the policies, practices, organizational struc­ture, events, and systems that perpetuate racism.) CNPE will commit to change how it works with, connects to, and supports Black nonprofit leaders and Black-led organizations.

Ongoing activity:

CNPE started focusing more on equity and justice in the fall of 2019 as part of its strategic planning process. A major priority in the strategic plan the Board adopted in Novem­ber 2020 is to have CNPE operate through an equity lens. In pursuit of that priority:

• CNPE’s board of directors hired The Racial Healing Project (RHP), a Black-led consulting group, to guide CNPE through an assessment, training, and the development of a three-year equity plan to ensure that our trainings, offerings, and consulting are inclusive and address the needs of Black nonprofit leaders and organizations. (February 2021)
• We formed a “Champions” team comprising Board and staff members to support RHP’s work. This team conducted a risk assessment and has begun developing organizational commitments that will guide the organizational assessment and planning process.
• Board and staff attended three two-hour virtual trainings in June, July, and August 2021.
• RHP conducted an organizational assessment and presented results to the Board on September 9, 2021.
• We have established an Anti-Racism Core Team to consider how to reflect our anti-racism stance in board governance, membership, consulting, operations, communications, programs, and training.

• CNPE partnered with Michele Shelton LLC, a Black owned consulting firm, to develop and launch its first cohort of “Nonprofit Leaders Advancing Racial Equity” (NLARE) – 16 white nonprofit leaders of influ­ence pursuing a six-month program of learning, self-awareness, and planning. (Class began January 2021)
• First cohort evaluated and determined to be an impactful program that should continue
• Second cohort will launch January 13, 2022
• Program vision is expanding to build a network of nonprofit leaders to continue the work beyond the initial six-month program

• CNPE piloted and launched the Community Activation Network (CAN) to create a virtual space in our nonprofit community where everyone can learn together, be heard, and strengthen connections. (Launched publicly January 2021)
• Public safety was the theme of the 2021 CAN meetings
• More than 900 people have participated
• The question now is how to be a catalyst for action

• CNPE built, staffed, and launched its School for Fundraising & Engagement (in cooperation with Ashley|Rountree & Associates with support from the James Graham Brown Foundation) – a virtual school with diverse advisors, diverse faculty, and generous seed money for scholar­ships. The school operates through an equity lens to ensure that Black-led organizations have access to affordable training in fundraising and community engagement. (Launched March 2021, with classes beginning in April)
• Spring 2021 semester by the numbers:
• 41% of the faculty were BIPOC, exceeding our original goal of 25%
• 24% of the participants were BIPOC, just short of our goal of 25%
• 262 people took classes, with 54 taking more than one

• CNPE upgraded its member database to begin collecting data on race, ethnicity, and gender. This more granular data will help us understand which voices we are hearing – and which we are not. We will be able to address gaps in service, determine member diversity, create more effective events and training, help members connect, and design new ways of supporting organizations. (Launched January 2021; data upgrade is ongoing)
• Most members are bypassing the opportunity to provide this information; the next step is to  hire a Membership Coordinator to work with members and be more strategic in col­lecting this information (Nov/Dec 2021)

• CNPE hired Gifted by Design (GBD), a Black-led consulting practice, to work with CNPE staff to develop a plan to support Black nonprofit leaders and organizations. (Project timeline: November 2020 – March 2021)
• Staff participated in several trainings on how to build a more inclusive culture
• GBD interviewed and convened black nonprofit leaders to get input and recommen­dations on how CNPE could support their needs in running and leading a nonprofit
  
• GBD presented their report and recommendations on March 24, 2021
  
• Staff members are using recommendations to guide the next phase of work with The Racial Healing Project (see below)
  
• Since implementing this plan, CNPE has made 21 trial CNPE memberships available for Black-led nonprofit organizations and 42 scholarships available for training for Black nonprofit leaders

• Since the spring of 2020, CNPE has maintained an Anti-Racism/DE&I Resource List for curated resources to help the nonprofit community better understand, address, and champion diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) within their organi­za­tions.

*CNPE’s Board of Directors approved the initial draft of this document on March 11, 2021. The Board plans to review this document quarterly and update it as needed. (Reviewed and revised on May 19, 2021; Novem­ber 11, 2021; and March 23, 2022)