A New Racial Equity Resource for Boards and CEOs

Is racial equity on your board’s radar screen, and do board members demonstrate readiness and commitment to deeper engagement in racial equity? Is racial equity core to your organization’s mission and collective purpose? Is your board taking action to embed racial equity throughout your organization?

These questions are starting points addressed in Awareness to Action: A Guide for Boards and Chief Executives on a Racial Equity Journey, BoardSource’s call to action for the sector. This guide is an essential tool designed to meet boards where they are in their race equity journey and guide them in enhancing their efforts.

According to data taken from Candid, 63% of board members are White and 10% of boards are all White*.

*BoardSource obtained this data from Candid which is lower than other sources.

Racial equity is important for boards because it ensures they acknowledge and are willing to address the systemic disparities historically marginalized groups have faced socially, economically, and politically. Addressing racial equity in the boardroom promotes community well-being and values the contributions BIPOC board members bring to the table.

Leveraging Insights From Our Own Journey

BoardSource has been on a racial equity journey for nearly ten years. In 2023, BoardSource welcomed our first BIPOC CEO, Monika Kalra Varma. Our board is 70% BIPOC, including our first board chair of color. Additionally, our staff is more than 50% BIPOC. The journey has not been without challenges and is sometimes messy, but we hope our commitment to ensuring equity throughout our organizational structure serves as an example to the sector. The history of and continuing daily manifestations of racism in our country affects the work we do as a nonprofit sector. To close our eyes to it is to dishonor the reality of BIPOC communities in our country. To name it, grappling with it, leaning into discomfort, and working to address it within our organizational structures can be healing for ourselves, our institutions, and our work.

What's around the corner on your organization's journey? Download the latest BoardSource resource, Awareness to Action: A Guide for Boards and Chief Executives on a Racial Equity Journey, and start talking with your board today!