Nonprofit Times Editor Responds

I wrote a letter to the Nonprofit Times yesterday expressing my disappointment that their very prestigious Nonprofit Times Top 50 Power and Influence list for 2008 included so few nonprofit leaders of color and did not reflect the racial diversity of our nonprofit community. The NPT's Vice President/Editorial Director Paul Clolery was kind enough to respond and briefly shed some light on the selection process the NPT employs:

Emmett, Marc and Janet were previously honored. And, based on your statistics below, the make-up of the 50 is in line with senior management at charities. We don't do this in the dark. A diverse group of executives makes nominations. You also have several people on your list who's CEOs did make the list. You might want to look at the past several lists.

This was my response to Paul. I suggested whether the NPT might consider opening up the nominations process next year so the selections committee could choose from a more diverse pool of leaders for the 2009 list. If YOU have other suggestions for helping the Nonprofit Times' express the multiculturalism of our sector in its pages, please send an email to Paul at: ednchief@nptimes.com or call him at: (973) 401-0202 Ext 211

Hello Paul,

Thank you very much for your response. I did have a chance to review the previous Nonprofit Times Top 50 Power and Influence lists prior to sending my letter to you. And what was very clear to me, and to many others in our nonprofit community, is that across the board, there have been very, very few people of color recognized by your publication in relation to the actual makeup of our sector. Just to clarify the statistics that I shared - if in fact your list were in line with the trends in senor management of color in charities, this year's list would have included at least 7-9 people of color. But it did not.

I understand that a nomination committee helps the NPT to make these decisions. But as a widely respected authority on our sector, ultimately, we would expect to see a committment to diversity from the NPT within your pages. Because if you just look at the numbers alone, there is a real disconnect between who we see reflected on your Top 50 list and the kind of leadership we really and truly represent as a nonprofit community across the country. But more important is getting beyond the numbers, and the NPT is certainly a medium to express the values we hold in our sector of diversity and inclusion.

In light of my comments, I would like to know whether you and the NPT will consider a more open nomination process to decide next year's Nonprofit Times Top 50 Power and Influence? By engaging an even more diverse group of executives to select who will receive this prestigious honor, I believe we could be on the right track to see more leaders of color in your publication next year.

I appreciate your taking the time to read my comments, and would like to share a positive outcome with my blog readers if you have thoughts.

In the spirit of inclusion,

Rosetta Thurman