The nonprofit world is not exempt from the every day realities of racism, tax schemes, and even sexual assault. However, considering the mission and values of these organizations… you’d hope that behavior would at least be called out and appropriately dealt with when it appears within a nonprofit.
In today’s episode, we’re discussing why that is unfortunately not always the case, the culture of complicity that pops up in many nonprofit organizations, and how even other nonprofit consultants can contribute to this issue of complicity.
We also acknowledge that this is complex, because while bravery does play a part in standing up to bad actors, many nonprofit workers are also dealing with oppressive power dynamics and biases that make speaking out even riskier. It’s time to take a hard look at ourselves and ask how we can be an ally to those in more vulnerable positions and break this cycle of complicity.
And the end of this episode, we should all take a hard look at ourselves and dig into these questions (as published in the Nonprofit Quarterly):
1. Are we doing enough to provide leadership and guidance to the staff about organizational values, policies, and expectations?
2. What do we know about how our chief executive is leading the staff, and how do we know it?
3. How are we—as a board—ensuring that we are not part of the problem?
Because if we are perpetuating a culture of complicity instead of calling out bad behavior and supporting those in more vulnerable positions, we’re part of the problem too.
What’s in this episode:
[03:52] How complicity allows toxic board members and staff to continue patterns of abuse, from financial crimes to innuendos to more extreme examples like sexual assault
[10:38] Why staff and board performance reviews need to be more robust and more frequent
[13:05] The power dynamics that perpetuate complicity in toxic behaviors within nonprofits
[16:17] How racism and sexism shut out women and BIPOC individuals from leadership, which also contributes to a culture of complicity
[23:13] How other nonprofit consultants can also contribute in a culture of complicity (looking at you, Joan Garry)
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Resources Mentioned
- Politico’s coverage of the Humane Society of the US’s cover-up of sexual assault allegations, resulting in the resignation of Wayne Pacelle, CEO.
- Questions Board Should Ask Themselves: NPQ Article
- Joan Garry’s not helpful advice
- Nonprofits facing their racism
A big thanks to our sponsors for this episode on complicity in the nonprofit world: Brittny Wilson Consulting and Prismatic Consulting, and to Jake Walker Music for our theme song!