DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION WORK IMPROVES COMMUNICATIONS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ GOALS IN MENTAL HEALTH NONPROFIT
CHALLENGE
An American mental-health nonprofit aimed to intensify and enhance the way that antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) principles were applied throughout the organization. This included creating better alignment between the Board of Directors (Board) and the nonprofit’s members about the way that ADEI was understood and communicated with regards to their mental health work.
The Executive Director of the nonprofit formed three clear objectives to support these broader goals:
Help all stakeholders understand and take ownership of the nonprofit’s ADEI goals.
Develop data-driven communications that BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities connect with.
Create the inclusive environment necessary to attract, engage and retain stakeholders who identified as part of the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Ally (LGBTQIA) communities.
SOLUTION
Cynuria Consulting’s ADEI experts were well-positioned to support the nonprofit in achieving their ADEI goals. We offered an experienced team, composed of a Senior ADEI Consultant, a Communications Specialist, and a Project Manager, who worked collaboratively using Cynuria’s well-known Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Maturity Model. In practice, this means that we designed a three-component solution, made up of Analysis, Communications, and Metrics.
The plan was driven forward by the Project Manager, who organized a Kick-Off Meeting with the nonprofit to clarify project requirements, developed a comprehensive Project Plan, and ran weekly Status Meetings. Together, these measures ensured alignment between Cynuria and the nonprofit, enabling any course correction to be implemented quickly across the three-component solution.
Analysis
Cynuria developed an Analysis Plan to measure the nonprofit’s current commitment to ADEI goals and to discover the sense of belonging and inclusion felt by nonprofit employees and members. To collect the data on this, the Cynuria team developed the following tools:
Implicit Bias Survey for the Board of Directors
Member ADEI Survey for nonprofit’s membership
Stakeholder one-on-one interviews
After analyzing and interpreting the data, the Cynuria Senior ADEI consultant presented the resulting key findings and recommendations to the Board of Directors during a quarterly Board meeting.
Based on the analysis, the Cynuria team facilitated a virtual work group with six key stakeholders. This enabled the team to collect additional insights related to the key findings and recommendations. The Cynuria team presented updated findings and recommendations at one of the Board of Directors meetings to support the nonprofit in determining next steps toward development of a strategic plan.
Communications
The Cynuria Communications Specialist worked with the Senior ADEI Consultant to review and edit ADEI language across:
12+ external web pages
The nonprofit’s Antiracism Statement
The Board of Directors’ position application
Recommendations focused on the incorporation of clear and understandable ADEI-focused language. The Cynuria team also created an ADEI Communication Recommendations Document to support the nonprofit in their ongoing social media strategy, external communications, and conferences/events. This helped inform the nonprofit’s formal Outreach and Communications Plan.
Metrics
The Cynuria team worked closely with the nonprofit’s Executive Director to ensure that all ADEI goals were both measurable and time-bound. The Communications Specialist created a final document that summarized the nonprofit’s new ADEI goals with recommendations for methods to use to measure progress against those goals.
RESULTS
The nonprofit’s Board of Directors came to the final quarterly Board meeting having made some progress on educating themselves on ADEI based on the Senior ADEI consultant’s recommendations presented during the initial Board meeting. Overall, the individual Board members were more highly engaged in the final Board meeting conversation around ADEI goals and to begin thinking about formulating an ADEI strategic plan.
