DEI Challenges and Practices in Nonprofit Organizations
This issue brief examines a critical challenge that nonprofit leaders face when advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives: defensive responses from well-represented or dominant groups. Drawing on peer-reviewed literature, the brief explains how such responses can undermine organizational DEI efforts, ranging from active sabotage to lukewarm policy support. It then identifies two practical counter-strategies — structured mentorship programs and the establishment of a formal DEI council — while acknowledging that no single solution fits all organizations. The brief concludes that nonprofits must tailor their DEI approaches to their specific organizational contexts.
- Introduction: Overview of DEI relevance and nonprofit challenges
- The Core DEI Challenge: Defensive Responses from Dominant Groups: Dominant group pushback undermines nonprofit DEI plans
- Why Countering This Challenge Matters: Evidence that DEI advances nonprofit missions and outcomes
- Practice One: Mentorship Programs: Mentorship builds DEI mindset and competency
- Practice Two: Establishing a DEI Council: Formal council coordinates and monitors DEI progress
- Conclusion: Context-specific solutions are essential for DEI success
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What makes this paper effective
- The brief stays tightly focused on a single challenge (defensive responses from dominant groups), making the argument easy to follow and the recommended practices directly relevant.
- It grounds all claims in cited literature rather than unsupported opinion, lending credibility appropriate for a policy-facing document.
- The author acknowledges the limitation that no universal solution exists, demonstrating intellectual honesty and nuance.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper models the problem–solution structure common in professional issue briefs: it defines a specific, literature-supported challenge, establishes its significance with evidence, then proposes targeted interventions. The use of direct quotations from sources to anchor both the problem and its solutions shows how brief-style writing can be simultaneously concise and well-cited.
Structure breakdown
The brief opens with a framing introduction, moves into a focused analysis of defensive responses as the primary DEI challenge, establishes the stakes with evidence on DEI's organizational benefits, and then presents two discrete counter-strategies (mentorship programs and a DEI council) as separate sections. It closes with a cautionary note about contextual fit, rounding out a clean five-part argumentative structure suited to the issue-brief format.
Introduction
As Onyeador, Hudson, and Lewis (2021) point out, most organizations embrace the relevance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, leaders in the nonprofit sector encounter many challenges in efforts to advance or promote DEI in organizational settings. One such challenge will be highlighted in this brief, along with several practices that could be deployed to counter it.
The Core DEI Challenge: Defensive Responses from Dominant Groups
A review of available literature on DEI in nonprofit business indicates that defensive responses from well-represented or dominant groups could be one of the key challenges that those in leadership positions face when formulating and implementing DEI plans. As Onyeador, Hudson, and Lewis (2021) point out, organizations must be prepared for largely unexpected responses following the commissioning and release of data that highlight inequality at the organizational level. The authors observe that while such data would ordinarily be welcomed as a step in the right direction, well-represented or dominant groups have been known to respond negatively.
Onyeador, Hudson, and Lewis (2021) describe these as defensive responses because they are intended either to justify such inequality or to perpetuate certain misperceptions. These defensive responses also extend to support for policies — meaning that dominant groups may attempt to actively sabotage DEI efforts, or at minimum offer only lukewarm support for related initiatives (Onyeador, Hudson, & Lewis, 2021, p. 21). It is for this reason that the authors advise organizations to be ready to handle defensive responses as soon as they begin the journey toward promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Why Countering This Challenge Matters
As Stutts and Keegan (2018) note, "there is compelling evidence that integrating DEI advances nonprofits' missions" (p. 9). For instance, DEI prioritization can promote respect and trust among staff and board members, and the effective implementation of DEI practices results in enhanced responsiveness and efficiency — outcomes that ultimately improve community impact. Given these benefits, the importance of countering the challenge described above cannot be overstated. Two key practices are proposed below.
Conclusion
It would be prudent to note that the practices highlighted above may not be ideal for all organizations. As Onyeador, Hudson, and Lewis (2021) observe, "no simple, one-size-fits-all solutions address organizational diversity" (p. 19). This means that in seeking to address challenges such as defensive responses from dominant groups, organizations must identify solutions and embrace practices that match their specific circumstances and organizational culture.
References
Mullin, A., Coe, I. R., Gooden, E. A., Tunde-Byass, M., & Wiley, R. E. (2021). Inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility: From organizational responsibility to leadership competency. Healthcare Management Forum, 0(0), 1–5.
Onyeador, I. N., Hudson, S. T., & Lewis, N. A. (2021). Moving beyond implicit bias training: Policy insights for increasing organizational diversity. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 8(1), 19–26.
Stutts, N., & Keegan, B. (2018). Diversity, equity, and inclusion in nonprofits and philanthropy: Promising practices for advancing RMHF Health Fellows' recommendations. Richmond Memorial Health Foundation.
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