Q: What  can capacity builders expect to get out of the book?

A: Patricia St.Onge: We’re all cultural beings. Capacity builders will recognize culture and its importance, and also gain skills and tools for engaging effectively. The key point is that this is a journey.

A: Monika Moss: Cultural competency goes beyond sharing food, music, and dance. The book helps consultants be aware of their projections, values, and who they are and how they show up to a group. If people could start this self-awareness process with this book, that would be awesome. Being curious and open—that’s cultural competence. You show up knowing yourself enough and knowing enough about other people’s cultures to get the work done. You don’t have to change people, but can expand their options. Be open to see what’s working and what’s in people’s way—support what’s working and help them see what other choices they have to deal with what’s getting in the way.

A: Vicki Asakura: Capacity builders will Increase their understanding of diversity in communities. They'll find historical and cultural factors and experiences and see what the differences and similarities are.

Q: Why is cultural competency important for capacity builders?

A: Beth Applegate: It’s important because there are all sorts of cultures—not just ethnic. There's personal experience, privilege, poverty, and oppression. It’s also important to understand these perspectives to know where people are coming from. In the 1990s, there were a lot of books on gender communication styles.  Cultural competency brings in a whole host of differences. For example, some cultures value humbleness and people won’t brag about themselves in a job interview. However, if you ask a problem-solving question, they’re able to give a good answer. If you don’t think about these things, how do you manage interviews to get good candidates and diversify your workforce?

A: Alfredo Vergara-Lobo: There is still a lot of racial and ethnic tension in the U.S., especially in poor areas. As a country we have not dealt with race. This is also true for other aspects of diversity—classism, sexual orientation, etc. Cultural competence becomes an important tool to be successful in life. You can’t assume that everyone comes from the same background. When we talk about helping assisting nonprofits be better at what they do, in terms of being effective, we all have to deal with how we’ll address differences. If you don’t deal with culture, you’ll pay for it later in financial costs (needing to reinvest in something that didn’t work), emotional costs, and resistance to tools that don't fit.