Embracing Cultural Competency A Roadmap for Nonprofit Capacity Builders
| Press Release |
New Book Invites Nonprofits to 'Start the Conversation' on Building Cultural ComepetencyExperts use their first-hand experience to help nonprofit organizations start capacity building
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA (July 10, 2009)—As author Patricia St.Onge and her co-authors were putting the final touches on their manuscript, citizens of the United States had just elected Barack Obama, the country’s first African American president. “We are changing demographically, and young people have very different attitudes about race and culture. Those two factors made it inevitable that early in this century we would elect a person of color or woman to the White House,” says St.Onge. But, adds St.Onge, that doesn’t mean our country is “post-racial.” Race and ethnicity continue to be primary dividing lines in the United States. A new book, commissioned by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, Embracing Cultural Competency: A Roadmap for Nonprofit Capacity Builders, acknowledges that grappling with culture is exhausting, for many reasons. First, paying attention to culture is considered by some to be among the “soft” skills that are often seen as less important than hard skills, such as fiscal management, fund-raising, and governance. St.Onge writes, “We make the necessary investments, often with a combination of dedicated staff and outsourcing, for each of the ‘hard’ functions. We recognize that it will be difficult for organizations to survive if these are neglected. For those of us who work to help organizations thrive over the long term, however, experience reveals that neglecting soft skills is equally dangerous. In fact, cultural competency can now be counted as a core competency.” St.Onge reminds people that addressing cultural competency is a “conversation that takes time.” It is not unusual for an organization to call St.Onge or one of her co-authors with a request for support in dealing with challenging cross-cultural issues, including race, class, gender, sexual identity, and religion. Often, explains St.Onge, the conversation starts like this: “Hello, we’re the Merrily We Roll Along Foundation. We’ve had a few situations come up lately where people are having a hard time getting along. We need some cultural sensitivity training. We’ve set aside two hours, one week from Thursday. Can you facilitate our meeting?” Experience has taught St.Onge that it is impossible to build healthy, strong relationships—which are at the heart of cultural competency—without a deep investment of time and energy. Another reason that addressing cultural competency is challenging is because it is a largely emotional interaction. “We tend to be more comfortable in the realm of intellect,” writes St.Onge. “As a concept, cross-cultural effectiveness is a great idea, and as long as the conversation stays conceptual, we feel safe. When it turns to our experience and our practice, the anxiety level rises. Most of us do not jump boldly into the spaces that make us uncomfortable. For these and many other reasons, people working with and within nonprofits often limit the conversation to our ways of thinking.” Embracing Cultural Competency is about having the conversation in a safe way, honoring both intellect and emotions. The book evolved from the Cultural Competency Initiative (CCI), which was created by members of the People of Color Affinity Group from the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. The authors utilized a range of methods—literature review, personal interviews, peer dialogue, insights of contributing authors, and workshops— to unearth the most important current advances in culturally-based capacity building Part One of the book presents the landscape of five major ethnic communities in the United States. Individual chapters are written by authors who represent five major ethnic communities in the United States: African American, American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino, and White. Part Two of this book offers a framework for cultural competency in capacity building. The chapters in this part of the book discuss cultural competency as a process for discovering context and for changing institutions. Nonprofit capacity builders will discover a framework to help discuss issues related cultural competency; learn about methods, practices, and values that define cultural competency; understand the complexities within ethnic communities; and gain insights into the nature of institutionalized racism. Part Three is the resource section of this book. Readers will find material to support insights of the authors and ways to apply the concepts. This section points to resources already published, current perspectives, needs and possibilities, documented strategies, and a bibliography for further reading. Each part of this book is based on the imperative for social change. St.Onge reminds us, “Engaging with the cultural competency framework will be more than an exercise in skill building. It is a journey toward building a just society. We can arrive at a just society only if we have practiced justice along the way.” About the Book About the Authors Beth Applegate is the principal of Applegate Consulting Group (ACG), an organization development (OD) practice that assists national and international nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and socially responsible for-profit corporations with developing human and organizational capacity and building a more just and equitable society. Vicki Asakura is a third-generation Japanese American who grew up in the ethnically diverse Central Area of Seattle. Her life experiences have had a strong influence on her passion for racial justice and capacity-building work in communities of color and refugees and immigrants. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, she started her professional career in a newly formed community-based organization providing employment services for Asian Americans in the Seattle area. Through this job she became a community advocate for programs and funding in support of English as a second language (ESL) and other bilingual services for the growing immigrant and refugee communities. Monika K. Moss, president of MKM Management Consulting, has worked as master mapper and business consultant for twenty years. She has dedicated her talents to helping organizations and individuals create powerful roadmaps to their vision. As founder of MKM Management Consulting (www.mkmmanagement.com), Moss is committed to partnering with others to make a difference by supporting the transformation of individuals and organizations. A scholar and practitioner, Moss was published in the International Association Facilitators Research and Application Journal (Spring 2004) and wrote the book Life Mapping: A Process of Self-Discovery and Path Finding (Keys for Life Publishing, 2007). Brigette Rouson brings more than twenty years of experience as a consultant, public policy attorney, grant maker, board member, and scholar-activist. Her leadership signature is advancing social transformation through attention to cultural identity. She is senior consultant with Mosaica: The Center for Nonprofit Development and Pluralism. Rouson previously served as program director for the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, the premier national association of capacity builders devoted to improving nonprofits’ management and governance capacity. Alfredo Vergara-Lobo, principal at Vergara-Lobo Associates, has a background in education, social work, organizational change, and recreation. He brings years of experience with nonprofit and public entities domestically and abroad to his practice. A popular speaker and presenter, Vergara-Lobo has trained and presented to hundreds of audiences throughout the country and abroad in English and Spanish. He received his master of social work degree from the School of Social Welfare at University of California-Berkeley and his bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University. About the Alliance for Nonprofit Management About the Publisher Review Copies Contact Information Beth Applegate Vicki Asakura Monika Moss Brigette Rouson Alfredo Vergara-Lobo For the publisher: ###
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