Black Women At A ‘Crisis Point’ In Nonprofit Leadership Roles Are Leaving The Sector

Black women nonprofit leaders are leaving the sector. A group in Washington, D.C. looks to reverse that trend.

Black women in nonprofit leadership are at a “crisis point” and are leaving the sector as the landscape rapidly declines, according to founders.

In recent years, increasing numbers of Black women have been steadily exiting the organizations they founded as the challenges become too overwhelming. Conversations in close circles reveal frustrations over additional reporting demands from funders, lower compensation than similar-sized organizations, constant doubt about their leadership, and ongoing microaggressions.

Amid the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing backlash against DEI initiatives, and uncertain economic conditions, Black women leaders are facing a precarious mix of challenges, prompting many to step away from their roles in a sector that employs thousands, serves countless individuals, and oversees the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars.

“We started to see the increase in terms of Black women leaders struggling with their board of directors,” Indira Henard, a longtime D.C. nonprofit leader, told the Washington Business Journal. “Black women leaders leaving their organizations—whether it was by choice, or by force—and when they were leaving their organizations, leaving not well. We also saw the lack of support for Black women leaders, by not just their boards, but just funders and the community at large.”

Henard reached her breaking point two years ago while attending a Leadership Greater Washington poker night. Too many of her fellow Black women nonprofit leaders were struggling, and it weighed heavily on her. The executive director of the D.C. Rape Crisis Center reflected on the rapidly deteriorating landscape and knew something had to change.

“My soul was tired,” she thought to herself. “What is it going to take for the sector to wake up and understand that we’re at a crisis point with Black women leaders?”

Henard teamed up with other Black women nonprofit leaders to find a solution. They initiated plans to commission a report examining the landscape for Black women in leadership and identifying the resources needed to address the challenges. As the project expanded, they transitioned the initiative to the Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

The group’s efforts culminated in the release of the 40-page “Thrive as They Lead” report, published by the Washington Area Women’s Foundation in 2023. The D.C. firm conducted nearly 40 interviews with Black women and Black gender-expansive executive directors, CEOs, and presidents from across the region in the nonprofit sector.

Ninety percent of respondents reported that their work had negatively impacted their health and well-being. Seventy percent agreed or strongly agreed that Black women in leadership had been under attack in recent years. Half admitted to struggling to meet their families’ financial needs, with a quarter strongly agreeing. Only 19% felt the region was a place where Black women leaders could thrive.

The report’s findings shined a light on what many Black women nonprofit leaders and their allies already knew, but formal documentation may prove crucial in shifting the narrative. The report prompted actionable solutions for the nonprofit sector that would guarantee proper support for leadership.

The Women’s Foundation is now focused on implementing the recommendations from the report and is raising funds to support the initiative. It hopes to raise between $3 million and $4 million over the next two years.

“At any given moment, I know of at least five to eight Black women leaders who are this close to saying, ‘I’m done,’” Koube Ngaaje, president and CEO of the District Alliance for Safe Housing, told the Washington Business Journal.

“If we don’t address the harmful systemic inequities, and do it well, and invest deeply, we will lose anywhere between 30% to 50% of Black women leaders in the region’s nonprofit sector in the next three to five years,” Ngaaje added. “And I can guarantee you that.”