AFP Global: The Issue of Racism in the Fundraising Profession

A  must read!!!! 

By Birgit Smith Burton

Since founding the African American Development Officers Network (AADO)* in 1999, I have collected hundreds of stories of fundraisers of color who have experienced what they have identified as racism in their professional fundraising career — sometimes subtly through macroaggressions such as, “You’re so articulate”, “I didn’t realize you were black when I read your name”, “Where are you really from?” One such story involved a fundraiser who was continually passed over for a promotion to a frontline development officer. When she inquired, she was told that the major donors would not want to engage with a black person so there would be no reason to promote her if she couldn’t be successful in her job.

Read more: ​The Issue of Racism in the Fundraising Profession | Association of Fundraising Professionals (afpglobal.org)