Latinos for Leadership Excellence And Diversity (Latinos LEAD)
Tomorrow's Nonprofit Leaders--Now!
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
America’s nonprofit leadership does not reflect our society’s growing ethnic diversity. In 2017, a BoardSource study found that Latinos made up barely five percent of board members at the 1,759 U.S. nonprofits surveyed—while 27% of these boards were all white (an increase from 25% in 2015). The report summarized, “Boards are no more diverse than they were two years ago and current recruitment priorities indicate this is unlikely to change.” Dozens of studies show that boards in every major sector of the nonprofit industry lack Latino representation proportionate to the Latino population. Surveys of nonprofit leaders generally cite several factors contributing to this challenge: the lack of a pipeline of qualified Latino board candidates; concern whether Latinos can meet board member annual giving requirements; and, difficulty in retaining the few Latinos who are elected to boards.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Pathways to LEAD
Pathways to LEAD deploys state-of-the-art executive search techniques to recruit qualified Latinos for nonprofit board service.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of adult learners enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Adult Latino professionals enrolled in Ready to LEAD training seminars.
Number of clients placed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
Pathways to LEAD
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Governing board members who identify as Latino/Hispanic/Latinx placed at nonprofit organizations.
Number of training workshops
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Work status and occupations
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
LEAD with Intent workshops for nonprofit leadership teams that seek to improve their diversity and inclusion capacity at the governing board level.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Goal 1. Prepare Latino professionals for nonprofit governing board service through the "Ready to LEAD" program.
Goal 2. Promote more inclusive leadership at nonprofit organizations through "LEAD with Intent" program.
Goal 3. Recruit qualified Latinos and facilitate their placement on nonprofit boards through "Pathways to LEAD" program.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
• Board Member Recruiting: Pathways to LEAD deploys state-of-the-art executive recruiting techniques to bring Latino talent to the nonprofit boardroom. Candidates for board vacancies apply directly, are nominated by third-parties, or are identified through vigorous referral source outreach. Latinos LEAD taps into its robust database of candidate profiles to begin the search, following leads and seeking the optimum alignment between the candidate's competencies and the priorities of the nonprofit organization. Latinos LEAD screens and interviews promising candidates, then offers the selection committee a slate of strong nominees.
• Promoting Inclusion: LEAD with Intent-Inclusion Blueprint directly engages nonprofit leadership teams (CEO and board) to develop a stronger awareness and understanding of the organization’s opportunities to recruit Latinos, and identifies practices that either hinder or promote new board member retention. An Inclusion Map is developed to portray how the organization is positioned regarding its access to, credibility with, and readiness to recruit and retain Latino professionals. The Inclusion Map lays the foundation for the Inclusion Blueprint workshop, a three-hour virtual session during which Latinos LEAD guides the nonprofit’s leadership team to achieve three essential outcomes: 1) Draft a new (or, review the current) Inclusion Statement; 2) Set specific goals and timelines for recruiting Latino board members; and, 3) Assign responsibility and accountability for achieving those goals.
• Leadership Development: Ready to LEAD prepares Latino professionals for success as nonprofit board members. Three different webinars provide instruction in fundamental nonprofit governance, finance and fundraising, and advanced governance topics and DEI. Ready to LEAD’s webinars can be customized to emphasize specific fields, such as health/human services, arts and culture, climate/conservation, and education.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Latinos LEAD targets three general market segments for board member recruiting: 1) Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that serve target populations or program catchment areas containing substantial or majority Latino populations; 2) NPOs that seek to engage Latino communities and Latino leaders as a strategic outreach or programming goal; and, 3) NPOs operating in communities with significant proportions of Latino inhabitants. Board member candidates are identified and recruited following professional executive search techniques. Candidate profiles are compiled in a robust internal propriety database, and are acquired through ongoing extensive outreach to Latino professional associations, professional networks, referrals, and through in-person and online registration. Board member candidates are nominated through close collaboration with NPO clients, and are vetted with background checks and credential verification carried out by either Latinos LEAD or the NPO.
Candidates complete nonprofit management and leadership development training to prepare them for board member service, although candidates with previous nonprofit management or board experience may be exempt. Nominees appointed to boards of directors will be matched with a mentor through a formal agreement lasting one year.
Revenues to support board member recruiting services are generated through fee-for-service contracts with NPOs. Fees are assessed on an incremental basis that weighs the NPO scale and size, as board members for larger organizations will bring more extensive skills and stronger experience. Individual donations, foundation grants and corporate sponsorships will support Latinos LEAD planning, training, evaluation and general operations.
Comprehensive ongoing internal evaluation assesses Latinos LEAD program models to promote more effective services design and delivery. Independent objective research findings will test the Latinos LEAD logic model and theory of change to strengthen the field’s knowledge base and to support replication of Latino leadership development and board diversity programs.
America’s continuously evolving ethnic mosaic is at once the nation’s most distinctive cultural attribute and its most divisive social characteristic. Demographic change has long been a primary catalyst for America’s charitable endeavors; transforming the nation’s social upheaval and confrontation into the pr
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The 2020/21 period saw significant growth in the volume and complexity of Latinos LEAD programs and operations. The organization’s operating budget has doubled each year, and the pandemic drove changes in program delivery along with corresponding upgrades to the organization’s digital and online capabilities. To sustain and consolidate this growth, Latinos LEAD elected three new board members in July 2021: Belen Bernal, Executive Director at Nature for All; Geoff Green, CEO at the Santa Barbara City College Foundation; and, Richard Vazquez, Founder & CEO of Fintegy Consulting, LLC. This team will convene for its first formal strategic planning retreat in late 2021. Latinos LEAD also seeks to more effectively leverage and expand the membership of its Executive Advisory Council. While individual members of the EAC have provided input and counsel during the pandemic, logistics and scheduling issues have hindered the coordination of convening this group for collective insights and advice.
During the pandemic, Latinos LEAD converted its programming to virtual and digital platforms. Audio/visual equipment, software services, and production expertise was acquired to ensure those platforms support the program adaptations. Moving forward, institutional development and program development objectives are mostly related to building a more prominent online profile and extending program related outreach, specifically: 1) Continued and accelerated research data gathering of Latino professionals for board member searches; 2) Expanded market research and data gathering of nonprofit organizations seeking Latino governing board members; and, 3) Onsite presentations, panelist appearances, and speaker opportunities at regional and national Latino professional member and community organizations (chambers of commerce, HACU, Unidos US, HIP, NALEO, Prospanica, SHPE, etc.), and at conventions and conferences of target market regional and national nonprofit associations (AFP, National Assn. of Community Health Centers, AAM, CAM, Americans for the Arts, EarthX, Cal Nonprofits, etc.). Aside from the software licensing and applications costs, an unrestricted grant award would support the staffing needed to advance these objectives. By 2024, Latinos LEAD financial projections call for at least 75% of its program, administrative, and management costs to be funded by service fee revenues--governing board recruiting, Inclusion Blueprint governing board counsel, and virtual governing board training.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Latinos for Leadership Excellence And Diversity (Latinos LEAD)
Board of directorsas of 12/31/2021
Mr. Patrick Salazar
Latinos LEAD
Term: 2020 - 2023
Juan Ramos
Attorney
Cindy Montanez
CEO, TreePeople
Luis Cruz
FactSet
Geoff Green
CEO, Santa Barbara College Foundation
Belen Bernal
Exec. Dir., Nature for All
Richard Vazquez
Principal, Fintegy Inc.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/25/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.