PODCAST EPISODES

It’s no secret that problems around diversity, equity, and inclusion permeate all sectors, including the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Whether it’s disparate funding for Black and women-led organizations, failure to promote women of color to leadership, or foundations using money as a weapon to dictate the direction of organizational efforts, Kishshana Palmer breaks it all down. Kishshana is an international speaker, trainer, and coach with nearly two decades of experience in fundraising, marketing, and talent management. She is also the founder of The Rooted Collaborative, a global community focused on the holistic evolution and advancement of female leaders of color in the social impact sector. The Rooted Collaborative exists to amplify and empower female voices while providing community, culture, and coaching that honors a healthy career experience.

Topics Covered: 

• How Kishshana started in fundraising and development
• Adopting a more collaborative approach to fundraising 
• Defining donor-centric fundraising and its shortcomings
• Disparities in funding between white-led, minority-led, and women-led organizations
• Increasing support for minority-led and women-led organizations
• Setting priorities when fundraising
• Using fundraising to build power and amplify marginalized voices
• Re-centering how we think of money when fundraising
• Challenges facing the nonprofit sector with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Why Kishshana started The Rooted Collaborative and how she hopes to redefine philanthropy
• Why Kishshana wrote Hey, I’m New Here

Highlights:

• “Fundraisers have to balance the needs of the organization and propelling the mission with the interests of the donor and how they see themselves as investing in the community where they live and work.”  
• “Fundraising is a team sport.”
• “Systemic racism is so deeply entrenched in the foundation of how the nonprofit sector was built.”  
• “Your success always feels in spite of instead of because of.”
• “Money is just a tool. The reality is that money is a weapon for many people and wielded as a weapon at organizations.” Our relationship to money and money and power is so wrapped up with how we grew up.

Connect with Kishshana: 

Check out Kishshana’s new podcast for everyday leaders, Let’s Take This Offline.

On her website: https://kishshanaco.com/

On Twitter: @kishshanapalmer

On Instagram: @kishshanapalmer

Other References: 

• Vu Le, Have nonprofit and philanthropy become the “white moderate” that Dr. King warned us about?, Nonprofit AF
• Race to Lead, Race to Lead Revisited: Obstacles and Opportunities in Addressing the Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap, 2019
• Kishshana Palmer and Ajuah Helton, To White Leaders of Philanthropy: Do It Different This Time, Chronicles of Philanthropy, July 20, 2020

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it! Leave a review and rating on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music, or Audible. Reviews and ratings are really important to the ranking of the show. And feel free to send feedback and questions to breakconcrete@gmail.com.