
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
At Aspen Leadership Group, we believe that an organization’s capacity to reflect and respond to the rich diversity of our society profoundly impacts its ability to fulfill its mission. Accordingly, we are committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our own company and in partnership with our clients and the individuals we serve.
Because we are in constant communication with philanthropy professionals inside and outside searches, we have developed a strong reputation as a trusted partner committed to supporting the career goals of diverse members of our community. We also support leaders who are dedicated to building inclusive organizations; we help our clients build diverse teams, not just diverse candidate pools. We partner with clients to strengthen diversity within their organizations and in their engagement strategies through consulting, supporting courageous conversations, and sharing resources.
Whether you are a professional from a diverse background seeking to work for an organization that embraces your identity, a team leader seeking to foster a more inclusive workplace or donor engagement strategy, or a thought partner who would like to offer a resource, we welcome you to this conversation and want to connect with you.
We’re not just talking about diversity; we’re doing something about it.
Workforce Development
Partnerships for Talent and Learning
Engaging Diverse Donors
ALG has established strong relationships with various industry associations to increase diversity in the nonprofit sector. For years, we have built lasting, deep partnerships with numerous organizations as advisory board members, volunteer chairs, presenting and attending conferences, and meeting with leaders as they build their capacity.
Our industry partnerships and activities include:
- The African American Development Officers Network (AADO);
- Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and AADO Conference on Diverse Philanthropy and Leadership;
- CASE’s Minority Advancement Institute (MAI);
- Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives;
- Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP);
- Asian American/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP);
- Women’s Philanthropy Institute;
- The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University; and many more.
Recent publications include:
ALG recently authored a white paper, “Diversity and Inclusion in Healthcare Advancement: Changing Behaviors and Outcomes.” Produced in collaboration with the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and written by ALG’s Angelique Grant, Ph.D. and Ron Schiller, the white paper outlines recent research and offers recommendations for advancement leaders in all sectors to address diversity and inclusion in their organizations. They encourage leaders to adopt new strategies for recruiting talent and engaging the broadest spectrum of potential donors to meet the demands required for successful modern philanthropic engagement.
Recent presentation topics have included:
The World’s Talking About Unconscious Bias: What Does That Mean in Advancement?
The fact is that if you want to build teams and organizations capable of innovating, you need diversity, not to mention a very inclusive environment. Learn best practices when creating a diversity and inclusion program, how to have brave conversations, tips and strategies on hiring processes, and how to create a more inclusive environment.
Building an Inclusive Environment to Attract, Inspire and Keep a Diverse Team
It’s a fact: diverse teams perform better. Building a diverse workforce and having an inclusive work environment are business imperatives, but in our business we are lacking a diverse talent pipeline. No matter the size of your shop, DEI efforts can help you attract, inspire, and retain the diverse talent needed to achieve your mission. Hear stories of success from a certified diversity recruiter, an established talent management program with diversity and inclusion efforts woven throughout, and a new program learning as it grows.
Gender Matters: A Practical Approach to Grow Women’s Philanthropy
What if we knew that our engrained fundraising “best practices” gain only minimal support from women? Quantifiable research shows how women give differently, and our practices and behaviors need to adapt to engage women donors as they prefer. Participants will learn about the research on how women give. They will also discover how to discern what current practices may unconsciously get in the way of connecting with women, what their own data may be telling them, and what their women stakeholders care about. Finally, they leave with a practical process to tailor new approaches.
Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with leading institutions in a collaborative talent management effort to enhance the professional growth and career success of current and aspiring diverse advancement professionals from under-represented and non-traditional backgrounds. The Diversity Talent Partnership was developed to be a collaborative and supportive conduit between diverse and nontraditional advancement candidates and institutions who recognize, appreciate and support professional diversity.
New partner institutions are regularly joining our partnership, and we are pleased to support their recruitment efforts. In addition, we announce a wide variety of new, exciting career opportunities nearly every week. The best way to explore our career opportunities and be informed of our resources is to join ALG’s Philanthropy Career Network (PCN).
Successful fundraising leaders know that one-size-fits-all fundraising does not work; it has always been important to meet donors as they prefer, with diversity in fundraising team members and strategies sufficient to address a diversity of donor motivations and approaches to giving. Diverse and inclusive teams have more understanding, experience, and perspective upon which to draw, allowing them to be more creative about reaching more donors and engaging them more deeply.
Yet fundraising leaders also have not gone far enough in reexamining established practices to engage more diverse potential donors. For some organizations, the diversity of the potential donor population is increasing; for others it is shifting. For most, diversity in the donor population has for some time been greater than the organization’s capacity fully to engage that diversity. It is critical to debunk myths around diverse giving and rethink fundraising behaviors and approaches, particularly with women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, and other identities.
Aspen Leadership Group offers consulting services that foster leadership development, organizational alignment, and a culture of philanthropy founded on a diverse and inclusive workplace in order to maximize the fundraising effectiveness of the organization. Led by senior consultants Angelique Grant (Certified Diversity Recruiter), Kathleen Loehr, and Floyd Akins, alongside co-founder Ron Schiller, ALG’s diversity consulting practice provides the most comprehensive services in the marketplace for nonprofit advancement teams.

What Our Partners Are Saying
Connect with ALG
Supporting Diverse Leaders and Inclusive Teams
We welcome candidates from all experience levels and backgrounds and we seek to partner with committed organizations. Learn about our resources and connect with our consultants.

Expand Your Understanding
Recommended Resources for DEI Learning
Resources brought to you by Aspen Leadership Group and our partners
Giving and Philanthropy
- Diversity and Inclusion in Healthcare Advancement: Changing Behaviors and Outcomes, written by ALG’s Angelique Grant, PhD and Ron Schiller in collaboration with Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) https://www.ahp.org/resources-and-tools/ahp-connect-articles/ahp-connect-details/diversity-and-inclusion-in-healthcare-advancement-changing-behaviors-and-outcomes
- Gender Matters: A Guide to Growing Women’s Philanthropy, Kathleen Loehr (2018) https://www.case.org/resources/gender-matters-guide-growing-womens-philanthropy
- Diversity in Giving: The Changing Landscape of American Philanthropy, Blackbaud (2015) https://institute.blackbaud.com/asset/diversity-in-giving/
- The 2018 U.S. Trust® Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, U.S. Trust and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, in partnership with the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (2018) http://bit.ly/2SJ13oR
- We Won’t Raise More Money Unless We Stop Acting Like All Donors Are White Men, Kathleen Loehr, Chronicle of Philanthropy (2018) https://www.philanthropy.com/article/We-Won-t-Raise-More-Money/244651
- Money, Power, and Race: The Lived Experience of Fundraisers of Color, Cause Effective (2019) https://preparingthenextgeneration.org/preparing-the-next-generation/
- The Apparitional Donor: Understanding and Engaging High Net Worth Donors of Color, Vaid Group LLC (2017) https://thevaidgroup.com/hnwdonorsofcolorreport/
- Leading with Intent: BoardSource Index of Nonprofit Board Practices, BoardSource (2017) https://leadingwithintent.org/
Recruiting and Talent Management for Advancement Teams
- Why Diversity Matters, Catalyst (2013) https://www.catalyst.org/research/why-diversity-matters/
- State of the Work, Stories from the Movement to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, D5 Coalition (2015) https://www.d5coalition.org/tools/state-of-the-work-final/
- Advancing Racial Equity within Nonprofit Organizations, Georgetown University (2018) https://cpnl.georgetown.edu/news-story/racial_equity_nonprofits/
- It’s Bias That Hobbles People of Color, Not Lack of a Leadership Pipeline, Frances Kunreuther and Sean Thomas-Breitfeld, Chronicle of Philanthropy (2017) https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Opinion-Systemic-Bias-Behind/240171
- Confronting the Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap, Race to Lead http://racetolead.org/race-to-lead/
- Why Black Employees Hesitate to Open Up About Themselves, Harvard Business Review (2018) https://hbr.org/2018/03/diversity-and-authenticity
- LGBTQ Alliance from the American Alliance of Museums, https://www.aam-us.org/professional-networks/lgbtq-alliance/
- Trans Toolkit for Employers, Human Rights Campaign https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/trans-toolkit
- Disability in Philanthropy & Nonprofits: A Study on the Inclusion and Exclusion of the 1-in-5 People Who Live with a Disability and What You Can Do to Make Things Better, RespectAbility, https://www.respectability.org/inclusive-philanthropy/
- Let’s End Ageism, Ashton Applewhite, TED Talks https://www.ted.com/talks/ashton_applewhite_let_s_end_ageism