Press Play: Post-Webinar Q&A with Leticia John

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In this new Q&A series, we ask past ADRP webinar presenters to reflect on their webinars and share what they look forward to in the coming year. ADRP members who missed “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Best Practices in Fundraising” can now view the webinar recording and presentation slides online.

Leticia John works at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and is the Director of Stewardship and Engagement for the President's Circle.

At PPFA, she leads the stewardship and engagement program for mid-level donors who give between $1,000-$24,999, creating contact strategies, developing impact communications, planning events, etc., to increase donor and revenue retention.

Leticia has over 15 years of diverse experience in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, working with academic institutions, philanthropic consulting firms, national and international healthcare organizations, and government agencies.

She enjoys developing meaningful partnerships and creating mutually beneficial solutions that promote and improve access to economic, educational, social, and health care equalities.

What are the top three takeaways you hope viewers gain from your webinar? 

• Embracing the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion starts with you. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are independent values that we can each embrace and practice in everything that we do — personally and professionally. 

• Tangible definitions and examples of how you can incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion values and practices into your everyday fundraising activities and strategies.

• “DEI” is not a word. Sometimes we say “DEI” so fast or so often that we think DEI is a word, and we lose the meaning and impact of what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean independently. Although these values can be practiced together and be interdependent on one another, my hope in this presentation is that you will develop an understanding and an appreciation for diversity, equity, and inclusion, respectively, in their own right.

Is there anything else you would have included in your webinar if you’d had more time? Or an additional point or question you thought of afterward? 

I really wish we had time for breakout sessions. The real work behind this framework is to think and brainstorm about our actual responsibilities and activities and apply a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens to them. For example, if you are responsible for drafting grant reports and proposals for your organization, how can you apply a diversity, equity, and/or inclusion lens to your practice? Hearing examples from others sparks innovation and inspiration. My co-presenters spent the majority of our time sharing out, but I would have loved to hear how our audience was connecting and thinking about this framework for themselves. 

If someone wants to take a deeper dive into your topic, what are the top three books/podcasts/websites you recommend? 

There are so many resources out there, but they are not truly meaningful if you don’t know how to apply learnings to your professional or personal work. Change starts with you — and somehow, we’ve lost accountability for being the change we want to see in our work lives. So, I really recommend participants spend some quiet time applying the diversity, equity, and inclusion values/definitions to their professional and personal activities and level-setting on their personal spheres of influence. 

After you’ve done some soul searching, definitely check out:

• Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy: they are leaders in the field with extensive free content, and they connect research from top experts with practical application.
  

• Blackbaud’s diversity in giving reports: I’ve always appreciated Blackbaud's diversity in giving reports because they have illustrative examples and data points that 1) speak to the diversity of how individuals approach and engage in philanthropy and 2) reiterate the importance (better yet, the necessity) for our organizations to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion into their fundraising practices in an effort to connect, engage, and relate with every potential donor.
  

• The Management Center also has great tools to support individuals in managing people and process changes as they relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion. My team specifically uses their MOCHA framework when conceptualizing all of our projects. 

What inspired you to share your insights through an ADRP webinar? 

I have been seeking workshops that would outline in tangible ways how nonprofit professionals could incorporate/integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into their fundraising practice. 

However, many of the D/E/I workshops I’ve participated in have been about justifying or proving the profitability of investing in donors of color or how to acquire more donors of color. In reality, nonprofit programs are not prepared, organized, educated, staffed (lacking all emotional and cultural intelligence) to solicit, steward, and retain donors of color or any donor that does not fit the traditional profile of an organization’s historical supporter. 

Thus this presentation is less about examples of how to ask and build relationships with donors of color and more about how we as professionals need to change our approach and thought strategy to create fundraising programs that are more diverse, equitable, and inclusive in practice, period. Anything else is short-sided and doesn’t address the roots of the problem. 

I've been modeling this practice at Planned Parenthood, and we are breaking silos, innovating, etc. — all while retaining donors, increasing revenue, and building new relationships. "We're setting the table." 

ADRP has been a source of inspiration for me, and I'm so excited and grateful about the opportunity to give back to this exceptional community. 

What's next for you this year? Are there any personal or professional highlights so far in 2022 that you’d like to share? 

I’m excited about the opportunity to share with wider audiences and partner with other professionals doing similar work. Please contact me if you’d like to share how you have been incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into your fundraising efforts. Applying a D/E/I lens to fundraising practices shouldn’t be a trend but a way of doing business.

We would love to hear your voice and benefit from your experience, so please consider submitting an article to The Hub!

Back to the March 2022 Hub