6 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 9 Number 9


Top Environmental Agencies Release Diversity Data


to increasing racial diversity across mainstream environmental agencies. Nor did anyone seem to have a game


plan. “Although people of


color are now almost 40 percent of the U.S. population, they have not broken the 16 percent ‘green ceiling’ in mainstream environmental organizations and foundations,” noted Robert Raben, founder and president of The Raben Group and of Green 2.0.


Minorities make up less than 5


percent, on average, of "mainstream" environmental organizations’ boards, the


fact


report found. This, that


people of despite the color support


environmental protection at a higher rate than whites, according to Raben. However, he said, these organizations “are not adequately reaching out to organizations representing people of color communities.”


The diversity BY ANDREW LAM


On April 22, 2015, which marked the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, Green 2.0 released the names of over 25 of America’s leading environmental advocacy organizations who voluntarily submitted their


diversity


data to GuideStar. Among the


organizations


had shared their employee board diversity Environmental


that and


information are Defense Fund, the


National Audubon Society and The Conservation Fund.


Other groups, such as the Pew


Charitable Fund, Resources Legacy Fund and Conservation International, have not done so. In fact, 18 of the


nation’s largest mainstream


environmental advocacy organizations have so far declined to disclose their diversity numbers to GuideStar, a site that aims to bring more transparency


Our Faith


WHY BELIEVE IN THE FUTURE? By Rev. Dr. Gregory Headen


time for churches to be weak.


This is not the This


is the time for churches to be strong. Many peo- ple are running out of places to go for help in the time of need. Another pas- tor shared with me


that millenials (those born between the early 1980's and 2000) are dev- astated when the fi nancial aspect of life is messed up. Money is so im- portant to them, and when they have none, many feel that all is lost. The Church at its best holds together the survival needs of this life and the eternal yearnings of the soul.


The


Church cannot really choose one to the exclusion of the other because a person is a totality of every aspect of existence. We are "this worldly" and "otherworldly". The same Lord who said "rise up and walk" also said "Your sins are forgiven you" (Luke 5:20-24). The same Jesus that fed hungry multitudes physical bread (Matthew 14:15-21 and 15:32-38) was also the one that said "I am the bread of life that came down from heaven" (John 6:33-35). Churches with relevant ministries are pay- ing attention to the physical and the spiritual. We must not yield to the


temptation of addressing one to the exclusion of the other. Another di- mension of this wholistic way of living is the affi rmation of the indi- vidual and the community. Individu- als together form community, and community authenticates and affi rms individuals.


God, the creator, cre-


ated a man as individual, and that was good. Yet, the same God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." A profound theological truth lay in this story of human origins. Being alone is not an evil state to be in, but we become more in relationship to and with others. There is something a man can accomplish with the wom- an that he cannot accomplish alone -- like multiplying with offspring. When the individual brings his/her gifts to others, and others bring gifts to the table, there is so much more than just the sum total of the bodies and the gifts. Community involves something more. It involves shared beliefs and a shared vision. It in- volves a shared hope for the future. This is why I believe in our future. God knows the plans he has for us. Government may pull back, and schools my fail us. But when we understand that God is for us and we come together with all of our gifts, talents and resources, the future looks brighter and brighter because we know who holds the future.


by providing data on thousands of nonprofi ts.


“I commend the organizations and foundations that have committed to openness and transparency on diversity and submitted their diversity data,” Congressman Raúl Grijalva, D – AZ, told reporters on a press call “However, it is troubling that some Green organizations and the foundations that support them have not taken this initial step towards a more diverse sector.”


Grijalva stressed that diversifying


Green organizations and foundations would make them “more effective in addressing current


and future


environmental challenges.” While


the lack


many acknowledged of diversity, few have


expressed any urgency to address it, according to a study commissioned by Green 2.0, an initiative dedicated


data collected


on GuideStar will be held up like a mirror to various organizations, said Jacob Harold, president and CEO of Guidestar.


Denis Hayes, who was national


organizer of the fi rst Earth Day, and is now president of The Bullitt Foundation, encouraged other organizations


to participate in this


effort. “We are all most likely to improve the things that we measure,” he said.


“At its birth, the environmental


movement was a big tent, welcoming to all who shared its basic commitment to a healthy, resilient, peaceful


equitable, future,” said Hayes. “We


need to return to those roots.” Hayes is among the few


Diversity FROM PAGE 3 students. They do internships here


and learn more about this career. They must have a background in science or engineering," said Torres who considers it key to detect which professional profi les are needed in the environmental movement and develop these skills from high school.


Change is Everything


Other voices like Peggy Saika, President and Executive Director of AAPIP (Asian Americans/Pacifi c Islanders in Philanthropy), argued that change must come from the top:


May 2015


philanthropy leaders who have already made their information available on their GuideStar profi le. People of color represent 50 percent of the staff of The Bullitt Foundation and 27 percent of its board.


EPA Administrator Gina


McCarthy, and philanthropist advocate Tom Steyer are among those who are


calling for other environmental


organizations to submit their diversity information.


Kris Sarri, to principal deal with “is deputy


assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior, said the nation will need to draw on talents of the next generation


pressing


environmental challenges. “Diversity is critical,” she noted. The millennial generation,


she said, the most


diverse population in our history,” but they also are “the most disconnected from natural world.”


Green 2.0 is calling on other large foundations and organizations to step up and submit their own data. “We urge the organizations and foundations who have not submitted data to submit in the next two months,” Raben said. “Tracking data is a basic fi rst step, whether you are trying to solve climate disruption or diversity.”


“We celebrate today’s progress,


but we have work to do and we haven’t truly won until this movement is truly diverse and inclusive,” he added.


Green 2.0’s partnership with GuideStar and D5, a coalition dedicated to expanding diversity in the philanthropic sphere, is a fi rst- of-its-kind effort to collect diversity data from NGOs and foundations on a national scale.


"This is a land of wealth. The lack of diversity cannot be excused by the lack of resources, but by the way they are distributed. The inclusion should be promoted from senior levels" she said.


Malik Yusef, a spoken word artist and producer of the album HOME, music about climate change, strongly criticized how over diagnosed diversity is, pointing out that we "act falsely as if we had done the work [of increasing diversity], when in reality it is not so."


The activist closed with an


improvisation in which Yusef sang to the attendees about equality and reinforced his message: "If we don't turn up together, we are going to burn up together."


You are cordially invited to attend...


City Council meetings... Norfolk - regular meetings are held on the fi rst and fourth Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and the second and third Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.


Chesapeake - regular meetings are held on the second, third and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.


Newport News - regular business meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m.


Suffolk - regular meetings are held on the fi rst and third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Hampton - typically take place on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m.


Virginia Beach - meets on the fi rst four Tuesdays of each month. In July the meetings are scheduled on the fi rst two Tuesdays only. Formal session begins at 6 p.m. Portsmouth - meeting dates are the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.


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