Shifting demographics among donors, fundraisers, and the communities they serve, calls on nonprofit organizations to think about diversity on many levels. How can you connect with donors who are different than you? How does inclusiveness strengthen your organization as a whole? Gerald Richards and Dee Dee Nguyen explore these questions in this interactive exchange of ideas on how to reach across the divides of ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and other differences in order to strengthen bonds and create new opportunities.

The job of the development staff is to connect organizations who need money with funders who care about the same issues. Donors and fundraisers bring a whole range of identities and experiences to that table. Differences can lead to isolation, but finding enough common ground to open up a dialog puts people at ease and is often the first step to cementing lasting relationships. This dialog can begin by tapping into a group's own diversity, finding a shared interest (no matter what topic), and building from there. Richards and Nguyen tell their own stories, which reveal ways they've expanded their connections by speaking out and listening.

In the second half of the session, the audience joins in the conversation, introducing their missions, and sharing ideas on how to advance diversity in their own organizations. The broad range of backgrounds and communities of interest in the room make it clear how important it is to get in tune with dynamics within and between different groups. Fundraisers can tap into the various 'cultures of giving' so they can understand diverse perspectives and identify common grounds.