Take Your Seats; There’s Room at the Table for Us All

As Women In Development (WID), New York’s first African American President in its 40-year history, I have had many conversations and have thought long and hard about what that means for the profession. During my tenure so far, I have also been humbled by the outreach I’ve received from women of color in the field, who before now, did not necessarily feel that WID was the right community for them, because they did not see themselves strongly reflected in the organization’s programming or leadership. I’ve worked hard to change this, through the establishment of a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, implementing a set of recommendations to make WID a more inclusive place. And then, from the feedback I received from women of color, I decided to move forward with a special Career Roundtable earlier this year. It was cathartic, powerful and lovely to bring these women together.

I also had an epiphany, that regardless of what happens when I am no longer at the helm of WID, it is in my heart to ensure that the work of creating a “hub”—a truly dedicated space for women of color and their allies in the fields of fundraising and philanthropy—never loses its momentum. Therefore, I created the WOC concept; so many of you told me how excited you would be to have this particular space come to fruition, which only reinforced to me how much this is needed.

It was then that I knew that moving forward with my ideas on creating a space for women of color in fundraising and philanthropy was the right thing to do—even in the middle of a pandemic! Indeed, now, more than ever, ladies.

So, welcome to WOC, where you’ll find resources to strengthen your careers, professional relationships and a bit of beauty and fashion as well. Times are changing and it’s important that as women of color, we stay WOC in order to survive and thrive. Always remember that WOC is here to help you in that journey.

Onward, Upward, Forward,

Interested in learning more about the WOC Community?