BEFORE YOU DEI . . . MAKE SURE YOU DYH . . .
Midwest Studies Group (MSG) is minority owned. Before coming to MSG, our team members have led organizations which may have been predominantly Asian, African-American, Native, Latino, and more. Even then, we do NOT consider ourselves experts in DEI training.
Although DEI training is not one of our core focuses, our DEI knowledge and experience works perfectly hand in hand with with our fundraising and strategic planning. When it comes to training though, we have some awesome strategic partners we love referring people to.
With people across the country wanting to educate themselves more about this important topic, DEI work has become increasingly popular from both a client and consultant perspective (which is awesome). DEI firms and consultants are starting up at a record pace and because of that, we would encourage you to DYH (Do Your Homework) when selecting a DEI Trainer to help you. Here are a few questions to ask:
1) Does this consultant/firm have passion for DEI work? When you interview consultants and they seem to get super excited about their work . . . that is something you want to notice.
2) What is the consultants personal leadership experience like? Have they been an CEO/executive director or HR director for a diverse company or nonprofit before? If they are going to give advice on how to do it, it certainly helps to see if they have been through it themselves.
3) What training or education have they received to lead organizations through DEI work? You want someone who is constantly wanting to learn more about the subject themselves so that you know you are getting the most up to date training.
Does asking these questions mean you are going to find the perfect consultant who can answer all three of these questions perfectly? Of course not. By no means are we suggesting you only select a consultant who can answer every question above perfectly. There are a lot of great trainers out there who may or may not answer all of these questions perfectly.
Just like hiring an employee you need to consider where you are willing to be flexible, what your budget looks like, and what the task is that you actually need done.
*Again, MSG does NOT provide DEI training . . . but we know some great partners who do. We are happy to share those names with you. Regardless, the important thing is that MSG thinks you should DYH before you DEI 😊
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To learn more about strategic and fundraising plans, feasibility studies, planned giving studies, need assessment studies, and capital campaigns, visit us at www.midweststudiesgroups.com.