On July 19, I attended a Philanthropy Northwest program: Reflections on Philanthropy from Today’s Leaders: Kelly Brown – The Power of Diverse Networks. And afterwards, I had the privilege of continuing the discussion with the Grantmakers of Color Affinity Group and with Kelly Brown. Kelly is the D5 Coalition Director whose five-year mission is to grow philanthropy’s diversity, equity and inclusion.

So what was I, a white female from Eastern Washington, doing in the midst of this diverse group of thoughtful leaders? While it was a question I definitely asked myself, the real question was why weren’t more of us at the table listening to this very important work? Why wasn’t an auditorium three times the size filled to the brim with all of us wondering, questioning, pondering and learning?

I live in a community where 89.2% of the population is white. Should I repeat that? 89.2% is white. 2.1% Asian, 1.9% Black, and 1.5% Native American. What an opportunity for thinking outside of the box in our communities. What a great way to expand the idea of diversity far beyond color and to look at it through many lenses that offer us glimpses of economic diversity, generational diversity, diversity of style (thank you, Richard Woo!), educational diversity, religious diversity and the list goes on and on.