Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity,
Inclusion + Belonging

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are embedded in Lindauer’s identity and practice.

As one of only two organizations in the country along with Georgia Tech that began to gather diverse professionals in the late 1990s, we have created strong communities of practice and professional support. Lindauer continues to play an industry-leading role in ensuring that nonprofits accurately reflect the populations they serve. Our leaders actively advance diversity as innovators and strategists through board service, speaking engagements, and community engagement across the nonprofit and talent management landscapes.

Lindauer demonstrates a clear record of valuing differences in race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, and genetic information. Upholding an inclusive mindset and principles, and constantly advancing our own team and individual learnings, we ensure that our search process attracts and engages dynamic pools of talent. Strategic sourcing and networking are imperative. In addition to creating network and marketing strategies with diverse professional audiences, Lindauer consultants are continuously connecting with members of underrepresented groups or individuals who work actively to support underrepresented groups. We work closely with a trusted group of associates, built over 25 years of authentic and humble interaction, and we constantly expand our network with referrals across the country.

Leading candidates, however, are also savvy consumers — these talented professionals will have many choices and will explore both perceptions and realities of any organization they consider joining, especially when they will be expected to represent the institution externally. We work actively to bring candidates of diverse lived experience to every client slate; we also work to ensure that client leaders espouse the values they purport and that the interview process affirms organizational values and commitment.

Proven Experience and Trusted Networks

Lindauer’s broad client roster includes deep experience with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Hispanic- and women-serving institutions; and major Christian, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, Evangelical, and other faith-based organizations; as well as organizations that serve LGBTQIA+, differently-abled, health-related illness, regional, and global interests.

Lindauer as a firm and Lindauer team members as professionals have strong relationships with leaders and members, invest in, and hold volunteer leadership roles with diverse networking/affinity organizations such as Allies in Action, African American Development Officers (AADO), Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WŌC), and the diversity networks and initiatives of Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), American Council on Education (ACE) and its Executive Search Roundtable (ESR), The Center for Opportunity and Inclusion of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Women in Development (WID) of Boston and New York, and the Human Rights Campaign.

Ongoing Lindauer Practices

While we’ve committed the past two decades to our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging knowledge, we also understand that the work is never done and continuously seek to learn, test biases, and grow. To do this, we:

  • Advance, gather, listen to, and stay in touch with our trusted networks of diverse professionals. Professionals report they explicitly take our calls because they trust our intentions and respect our approach.
  • Expand our extensive network of diverse leaders and candidates through various forms of engagement with diverse communities of practice.
  • Convene, present, and facilitate conferences on topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, engaging actively with leading professionals and influencers.
  • Guide clients in engagement with channels, venues, and forums that include and champion talented professionals of diverse lived experiences.
  • Routinely source, authentically engage, recruit, and present professionals of diverse lived experiences in Lindauer searches.
  • Work with clients to reduce bias in the hiring process and advance equity and inclusion in their communities. Hiring and retaining diverse leaders is the goal.
  • Support members of our team to attain diversity recruiter certification and to participate in other leading DEIB certificate programs each year.
  • Deploy leading practices to reduce bias in the hiring process.
  • Recognize that leading candidates will explore an organization’s active commitment, work with client boards and leadership, as needed, to recommend resources that develop internal DEIB practices.

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