Fieldstone Alliance's Cultural Competence Position Statement

Fieldstone Alliance believes that a strong, healthy, and vibrant nonprofit sector effectively serves and represents our nation's changing community demographics and cultures. Cultural competence implies the presence of a set of congruent behaviors, practices, policies, and skills that come together in an individual, system, or organization (Cross et. al. 1989). In order to meet the growing demands from diverse constituents, the sector, including mainstream nonprofit organizations, philanthropic entities, collaboratives, intermediaries, and networks, along with culturally specific organizations, must be committed to developing and maintaining capacity to appropriately address and prevent social inequities and disparities across and among cultural groups. The sector can enhance its capacity to work effectively across cultures by applying the values and practices of diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence.

We also recognize that the acquisition of these skill sets is a developmental process. When organizations receive customized support through knowledge resources, training, and consultation, they are able to increase their organizational effectiveness and mission impact. Fieldstone Alliance's theory of change for cultural competence is based on a reciprocal relationship between organizational effectiveness and cultural competence capacity. Organizations seeking to increase their organizational effectiveness will need to increase their capacity to work effectively across cultures. Organizations engaged in developing cultural competence will increase their organizational effectiveness, and as a result, have greater capacity to address disparities, social equity and effect long lasting systemic change.

Our work in the field is based on this simple premise: organizations engaged in moving along the cultural competence continuum will obtain greater organizational effectiveness, gain the skills and capabilities needed to function effectively across cultures, and as a result, have greater capacity to address social equity, disparities, and effect long lasting change. Nonprofits should continually assess their organization's readiness and capacity for cultural competence implementation.