If you love tacos, you might have heard of Mando Rayo. He is a self-proclaimed “taco journalist,” with blogs, books, podcasts, and a documentary that explores the culture and history of the Mexican dish. But in his hometown of Austin, Tex., Rayo also is known as a diversity champion and architect of a plan to put more people of color on nonprofit boards.

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Toward a More Just Nonprofit World
This collection of 15 profiles spotlights individuals who are driving conversations about equity. Read about thinkers and doers, Twitter pros and essayists, philanthropy outsiders and insiders, and more.

Rayo came to this work about 10 years ago. A former organizer for Austin’s United Way, he had started his own advertising agency and consulting business and was making the rounds of city and charity leaders. At meetings and events, Rayo, a Latino, was one of very few people of color, if not the only one, even though Austin is one of America’s most diverse cities, with white residents making up less than half of the population. The city’s nonprofits, he realized, were siloed.

“There were a lot of organizations led by people of color in one part of town and predominantly white mainstream groups in another part,” he says. “There was no connection.”

With Monica Maldonado-Williams, a local nonprofit advocate and media entrepreneur, Rayo launched the group the New Philanthropists to build connections and raise awareness about the lack of board diversity. In speeches, they brandished this awkward truth: 84 percent of nonprofit board members nationally are white, even though the large majority of groups work with people of color. “It’s hard to ignore that,” Rayo says.

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Paulina Artieda, a New Philanthropist founding board member with a background in advertising and tech, became executive director in 2019. With Rayo, she designed training for their board recruits to illustrate the dynamics when a charity’s leadership is predominantly white.

The two also built a match-making strategy that puts the candidate, not the nonprofit, in the driver’s seat. Eschewing a shallow, Tinder-like process — swipe right if you want to add this Latino to your board — New Philanthropists requires organizations to analyze, outline, and rate their commitment to equity and diversity. Armed with that evaluation, recruits then size up the group and potential colleagues through conversations with the organization’s top leader and recruitment chair, a meet-and-greet with board members, and participation in a board meeting. “It’s a heavy lift,” Rayo says.

Ultimately, the New Philanthropists aims to create a model that could catch on nationally like one of Rayo’s taco books. “There’s systemic change that can happen,” Artieda says, “and we want to have a national presence in making that change.”