Class and race can create divides between donors and a cause they support − putting stress on those nonprofits

It’s hard to call mentoring by volunteers a “business model.” RichLegg/E+ via Getty Images by Abbie Cohen, University of California, Los Angeles Relying on wealthy, largely white donors for funding can lead nonprofits that run after-school programs for low-income children of color to feel pressured to skew their priorities. In part because of class and racial differences, these nonprofits can have trouble conveying how the interests of the programs’ participants are being met while also satisfying donors’ demands. This was evident in an in-depth case study I wrote about in Children & Schools, an academic journal. The after-school program I studied supports low-income girls in a Northeastern city. The girls, who are in grades 3-5, receive free weekly mentoring sessions. The mentors are college students who volunteer to help build the girls’ self-confidence and ambition by reading and discussing stories with them about female athletes, film directors, politicians and human rights activists, among other role models. The organization is led by a Black woman who is from the local community, and the nonprofit uses its own original curriculum. By participating in the program, the girls get a safe way to explore their “many identities,” a member of the nonprofit’s staff...