NPQ is inviting you to contribute to the spring 2024 issue of Nonprofit Quarterly Magazine—a special edition centered on the experience of women of color in leadership today, with a focus on Black women.

We are living in a time of beautiful growth of Black women leaders, and it is a time that has brought great joy and fulfillment—but it has also brought ongoing frustration, exhaustion, and ill health. Women of color in leadership across the country are reporting example after example of having stepped into leadership roles in organizations with challenging staff issues; boards that want them to do everything—and all at the same time; little to no support for their work; and even outright resentment and mistrust vis-à-vis their power. And we invite you to join us in calling it out and to explore what leadership can—and should—be, in all expansiveness. Someone recently told Cyndi Suarez, “There’s no model for women of color to be authentic in leadership.” Is this true? If no, what are the models? If yes, how do we change that narrative?

Recognizing that it isn’t always safe to speak the truth about leadership experiences, we are making room for leaders to write anonymously if they prefer about the reality for women of color in leadership.

Questions we would like you to consider:

What is or what has been your experience in leadership? 

What went well/is going well? 

What could be better? 

Please reply no later than Monday, November 27, with a sentence or two (or more) that articulates what you would like to contribute/write on specifically, a brief bio, and a headshot. We are accepting articles of 800 to 2,500 words but will be happy to consider longer or shorter pieces. We are also accepting proposals for publishing excerpts from recent or about-to-be-published books, and in such a case, we may ask to interview you as well. Full drafts will be due no later than December 31, 2023.

We pay $500 for articles accepted for publication in the magazine, and we pay magazine interviewees $300. (Please view our publishing agreement here so that you know our terms.)