WASHINGTON—ASAE announces it will collaborate with the National Human Services Assembly (NHSA) to increase awareness about diversity and inclusion (D+I) and create and share best practices in the field of D+I. The kick-off meeting will be March 14.

ASAE and NHSA will develop a sector-wide strategic framework educating nonprofits and associations about key practices in D+I. During the March meeting, they will review goals, outline key elements of the plan, and timeline for implementation.

“There’s a convergence of demographic, social, and technological shifts taking place, and nonprofit membership organizations face challenges of starting and sustaining progress in specific areas of diversity and inclusion,” said ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham IV, FASAE, CAE. “The collaboration with NHSA will give us an opportunity to develop products and practices that we can share across the nonprofit sector.”

NHSA and ASAE will share their vision of D+I for member organizations, link concepts of D+I to the challenges association leaders face, and NHSA will promote the Association Inclusion Index with their members and affiliate networks. Thanks to a grant from Hyatt Corporation, associations now have access to this type of instrument.

“We are proud to partner with ASAE on advancing the work of our member organizations nationwide to embrace inclusion in every aspect of their work.  Members of our Diversity & Inclusion Council and our member executives affirm the centrality of this work; we look forward to working with ASAE on a strategic framework for the nonprofit sector.” Karen Key, Executive Vice President & COO of NHSA also stated, “ In early 2014 we will be launching this collaboration by promoting ASAE's ground-breaking Inclusion Index as a comprehensive, essential tool that will help us make great strides this year and in years to come.”

For more information about the agreement between ASAE and NHSA, please contact Alexis Terry at aterry@asaecenter.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sabrina Kidwai, APR, skidwai@asaecenter.org, 202-326-9505.

About ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership
ASAE is a membership organization of more than 21,000 association executives and industry partners representing 10,000 organizations. Its members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and in nearly 50 countries around the world. With support of the ASAE Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession, and provides resources, education, ideas and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. For more information about ASAE, visit www.asaecenter.org.

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