Nationally, board diversity is gaining more momentum, but there is still significant work to be done, according to Rick Cohen, chief communications officer and chief operating officer of the National Council of Nonprofits.

"Some nonprofits are excelling at ensuring diversity of all types on their boards," Cohen said. "Others are just beginning that journey, and so I’d say collectively there’s motion in the right direction but still a ways to go.”

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Board diversity can be just as powerful in sparking new ideas for an organization while cutting down on groupthink and at times introducing more of the perspective of people a nonprofit works with or serves, Cohen said.

But it's not enough to focus solely on diversity.