Cross-Cultural Dynamics among White-Led Nonprofit Organizations in South Phoenix Communities of Color

White administrators of nonprofit organizations are tasked with the challenge of making the right decisions when their nonprofit seeks to work in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods. They utilize their personal worldviews and instincts to carry out the mission of their organization. The problem is that White administrators use their own cultural beliefs as their guide, which typically is counterintuitive to the cultural beliefs of Black and Brown people in the neighborhoods they wish to serve. This disparity raises issues, barriers, and sometimes conflict between both groups, which further divides efforts of collaboration. This study investigates the assumptions, disparities, and paradoxes that exist and arise between administrators in a White-led nonprofit organization and residents in Communities of Color as they negotiate issues of trust, decision-making, and transformative practices through the context of a nonprofit agency's mission and the neighborhood. By using portraiture, the assumptions, disparities, and paradoxes were examined utilizing the factors whereby groups engaged in relationship-building efforts. Employing one-to-one interviews, focus groups, observations, and documents allowed the researcher to answer the research questions through the portraits. These questions were centered on the understanding of the roles that White administrators and Black and Brown residents carry out in collaborative process efforts. Based on their understanding of these roles, the research sought to find a collaborative process that works. The findings revealed through the data that the Black and Brown residents and White-led administrators in nonprofits can achieve true collaborative practices through a more democratic approach. By understanding Black and Brown residents' Community Cultural Wealth, both groups can engage in this democratic approach which benefits the mission of the nonprofit and empowers the Black and Brown residents. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]