California Diversity Council

What California Diversity Council does

California Diversity Council (CADC) is a privately operated non-profit organization founded in 2009, focused on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in California. The organization delivers its mission through five regional councils covering Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Silicon Valley, and the Bay Area, and serves corporate organizations, non-profits, government agencies, and individual diversity professionals. Its core service offerings include DEI training, customizable consulting, recruitment support through the DiversityFIRST Jobs platform, strategic advisory, and annual benchmark and research services.

The council operates a membership-based business model with corporate and individual partnership programs generating recurring subscription revenue, supplemented by professional services fees from training and consulting engagements, benchmark subscriptions, and charitable donations. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; inquiries are handled through direct contact. Go-to-market is event-driven, community-led, and channel-partner based, leveraging year-round virtual programming, an annual California Diversity Conference, a Women in Leadership Symposium, and chapter-based regional engagement.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform and operates as a professional services entity rather than a technology company. Leadership consists of founder and chairman Dennis Kennedy. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from California's diversity leaders across industries, with no institutional investment or parent company involvement identified in available sources.

Name

California Diversity Council

Legal name

California Diversity Council

Website

https://californiadiversitycouncil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

California Diversity Council is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 that provides DEI training, consulting, research, and events to corporate, non-profit, government, and individual members across five California regional chapters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

DEI Consulting and Training

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

DEI, Equity & Inclusion Training (EDABAIAF)

Keywords

• DEI training services
• Diversity consulting
• Workplace inclusion
• Corporate diversity membership
• DEI benchmarking research

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Partnership Membership: Organizations join as corporate partners to establish business partnerships, benchmark best practices, and promote their brand as diversity leaders. This represents a recurring membership revenue stream.
2. Individual Partnership Membership: Individual professionals join to brand themselves as diversity practitioners and gain access to the latest resources centered around diversity and leadership.
3. Training Services: The council provides DEI training programs covering diversity definitions, dimensions, business case development, and organizational integration strategies. Training inquiries are directed through contact forms.
4. Consulting Services: Customizable consulting services provide organizations with individualized and flexible approaches to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion implementation.
5. Benchmark and Research Services: Annual DEI Industry Benchmark reports and customized research requests provide data-driven insights for member organizations.
6. Donations: The organization accepts charitable contributions to support its mission of creating a more inclusive environment.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

California Diversity Council is a nonprofit membership organization that delivers diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) services to organizations and professionals in California. Its core offerings include DEI training, customizable consulting, recruitment support, strategic advisory (with the DiversityFIRST Jobs platform), annual benchmarking and research, and a calendar of events and symposia. Membership pathways (corporate and individual) and donations fund its five regional chapters serving Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Silicon Valley, and the Bay Area.

Product overview

California Diversity Council operates as a membership-based organization offering a comprehensive suite of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) services and programs. The core service offerings include Training, Consulting, Recruitment, Strategic Advisory (featuring DiversityFIRST Jobs), and Benchmark & Research services. Additionally, the organization provides membership partnership programs (Corporate and Individual), volunteer opportunities, signature events including the Women in Leadership Symposium, and donation options. The organization maintains chapters in Bay Area, Greater Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento, serving as a premier resource for diversity best practices and leadership development in California. The council comprises five regional councils: Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Silicon Valley, and the Bay Area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DEI Training DEI training programs covering diversity definitions, dimensions of diversity, the business case for DEI, organizational strategy integration, and building an inclusive culture. Directed at organizations and individuals seeking structured DEI learning.
• DEI Consulting Customizable consulting engagements providing organizations with individualized and flexible approaches to implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs and creating inclusive workplace environments.
• Benchmark and Research Annual DEI Industry Benchmark reports plus customized research requests that measure company parameters across strategy, metrics, recruitment, policies, structure, and impact assessment.
• Strategic Advisory Strategic advisory services for California companies seeking to build diverse workforces, including the DiversityFIRST Jobs online employment solution for posting jobs and searching a resume database.
• Corporate Partnership Recurring corporate membership program that enables organizations to establish business partnerships, benchmark best practices, and promote their brand as a diversity leader.
• Individual Partnership Recurring individual membership program that lets diversity practitioners brand themselves and gain access to DEI resources and leadership content.
• Events Programs Year-round virtual and in-person events covering DEIB topics including group discussions, webinars, social media discussions, celebration month roundtables, and the annual California Diversity Conference and Women in Leadership Symposium.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Belonging InstituteminorOthersTraining resource partner providing educational content and programs for DEI professional development. Listed as a training resource link on the California Diversity Council training page.
• DEI CertificateminorOthersCertification partner offering DEI credentials and professional certification programs. Listed as a training resource link for member development.
• The Inclusion LabminorOthersTraining resource partner providing inclusion-focused educational materials and programs. Listed as a training resource link on the council's training page.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Great Place to Work: Global certification and benchmarking company surveying employees and certifying employers on culture, with DEI as a key dimension. Comparable benchmarking/certification structure, but operates commercially across all culture dimensions.
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): Largest HR professional association in the U.S., offering DEI training, certification, and resources as part of a much broader HR portfolio. Overlaps with CADC on corporate DEI training and benchmarking, but serves HR generalists across all functions nationwide.

Direct peers

• Catalyst: Global nonprofit focused on advancing women and workplace inclusion through research, consulting, and corporate membership programs. Comparable to CADC in DEI membership and benchmarking model, but with an international research orientation.
• Out & Equal Workplace Advocates: Nonprofit specializing in LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion through corporate consulting, summits, and benchmarking. Comparable in membership/conference/training structure to CADC but narrower DEI focus.
• National Diversity Council: National-level nonprofit founded by the same Dennis Kennedy that founded CADC, offering the same membership, training, conference, and benchmarking model across other U.S. states. Operates as the parent/mirror organization to CADC and is the most directly comparable peer.
• Disability:IN: Nonprofit driving disability inclusion in business through corporate partnerships, benchmarking (Disability Equality Index), conferences, and consulting. Comparable membership + benchmarking + conference architecture to CADC.
• Executive Leadership Council (ELC): Membership-based nonprofit advancing Black executive leadership through corporate partnerships, leadership programs, and events. Comparable in mission-driven membership model and corporate partner programs to CADC.

Emerging players

• Center for Talent Innovation (CTI): Nonprofit research organization producing proprietary DEI and talent research for corporate sponsors. Highly comparable to CADC's benchmark/research function but research-only.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/california-diversity-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about California Diversity Council