Overview

For the past several years, an Ahead of the Curve DEI subcommittee has worked together to address diversity, equity and inclusion within our own organizations and across our work together.  We’ve worked to establish a baseline understanding of what we mean by diversity, equity and inclusion and how this should impact our internal practices and our work with other organizations.  Here are a few of our lessons learned.

  • This is a marathon and not a sprint.  It may sound trite, but it’s true.  This work requires ample amounts of time getting to know others, getting used to discomfort with our own biases and establishing values and goals to hold ourselves accountable to.   
  • This is Heart and Mind Work: Talking about structural racism and white supremacist culture requires A LOT of dialogue and trust.  However, it also involves a very clear examination of how race came to be. As we continue on our path together, it feels right to balance the emotional and intellectual sides of the work.
  • This Isn’t “Go It Alone” Work: We think a lot about what we wish we had known then that we know now before undertaking this work within our organizations and across organizations.  There are so many resources such as online and in person discussions, literature, videos, consultants and trainers. We’re working on mapping out resources and tools to help leaders and organizations to address diversity, equity and inclusion in their own work.

Articles, Links and Resources

We’re currently working on ways to best organize resources to look at how diversity, equity and inclusion resources can bring an equity lens from our planning exercises to the board room.  Below is a sampling of resources that spans articles, checklists and tools and assessments for helping you and your organization to address diversity, equity and inclusion.

  • Leadership: If you’re like us, you believe there is a deep connection between leadership and creating more just and equitable organizations.  Here’s a collection of resources around leadership that contributes to racial justice.  
  • Change Management: Choice points are opportunities for leaders and managers to reflect, generate options, and act on decisions that can impact racial equity and inclusion. They’re like forks in the road, where one path is the status quo or the default option. Here’s a useful article for examining your current practices. 
  • Fundraising: There’s no question that race and class play a role in fundraising.  Here’s a resource for how to talk about the connection.   
  • Evaluation: How does our organization or our program address equity and inclusion?  Here are a number of resources for evaluating programs from racialequitytools.org.  Evaluating your current situation
  • Finance: Are you sure there’s no bias in a financial analysis?  Let’s not assume. Here’s a resource for analyzing finances with an equity lens.  

Below is a sampling of organizations and resources that are central to the current dialogue around diversity, equity and inclusion.