Organizational Equity Practice - Cross Organizational Cohort

LEARNING AREA: Racial Equity
Partner Events
Online

Duration:

3 hours

Location

Online

Description

The Need: 
For People of the Global Majority (PGM)/People of Color to thrive in nonprofits, we need a different way of leading and working at organizations. Nonprofits are a microcosm of our society that is steeped in white supremacy, anti-blackness and other forms of oppression. As nonprofits strive to create a more equitable workplace and society, the work must begin internally, and reorient to center equity, collective care and healing. This call for change requires a different (new) definition of leadership that is collective and inclusive, not individualistic nor hierarchal. Leadership that is rooted in equity, collective care and healing also requires us to be intentional about building competencies, practicing accountability, and moving toward liberation together. We change, heal and grow in relationship with each other. We can only transform the nonprofit sector together. 

The Method: 
Grounded in Trinity Boston Connects’ Essential Community Practices (ECPs), participants will engage in monthly facilitated sessions with experienced facilitators from the OEP Team. The sessions will involve small and large group discussions, case studies, race-based caucusing, organizational work time and more. 

Organizations will: 
1.    Deepen their organizational-wide capacity to approach work from an equity standpoint by building leadership competencies and cultivating supportive and high trust relationships for collective, equitable, liberatory approaches to work. 
2.    Build skills to establish and deepen a culture of care in which PGM and generally people with marginalized identities can thrive at work. 
3.    Build a restorative, equitable, healing-centered culture, thus dismantling white supremacy culture that currently shapes work practices and policies. 
4.    Deepen their relationships with other organizations committed to equity within the City of Boston as learning partners and collaborators, establishing a network for support and accountability and city-wide change in the sector. 

Participants will: 
1.    Build and deepen their analysis of racism, racial equity and racial formation in the United States and its impact on communities of color in Boston and on the nonprofit sector. This competency will allow participants to assess how the different levels of racial oppression is within the organization to then create practices and policies with an intersectional equity lens, centering PGM and minimizing racial harm and abuse. 
2.    Build and deepen their self-awareness around their racial identity, how it influenced ways of being including leadership style, and the impact on others (colleagues, etc). 
3.    Develop the skills needed to become equitable, and healing-centered leaders. 

How it works: 
Each organization will send a cohort of 3-5 people from across the organization (including the Executive Director) to monthly sessions. Each organizational cohort will identify a project to work on internally and will receive individualized OEP support through monthly office hours. Each member of the cohort will also participate in a cross organizational group that will meet monthly, to develop a network of accountability, support and growth outside of their own organization and to build relationships across the sector.

Commitment: 
•    Monthly facilitated session 
•    Monthly internal cohort meeting 
•    Monthly cross-organizational meeting 
•    Monthly Individual Office Hours 

2021-2022 Schedule: 
Sessions: 9 Friday mornings by Zoom from 9:30 – 12:30 pm 
Dates: October 29, November 12, December 10, January 14, February 11, March 11, April 15, May 13, June 10 

Monthly Cost: 
•    $1,080 for nonprofit organizations with a budget under $5 million 
•    $1,500 for nonprofit organizations with a budget of $5 million and above 
•    $2,160 for for-profit organizations 
 

Registration fee

$1080-$2160 depending on organization