Organizing and Engagement Core Skills Toolkit

Mel King Institute, Rising Sun Consulting
This toolkit was designed to support the professional growth of community organizers and community engagement staff. The toolkit was developed by and for organizers! Front line organizers helped identify the 6 competency areas and piloted the tools, offering feedback on content and format.

Race Counts

Build Healthy Places Network
RACE COUNTS measures the overall performance, amount of racial disparity, and impact by population size of every county in California.

Local Tenant Organization Success Stories Webinar, August 2021

Judy O’Kulsky, Public Housing Resident
For residents of public housing What makes for a successful Local Tenant Organization? In this webinar we talk about how to connect with residents in your development to build a powerful network that can make changes to benefit everyone. Residents are often held back by “The Big 4” -- fear, hopelessness, confusion and division. But through building trusted relationships we can overcome these barriers and improve the quality of life. What follows is an interview with Judy O'Kulsky who is on the board of the newly elected local tenant organization in Belchertown, MA and also serves on the board of the Belchertown Housing Authority.

Local Tenant Organization Success Stories Webinar, August 2021

Carol Roberts, Public Housing Resident
For residents of public housing What makes for a successful Local Tenant Organization? In this webinar we talk about how to connect with residents in your development to build a powerful network that can make changes to benefit everyone. Residents are often held back by “The Big 4” -- fear, hopelessness, confusion, and division. But through building trusted relationships we can overcome these barriers and improve the quality of life. What follows is an interview with Carol Roberts, a long time board member of the local tenants organization in Caffrey Towers in Brockton, MA and also serves as a board member of the Brockton Housing Authority.

Creativity and Community Action

David M. Greenberg, LISC
In a new essay and workbook from David M. Greenberg, LISC's vice president for Knowledge Management and Strategy, practitioners are posed with two parallel questions: how can community development and activism enhance artistic and cultural work? And how can cultural practice community development and activism? Using paintings, poetry, and the work of artist-activists in Logan Square, Chicago, as “cases,” the resource helps enhance the reach, ambition, and impact of collaborations between artists and community organizations.

Climate Resilient Land Use Strategies

Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Land use regulations can be a powerful tool to provide climate resilience. From floodplain and wetlands restrictions, to tree protection and water conservation, to design standards and zoning, communities are using their regulatory authority to address the growing impacts of rainstorms, sea level rise, heat, and drought.

YW Boston’s 2021 Small Biz Map

YW Boston
Support businesses run by women and people of color in Greater Boston

Existing Buildings and Climate Change Resources

Boston Society for Architecture
We cannot meet our future goals without utilizing our greatest built and cultural assets: existing buildings. Below are some resources to support the industry as we forge ahead.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Organizational Assessment Tools: A Resource Guide

Brandeis Heller School
This resource guide is designed to assist organizations and coalitions in a change process to identify, defne, and achieve goals related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice. It is appropriate for a wide range of organizations from across the health and healthcare, human and social service, education (K-12), and non-proft sectors.

20 subtle ways white supremacy manifests in nonprofit and philanthropy

Vu
Listicle with 20 examples of white supremacy in nonprofit work

Racial Equity Tools Site Map

Racial Equity Tools
• For a bird’s-eye view of the 98 ‘bookcases’ (category pages) in our refreshed library, skim the RET Site Map.

Racial Equity Tools Glossary

Racial Equity Tools
Words and their multiple uses reflect the tremendous diversity that characterizes our society. Indeed, universally agreed upon language on issues relating to racism is nonexistent. We discovered that even the most frequently used words in any discussion on race can easily cause confusion, which leads to controversy and hostility. It is essential to achieve some degree of shared understanding, particularly when using the most common terms. In this way, the quality of dialogue and discourse on race can be enhanced.

Racial Equity Trauma Toolkit

Boston College
In this era of having witnessed multiple police killings of African American boys and men and girls and women either directly or vicariously through media accounts, communities of Color may experience post trauma symptoms. The ISPRC Alumni Board has released a toolkit for managing symptoms at #racialtraumaisreal which is available to download.

Asian American History Video Series

Immigrant History Initiative
View our videos below on Chinese Exclusion, the Justice for Vincent Chin Movement,the history of Filipinx healthcare workers, Wong Kim Ark & birthright citizenship, the Civil Rights Movement and the need for cross-racial solidarity, and APA Heritage Month!

A Different Asian American Timeline


This tool invites us to see both the specificity of group-differentiated oppressions and their relationships to one another within racial capitalism. The importance of studying Asian American history in this way lies in the urgent need to work toward democracy amid rising forms of authoritarianism and nationalism.

APISAA Therapist Directory


State-specific Asian, Pacific Islander, and South Asian American Therapist Directory

More than Numbers: A Guide Toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Data Collection

Schusterman Family Foundation
This guide includes recommendations for equity-focused demographic questions on program applications, surveys, evaluations, event invitations and the like, as well as best practices and examples of how to ensure that historically marginalized communities are appropriately represented.

State Support for Local School Construction: Leveraging Equity and Diversity

Lauren Mittman, Nikhil De, and Philip Tegeler
Historically, state support for suburban school construction facilitated white flight and metropolitan segregation. The least we can do today is think more carefully about the impacts of future school construction funding. PRRAC has prepared a policy brief on this question, based on a state-by-state survey of current practices.

Best Practices for RAD "Choice-Mobility" Implementation

Poverty & Race Research Action Council
The Rental Assistance Demonstration has become the most significant public housing redevelopment program in the U.S., bringing new funds to support aging properties around the country. One essential element of the program is that, after conversion, all tenants have a right to request a portable Housing Choice Voucher, and move to a community of their choice (thus opening up their apartment to another eligible family on the waiting list). Few housing authorities have worked out plans for implementation of this Choice-Mobility feature of the program, so we have developed a guidance document for PHAs and advocates, based on extensive policy research and interviews.

Beyond the Board Statement: How Can Boards Join the Movement for Racial Justice? (Part Two)

Jeanne Bell & Nonprofit Quarterly
In this second part of a two-part series, nationally renowned board and equity consultants Vernetta Walker and Robin Stacia answer participants’ questions about how to transform a board so it embraces a racial equity agenda, In this session, you’ll find many practical examples of ways to approach the work, discussions of the barriers to change, and tools to help organize and ground racial justice in your organizational mission. Stacia and Walker bring an interactive approach that is deeply insightful, grounded in both research and practice, and unrelentingly focused on creating a different and more racially just future.

BoardSource Racial Equity Tools Glossary

BoardSource
Racial Equity Tools has created a glossary of terms to create a shared understanding of words to enhance the way we talk about race. Language is an essential tool in racial equity work, and the terms we use have evolved as this work has developed. Having a common language allows us to better engage, discuss, and reflect on these important issues together. Terms in the glossary include: Implicit bias, Institutional racism, Microaggression, Restorative justice

Anti-Racism Resources

Your Yoga Alliance
Racism and hatred are the opposites of all that yoga teaches us. The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery were all horrific acts of violence. Yoga Alliance has chosen to raise our voice in solidarity with the goal of social justice for all. This page has been created as a resource to provide information for those who seek to be informed about the struggle of African Americans, increase their awareness and empathy and contribute to the cause of social justice. Please bookmark this page—it will be updated frequently. If you wish to suggest resources, to be considered for this page, please email us at info@yogaalliance.org.

Fifty Years Of “The People v. HUD”

Poverty & Race research Action Council (PRRAC)
HUD has benefited enormously from strong civil rights advocacy, and many of HUD’s most important regulatory guidelines have emerged from this advocacy. We offer this selected timeline as a tribute to this ongoing history and, we hope, an inspiration to a new generation of civil rights and tenant activists.

The Boston Foundation Racial Equity Capacity Builders Directory

The Boston Foundation
As part of its continued work to support nonprofits as it centers and advances racial equity within its organizations, the Boston Foundation worked with partners to develop a directory of racial equity capacity builders currently serving Greater Boston nonprofit organizations. The directory lists 80 individuals and organizations providing racial equity capacity building services. Please use this as a resource for organizational racial equity goals.

The Ultimate Guide to DEI Investing in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Your Organization

Berrett-Koehler Publishers
In this comprehensive guide, we’ve compiled actionable and accessible resources on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from the top leaders who have been doing the work to shape the future of a more inclusive economy. Read on for the most important trends and research-backed tools on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Arts & Planning Toolkit

MAPC
The Arts and Planning Toolkit has been given a reboot to become better aligned with the needs of municipal planners who are doing arts and culture-related work. Each page now follows a consistent outline of tools, resources, and examples to show how ideas may be put into action.

COVID-19 - Racial Equity & Social Justice Resources

Racial Equity Tools
COVID-19 Racial Equity & Social Justice list includes information that we hope will help communities and activists as they work to understand and respond to the moment and for the long haul.

Opportunity360 Community Dashboard

Enterprise
Opportunity360 Community Dashboards provide the information necessary to determine where action is most needed and where established programs and policies have been most successful in any neighborhood in the country. These dashboards now allow data comparison for up to three census tracts, anywhere in the US. In the free Opportunity360 Community Dashboards, you will find over 150 indicators from 27 sources.

Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture

Tema Okun, dRworks
This is a list of characteristics of white supremacy culture that show up in our organizations. The characteristics listed below are damaging because they are used as norms and standards without being proactively named or chosen by the group. They are damaging because they promote white supremacy thinking.

Honor Native Land: A Guide and Call to Acknowledgement

Sponsored by: U.S. Department of Arts and Culture
Created in partnership with Native allies and organizations, the Guide offers context about the practice of acknowledgment, gives step-by-step instructions for how to begin wherever you are, and provides tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.

Housing Matters

Urban Institute
Housing Matters is an online resource for the most rigorous research and practical information on how a quality, stable, affordable home in a vibrant community contributes to individual and community success.

Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

Race Forward
A podcast that features movement voices, stories, and strategies for racial justice. Co-hosts Chevon Drew and Hiba Elyass will provide you with their fresh takes on race and pop culture, as well as, uplift narratives of hope, struggle, and joy, as we continue to build the momentum needed to advance racial justice.

Radical Imagination

Angela Glover Blackwell; Powered by PolicyLink
To imagine radically, means to think big, demand better, and redefine the terms of the struggle; the Radical Imagination podcast delivers all that. The debut season confronts the challenging issues facing our nation, including immigration, the need for big new economic ideas, the impact of climate change, revolutionary approaches to community safety and justice, and more.

Six Maps That Reveal America’s Expanding Racial Diversity

William H. Frey, Brookings Institute
A pre-2020 census look at the wide dispersal of the nation’s Hispanic, Asian and black populations.

The 1619 Project

The New York Times
The 1619 Project is a major initiative from The New York Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.

Internalized Racism Inventory

Cultural Bridges to Justice
Fundamental questions to ask when taking an internalized racism inventory.

The Move

Ceasar McDowell, Founder; Ayushi Roy, Podcast co-host; Misael Galdamez, Website Author; Julia Curbera, Website Author
The Move is a movement to rebuild our public’s muscle for democracy. This movement aims to bring together people of all backgrounds who are seeking to facilitate real civic engagement in today’s democracies. The Move rebuilds our public muscle in three ways: We will partner in the design and implementation of at least one civic engagement project each year. We will provide a collaborative learning and knowledge exchange platform on TheMove.MIT.edu and it’s adjacent social media channels for cities, institutions, and community organizations. We will advance learning, experimentation, and innovation in civic design using eight design principles.

Massachusetts Defense For Eviction (MADE): Self-Guided Eviction Help

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS)
This completely free guided interview is for Massachusetts tenants who are being evicted. It is estimated to take between 25 and 90 minutes for a typical tenant to use on their own. It will help you make sure that you respond to your landlord's eviction case correctly.

Boston Neighborhood Change Interactive Map

Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
A new interactive mapping tool showing the dramatic demographic, social, and economic changes that have occurred in Greater Boston since 1990. The tool includes data from the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates for 2010 and 2016.

Prosperity Now Scorecard

Prosperity Now Scorecard
A comprehensive resource for data on household financial health, racial economic inequality and policy recommendations to help put everyone in our country on a path to prosperity.