Ongoing Equity Work

The information listed below is a living reflection of our commitment to equity—projects, practices, and policies that have helped shape who we are and where we are going. It is not a checklist, but rather our ongoing work in list form. We share this openly to mark our steps and remain accountable to the work still ahead. All areas below include ongoing project management and are shaped by input from all staff members.

• DEI Commitment Statement and Revisions
• Consultations and training focused on cultural competency, change management, and leadership development with Inclusive Performance Strategies
• Staff-led lunch and learns to encourage dialogue and the development of a dedicated library holding learning resources for staff
• With support from Barr Foundation:
  • Equity consultations with Conditioning Leaders, including leadership development, staff retreats, diversity, equity, and inclusion training and coaching, Learning Partner Process development, implementation, and performance review
  • A year-long set of trainings and learning lunches focused on intersectional diversity, equity, and inclusion development with NCCJ
  • Compensation equity consultations with Think Again Training and Consulting
• Establishment of an advisory team and a subsequent equity team made up of staff volunteers who contribute to organization-wide equity conversations with leadership and trustees to shape the direction of the Foundation’s equity work
• The Equity Team’s projects include, but are not limited to:
  • The development of the Foundation’s reaffirmed equity statement
  • Pay equity assessment and related policy work
• Integrate equity tools and resources for sustainability
• Ongoing supervisor training and development, planning, and implementation
• Organizing partner for Equity in the 413: Western Massachusetts Racial Equity Summit
• Policy integration includes:
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy  
  • Emotional Labor and Self-Care  
  • Job Posting Policy 
  • Hiring policies  
  • Hybrid Work Policy  
  • Inclement Weather Policy  
  • Work Hours  
  • “Drop Everything” Policy  
  • Sick Pay  
  • Holidays and Observations  
  • Learning Partner Process 
  • Americans with Disabilities Act Policy Statement (regulatory) 
  • Reasonable Accommodations (regulatory, but with some adjustments to hopefully offset any oppressive language in the regulations) 
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Statement (also regulatory) 
  • Anti-Harassment Policy (regulatory, but had some minor changes to hopefully offset some of the oppressive language in the regulations) 
  • Dress code
• Streamline grantmaking paths and processes for smaller, newer, non-traditional, or fiscally sponsored organizations that have not yet received substantial institutional philanthropy
• Develop a participatory grantmaking model for the Community Foundation’s Racial Equity Social Justice Fund, broadening the role of community members, grassroots leaders, and affected populations in the decision-making process and distribution of these assets
• Create opportunities for projects that endeavor to build long-term community power
• In communications and marketing, uplift narratives that center systemic understanding, celebrate community brilliance, and use inclusive visual storytelling that honor dignity, celebrate agency, and build deeper understanding of our philanthropic impact