Equity

Diversity

Inclusion

Action Toolkit for Organizations

DEVELOPED BY

Tolulope Oyetunde, MS, MPH

Adrianna Boulin, MPH

Jeanie Holt, MS, MPH

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

staff fosters creativity, innovation and high-quality decision-making (Phillips & Neale, 2001; Buse et al. 2016;

Gauthier et al, 2019). Therefore, organizations that prioritize equity, diversity and inclusion, or E-D-I, are better

equipped to effectively serve their communities.

Assessing and taking steps toward organizational E-D-I can be an uncomfortable and challenging commitment

for any nonprot. Doing so can be even more overwhelming for smaller nonprot organizations due to

limited staff and board capacity. However, no matter the size, institutionalizing E-D-I is vital to every nonprot

organization’s structure.

This toolkit serves as an encouraging rst step for any organization ready to implement E-D-I practices. Using

this toolkit, board and staff members can assess their current practices and nd resources to ensure continued

growth in diversity and equity. Lastly, E-D-I work is an ongoing journey, which a committed organization must

practices;

• Assess E-D-I imbalance in ve key organizational areas of focus; and

• Connect board and staff members to resources and tools on how to make improvements within

those ve organizational areas.

E-D-I ACTION GOALS

1 Authenticity: Establishing the intention behind the governance board’s decision to implement an

organizational action plan toward racial equity and inclusivity.

2 Assessment: Assessing an organization’s existing norms, practices and values that either promote

or hinder racial equity and inclusivity.

3 Empowerment: Empowering the governance board to adopt, promote and operationalize equity

resources to ensure that equity and justice is a reality within their own organization.

WHY FOCUS ON RACIAL EQUITY?

Racism is a fundamental challenge to public health, and structural racism is a foundational cause of health

inequities. We acknowledge many populations and communities experience injustice and inequity — such as

LGBTQIA communities, people with disabilities, elders, etc. In this toolkit, we particularly focus on racial equity

because racism overlays other factors of discrimination; whatever discriminations a community experiences,

racism adds another burden of inequity. In addition, history has shown that where we have managed to

dismantle one piece of the structure, another gets built to perpetuate the systems of racial privilege and

oppression. Therefore, in this public health crisis, we must become actively and aggressively anti-racist. We

hope this toolkit helps your organization achieve that.

of organizational E-D-I work. We encourage you to watch the video How to Address Equity, Diversity and

Inclusion Issues in a Contemporary Workplace (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ECHLl0hkec).

Secondly, when facilitating authentic discussions about racism and equity, it is important to use proper

terminology to avoid conicts or misunderstandings. We encourage you to review the YWCA Social Justice

Glossary (https://www.ywboston.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MISS_VIT_BLD-SUPP-FOR-MISS_

TRN-AND-DEVEL_SJ-GLOSSARY_MARCH_2016.pdf) and Racial Equity Resource Guide Glossary

(http://www.racialequityresourceguide.org/about/glossary) and keep both as references throughout

your E-D-I work.

This toolkit includes ve assessments that focus on governance, mission-driven programs, partnerships,

communication and advocacy. Each assessment allows you to reect on your organizational practices and

identication of who the community is as you progress through this toolkit.

1 This toolkit can be adjusted to t your organizational needs. Each section can be worked on

independently, simultaneously or sequentially depending on your organizational capacity to

implement these practices.

2 E-D-I work requires time, dedication and intention. This work should not be a one-time commitment

for your organization but rather an ever-evolving, long-term journey.

A note about the tools and resources: Hundreds of resources can be accessed online. We have tried to winnow

these down to a manageable number to guide you. If you nd others particularly helpful, we welcome hearing

about those; please include them when you ll out the evaluation survey at http://bit.ly/e-d-i-toolkit-eval.

We wish you the best as your organization takes this first step toward racial equity!

Our board reects the diversity of the community

we serve.

We have an intentional and deliberate strategy/process

for recruiting board members from communities

of color.

The qualications for potential board members

encourage a diverse pool of candidates.

Our board and staff members participate in periodic

training about reducing racial disparities and promoting

including but not limited to statement of values,

required ratio of diverse board members and mission

statement.

Our board members intentionally and deliberately

bring the perspectives, feedback, needs and priorities

of diverse communities into strategic boardroom

discussions.

2 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work: Eight Questions for Building Readiness and Steering Clear of

Pitfalls (http://www.mayenoconsulting.com/wordpress/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-work-

eight-questions-for-building-readiness-and-steering-clear-of-pitfalls/)

6 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Nonprot Bylaws (https://nonprotlawblog.com/diversity-

equity-and-inclusion-in-nonprot-bylaws/)

Our mission, vision or goals intentionally and explicitly

address racial equity.

Our programs reect the organization’s mission and

contribute to our organizational goals of promoting

racial equity.

Our programming is accessible to all community

members. When planning programs, we consider

accessibility and possible barriers to participation (e.g.,

transportation, scheduling, childcare, etc.).

We develop ongoing bi-directional relationships with

the community to ensure their active involvement in

the work of our organization and our organization's

organizational equity goals.

2 Beyond Diversity: A Roadmap to Building an Inclusive Organization — Best Practices for Diversity

and Inclusion (pages 18 - 23) (https://www.diversegreen.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/

BeyondDiversity_Report.05.24.2017.pdf)

3 Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (http://barhii.org/framework/)

4 Advancing the Mission: Tools for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (https://www.aecf.org/resources/

advancing-the-mission-tools-for-equity-diversity-and-inclusion/)

5 Nonprot Association of Oregon Equity Statement (sample equity statement) (https://

nonprotoregon.org/sites/default/les/uploads/le/NAO-Equity-Statement.pdf)

6 Steps We Took to Create the Americans for the Arts Statement on Cultural Equity (https://www.

Funding requirements from external funders align with

our organization’s mission of racial equity.

We form partnerships with other community

organizations that align with our organization’s mission

to promote racial equity.