CHARLOTTE – A dozen nonprofits across the region will join United Way of Central Carolinas’ new Racial Equity Learning Community, which is designed to provide best practices for applying an equity lens to their work.
“Every member of our society who struggles to realize their full potential should have access to the supports they need, but different people might need different things,” said Kathryn Firmin-Sellers, chief impact officer at United Way. “The Racial Equity Learning Community will help organizations understand how to step back and analyze why and how to tailor services to the needs of different communities of color.”
Presented in partnership with Leading on Opportunity, the Racial Equity Learning Community consists of three full-day training sessions at United Way’s uptown office. The first session is Feb. 12, with the second and third sessions in April and July.
“Data clearly emphasizes Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s profound segregation by race, income and zip code and how significant a barrier it is to opportunity,” said Brian Collier, executive vice president at Foundation For the Carolinas and co-author of the Leading on Opportunity Task Force Report. “Segregation stands apart as a cross-cutting factor largely at the foundation of systemic economic barriers in our community. Leading on Opportunity supports this training because it incorporates our framework for systems change and helps social service organizations to rethink the way they interact with their clients and institutionalizes these changes for more successful outcomes.”
Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont is among nonprofits participating in the Racial Equity Learning Community.
“We look forward to partnering with our nonprofit peers in this important body of work and implementing the shared learnings of our ever-changing cultural landscape to make Goodwill an even better employer and service provider for our community,” said Chris Jackson, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont.
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