Hello community:
Has your organization conducted racial equity trainings in the past? What worked well and what were areas for improvement? Is there a firm or consultant that you would or would not recommend to work with other CDFIs?
Our organization conducted a full-day all-staff equity training in June 2018 at our annual organization offsite meeting. We typically only have one full day of meetings during our offsite, so it was meaningful that our executive team believed this activity to merit using all of our time together. (Capital Impact Partners has approximately 80 staff across three main offices.) The training was developed after a "culture survey" was conducted among staff so that consultants could best craft content. I would say that the day was a good start and just the beginning. As someone mentioned at the OFN session fall: thinking about and considering racial equity in our work is like going to the gym. You can't just go once; it requires regular training and maintenance.
The one major takeaway from our consultant I would share is that I recommend looking for a firm with experience in community development, economic development, opportunity finance, and/or impact investing. It is very helpful for staff to be able to juxtapose this thinking with our day-to-day work. Those with experience working with organizations similar to CDFIs could help staff apply exercises not just to their personal lives but also to their professional work activities.
Happy to hear more and share more.
All best,
Olivia------------------------------
Olivia Rebanal
Director of Inclusive Food Systems
Capital Impact Partners
Oakland CA
(510) 496-2235
orebanal@capitalimpact.org------------------------------