By Carrie Maher, DEIB Committee Member & DEIB Learning Subcommittee Chair
Happy 2023! On behalf of the DEIB Committee, I can say that we're grateful for everyone who has lent expertise and time to enhancing our diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts as an organization. 2022 was a year of reflection, learning, and building. In 2023, we look forward to enacting what we learned last year.
Diversity of thought is necessary to enhance the representation and engagement of our staff and members, as well as to create equity in our grantmaking process. We envision a future when every member of our Board, staff, and giving circle are taking advantage of education that leans into this thought. Our 2022 DEIB Analysis (to be updated annually) is one step in assessing actions that we can take as an organization to get there. In addition, your input and engagement can only strengthen our efforts, and we would love for you to help us make an impact by joining the DEIB Committee and Subcommittees (Education and Membership). Currently DEIB Committee meetings are held via Zoom on the second Tuesday of every month from 6:30-7:30pm. Please reach out to Nicole Genovese if interested!
We recently compiled the first edition of our DEIB Resources document, a compilation of events and learning that show our DEIB journey so far. Special thanks to Angelica Keeney for her work as a new Impact Austin member and DEIB Committee member and for bringing this resource guide to fruition! Member education is critical in aiding our grant assessments, and so is getting to know our community's nonprofits, so that we better understand the issues they face. Please take a look at the DEIB Resource Guide as it pertains to this. The links are easily accessible from the Guide and each event is worth a listen, in case you've missed any. The Guide also lays out Impact Austin's recently announced DEIB common understanding and definitions, as well as relevant content and milestones to date. DEIB Resources will be updated annually, included in each New Member Packet, and available to the general public on our website.
We'll be kicking off 2023 with a bit more knowledge! An Equity Webinar Series event, is being developed for April 28; details coming soon. It will be a relevant and interesting session that you won't want to miss. (Our series began in 2021, with sessions in April, July, and October that year. Find links to them within DEIB Resources or here.)
Thanks again for all of your engagement in these efforts. We look forward to a productive year ahead!
