Cohort Workshop Discussion and Topics
Workshop Discussion and Topics:
Opening Retreat: Breaking the Cycle in the Culture of Power
White Power, White Culture, and White Supremacy
We’re Woke, Now What? Creating Anti-Oppression Culture Change in Nonprofits
Moving from an Allied Organization to Co-Conspiring with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Groups for Racial Justice
Racial Equity in the Workforce: How to Hire, Retain, and Motivate Staff & Moving Beyond the Board Matrix to Achieve Diversity & Inclusion for the Board of Directors
Closing Retreat - What's Next?
1. Opening Retreat: At our opening retreat, we'll lay the groundwork for our sessions over the next few months, chart the path that your organization will be taking, provide a foundational understanding of oppression, and explore the "culture of power". We'll talk about power within the nonprofit sector and nonprofit organizations and the significant role that the pursuit and hoarding of “power” has played in this society. Attendees will learn about the dynamics of how power is cultivated, attained, and maintained by certain groups. The training will also illustrate how this power is honed and subsequently used to marginalize and oppress certain segments of society. Finally, participants will be invited to strategize how their power might be used to disrupt systemic oppression rather than perpetuate it.
2. Dismantling White Power, White Culture, and White Supremacy in Nonprofit Culture: “White supremacy is a system you have been born into. Whether or not you have known it, it is a system that has granted you unearned privileges, protection, and power.” – Layla Saad
How does White power, White culture, and White supremacy show up within our nonprofit culture, our organizations, and also within our personal lives? Understand how White power is maintained and achieved both historically and today. Recognize how we may have internalized White supremacy cultural values as our own values. Discuss how these values are embedded into the nonprofit sector and within organizations. Your organization will recognize which specific White supremacy cultural characteristics are present in your organization, how they serve as barriers to racial justice, and what action steps you might need to take to start dismantling these characteristics.
3. We’re Woke, Now What? Creating Anti-Oppression Culture Change in Nonprofits: In recent years, “equity and inclusion” have become one of the hottest catch phrases for nonprofits and foundations across the country. The Black Lives Matter Movement and protests around the world in support of Black lives have also brought these issues to the forefront as priorities for organizations. Organizations are looking to hold trainings, and staff are being provided resources to help them learn how to be anti-racist.
Being “woke”, however, isn’t enough. In fact, it can foster complacency and an inability to recognize the continued need for evolution. Studies indicate that most nonprofit Boards of Directors are still primarily White and do not reflect the communities that they serve. Additionally, nonprofits’ executive leadership remain primarily homogenous. Frontline staff continue to recount facing racism and limited professional mobility. This workshop will give participants tools to move from awareness (i.e. being woke) to substantive and anti-oppression culture change.
4. Moving from an Allied Organization to Co-Conspiring with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Groups for Racial Justice: Far too often, the work of dismantling systems of oppression falls onto marginalized communities. In this interactive workshop, we discuss the skills and tools that move our organizations from standing with the community to taking purposeful action towards dismantling the structures that continue to foster varied forms of oppression.
We’ll talk about moving from being an ally to becoming a co-conspirator and how we can work hand in hand with marginalized groups to build solidarity for change, action, and understanding. A co-conspirator is someone who recognizes the importance of anti-oppression work (for others and themselves). She/he/they own and leverage their privileges to take action to amplify the efforts of (not speak for) marginalized groups in disrupting inequity.
5. Racial Equity in the Workforce: How to Hire, Retain, and Motivate Staff & Moving Beyond the Board Matrix to Achieve Diversity & Inclusion for the Board of Directors: The way that we hire staff is embedded in White supremacist cultural values. What are some ways that we may not be attracting the right hires and/or setting up barriers that prevent staff with lived experiences from being considered? Learn how you can hire and retain staff using a racial equity lens. Recognize the main reasons why staff leave organizations that don’t have a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Understand what some of the steps are that you can take right away to keep employees motivated and supported.
Studies repeatedly indicate that non-profit boards do not reflect the diverse nature of the country. Boards tend to skew white, male and older. Non-profit leadership and decision-making often occur in a vacuum with little to no input from communities of color. Consequently, the lived experiences and priorities of those communities do not inform the decision-making process. This workshop will highlight why diversifying board composition is crucial and ultimately benefits non-profits’ “bottom line”. Participants will identify actionable steps to change board make-up.
6. Closing Retreat - What's Next? At our closing retreat, organizations will finalize an action plan that will move their organization towards anti-racism and anti-oppression. We’ll also reflect on you and your team’s journey and growth throughout the duration of this cohort program.