Philanthropy411 is currently covering the Fall Conference for Community Foundations with the help of a blog team. This is a guest post by Nicole Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer, East Bay Community Foundation.
By: Nicole Taylor
This morning, I was part of interesting conversations around race and equity, not just in our society but in our field. What does it take to be able to discuss these issues internally in our organizations – at the board and staff levels? What is our role in advancing equity in our communities? What should it be?
I believe this is the toughest work we face as community leaders sitting in “trusted” community organizations. We need to rely on each other for understanding ways/efforts that are effective. We need to see each others as allies in this work. We need assurance that while this is tough work and can be rather painful when organizations engage in these hard conversations, it is possible to make progress. We must keep making progress. And, I have hope that in this time when the national discourse seems to be much more divided and polarized, we as community foundation leaders embrace the responsibility we have to bring our communities together and advance equity. I consider this as one of my key roles as the head of my own community foundation.
