Racial Equity Initiative — Pride Foundation

Portland Latino Gay Pride will be participating in the Pride Foundation Racial Equity Initiative. We are excited to be a part of this historict project and we will keep you informed of our progress. If anyone is interested in learning more or has questions, please let us know.

THE RACIAL EQUITY INITIATIVE!

The Racial Equity Initiative (REI) is a leadership and organizational development project for autonomous LGBTQ2 people of color individuals and organizations in the Pacific Northwest. This project is designed to strengthen organizational capacity and infrastructures while supporting a regional network of LGBTQ2 people of color leaders.

The REI has 3 core components: (1) Developing a Cohort (2) Training & Coaching and (3) Funding.

Cohort: Each organization will be asked to send up to 3 people within the organization to a series of 1.5 day quarterly convenings in 2008. These can be key volunteers, staff or board members. In addition to organizational participation, the cohort is also open to select leaders from geographic areas that do not currently have queer people of color organizations.

Quarterly convening goals:
• Strengthen a regional network of LGBTQ2 POC leaders
• Provide a space for organizational leaders to have peer support and learning around issues related to the work they are doing.
• Begin strategic conversations with LGBTQ2 people of color organizing in the Pacific Northwest towards building a broad base of support and political power for the work they are doing.

The cohort will also participate in quarterly conference calls during 2009-2010. These calls will offer the group a chance to check-in about what they are currently doing and to continue strategy building and peer networking. Organizations participating in the cohort must commit to all 4 convenings in 2008 and the conference calls in 2009-10. Pride Foundation will reimburse gas expense and cover travel and hotel costs as needed.

Training/Coaching: With the goal of truly strengthening the internal capacity of participating organizations we will work with each group to prioritize strengths and weaknesses in the areas of leadership, adaptivity, management and technical capacity. Each group will receive financial assistance for training and coaching in the areas that need support.

Funding: Grants will be awarded for the 2009 and 2010 calendar year. A representative from each organization participating in the cohort will have the option to be involved in creating the funding distribution process. Combining the groups’ collective experiences and ideas, this committee will create a grant process that is fair and meaningful.

The Racial Equity Initiative is part of a national organizing effort by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues. More information can be found at www.lgbtfunders.org

Pride Foundation is a community foundation serving Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Our mission is to connect, inspire and strengthen the LGBT community in the Pacific Northwest and we accomplish this by awarding grants, scholarships and cultivating leaders.

If you have any questions or just want to talk about the REI, give Dean Jackson a ring at (206) 354-6682 or email at dean@pridefoundation.org.