Helping people communicate and connect across cultural differences for the purpose of creating a more just and equitable society has been a core component of my life’s mission.
Before starting Philanthropy without Borders, I worked full time for an NGO where I designed and launched the organization’s first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program. This initial experience led me to serving in an advising role on numerous other such programs for international NGOs in the coming years. And shortly after becoming a certified trainer in Intercultural Communication, I designed and facilitated trainings for universities, hospitals, and nonprofits that helped participants become more aware of their own identities and cultural influences, as well as communicate more effectively with others across differences.
While I have been doing social justice work in various forms since 2009, creating the entity of Philanthropy without Borders presented new opportunities, and new responsibilities. As I drafted my own equity statement I strived for specificity and concreteness, and knew that this would not be a static list, but one that would continuously change over time.
Making this public statement does not mean I’ve never made a mistake or been misguided. On the contrary, mistakes are critical to my own learning. You should hold me and my business to the highest standard.
Myself, and my affiliates will:
- Strive to live by the “Platinum Rule” – treating others the way they want to be treated, not the way we want to be treated (Bennett, 1979)
- Refrain from assumptions about other’s identities and accept the identities they tell me as true and valid
- Refer to others by their chosen names, pronouns, and other identifiers
- Listen with grace and understanding to any comments that are brought to me about myself or my business
- Hold myself and my business accountable for mistakes and seek to remedy them to the fullest extent possible
- Speak up when I see or hear something inequitable or discriminatory, especially when I have the agency to influence that person
- Continuously reflect on, and evaluate, the privilege I experience, and use that privilege as agency to advance social change
My business will:
- Hold my clients accountable to their principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access
- Provide clients with donor engagement services that increase self-awareness, build empathy, and inspire positive action
- Provide clients with training and resources that elevate their intercultural awareness
- Refrain from participating in any activity that is, or could potentially, exploit, demoralize, or demean a group or individual
- Provide clients with feedback and guidance when we are made aware of discriminatory or exploitative practices and behaviors
- Partner with organizations that demonstrate a similar commitment to equity
- Continuously seek out guidance, advice, and collaboration from thought leaders and business owners who embody different lived experiences than myself
- Pay these consultants and collaborators for the time and value they add to this business
- Prioritize vendors from BIPOC-owned businesses
- Promote underrepresented voices and experiences through my digital content
- Properly cite sources for content and information when the source is known
- Donate a portion of our profits to non-profit organizations that advance equity in my community and around the world
If you feel that something critical is missing from this list, send me an email and let me know!
Specific Initiatives from 2018-Present:
- 2020: Served as the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Oregon & SW Washington Chapter
- 2020: Facilitated white ally caucus for a prominent travel association
- 2020: Facilitated 11 (and counting) group dialogues, workshops, and trainings around race, identity, equity, and social justice for clients and professional associations
- 2020: Published 6 (and counting) articles on race, identity, equity, intercultural communication, and social justice
- 2019: Designed and launched the IDEA Fellowship for Association of Fundraising Professionals – Oregon & SW Washington Chapter, which provided four scholarships to fundraisers of color
- 2019: Served as the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Oregon & SW Washington Chapter
- 2019: Facilitated 12 group dialogues, workshops, and trainings around race, identity, equity, and social justice for clients and professional associations
- 2019: Published 10 articles on race, identity, equity, intercultural communication, and social justice
- 2018: Facilitated 8 group dialogues, workshops, and trainings around race, identity, equity, and social justice for clients and professional associations
- 2018: Published 2 articles on race, identity, equity, intercultural communication, and social justice
- 2017: Published this statement on my website