Equitable Community Development
In the Beloved Community, caring and compassion drive political policies that support the worldwide elimination of poverty and hunger from all forms of bigotry and violence… [I]t is a goal that can be accomplished with courage and determination and through education and training if enough people are willing to make the necessary commitment. — Martin Luther King Jr.
Our Approach
Our approach to equitable community development can help bring about communities that are healthy, just, and equitable with resilience to natural and other disasters. At the core is a sense of community. Communities care about their members; we want fairness for those we care about. We want them to have all the opportunities they need to thrive. Equitable community development promotes opportunity and resilience. Our focus is on the systemic and environmental inequities experienced by historically marginalized people due to their race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disability, and other attributes. We have firsthand experience and expertise in a variety of strategies being used internationally to promote economic, health, justice, and political equity. We believe that changing the systems and conditions that perpetuate or maintain the inequities and injustice they experience will require members of these groups and their advocates to lead, shift power, and drive the solutions.

How We Can Help
- Evaluate national and local initiatives intended to build and strengthen communities, organize communities, shift power, and advance equity and social justice.
- Conduct research studies and assessments to uncover a community’s issues, needs, and assets, and to use the findings to inform community development strategies and solutions.
- Facilitate the development and use of indicators and measures of equitable community change through literature reviews and interviews, and focus groups with people most affected by the work as well as with experts.
- Synthesize and share lessons learned from the field, including research and write case studies of local and effective equitable community development models.
- Advise and facilitate the development of equitable community development strategies.
- Design and conduct workshops to train staff of nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies about state-of-the-art community development practices and how to incorporate inclusion and equity into the practices.
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