A Five Year Strategy Towards Equity

See What I Mean, in partnership with SWIM Collaborator Sharina Sallis, spent 2021 working with the Iowa Council of Foundations (ICOF) and 27 Iowa grantmakers in a cohort designed to advance racial equity in Iowa.  Along the way we learned a lot about network leadership! This blog will give a glimpse to the way network hubs can help guide network members to the adoption of important practices like racial equity.

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We’ve heard again and again that advancing racial equity in an organization is a journey.  We agree.  But, what’s that really mean in practice? At the Iowa Council of Foundations, it meant a great deal of intentionality and a five year time frame.

Beginning in 2017 with the launch of the ICoF Foundation Openness Cohort, members have been on a journey together. Over five years, they participated in offerings that provide a foundation to advance racial equity, including openness, transparency, racial justice, trust-building, and power-sharing.  

At the same time, ICoF strengthened its internal capacity by investing in its own racial equity learning and change. Below is a snapshot of their 5-year journey, which you can review in more detail in the full report.

We’ve been grateful to partner and learn with the ICoF as they design a journey for their members. When you look back five years, what journey have you been designing for your members? In the next five years, what’s a meaningful journey for your members, and more importantly the causes they serve? 

We love to help leaders assess the readiness of their network and create long term strategies for change.