Foundations of Racial Equity 2022 | Session 4: Advancing Equity through Organizational Culture and Operations

About the Series

Anti-Black racism and white supremacy are embedded in philanthropy and in our institutions, often invisible to the majority of us, even as we work with intention towards equity and justice. As change agents within philanthropy, we are stretching to become our best selves, rise to the moment, and progress toward racial equity. Foundations of Racial Equity is a space for guidance and fellowship on the path to racial justice. Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to consider whether this entire series or individual sessions within it, will support you in making progress on your anti-racism journey.

In order to undo systems of oppression, we need to understand the foundations of systemic anti-Black racism and white supremacy in our country. We cannot shift systems or our organizations without understanding how we got here, nor without looking at ourselves, at our relationships, and at our organizations themselves. The guiding purpose of Philanthropy California’s Foundations of Racial Equity (FRE) Series is to provide training for philanthropic practitioners to understand how anti-Black racism and white supremacy influence the field of philanthropy and to provide opportunities for action in your organizations based on what you learn here.

You can register for the full series at a discounted price or the individual sessions of your choice. We recommend attending Session 1 along with any other individual sessions you choose as it lays the groundwork for all session content. 

About Session 4

In this fourth session of the Foundations of Racial Equity series, we will deepen our understanding and awareness of how our identities  impact our work. We will practice discussing experiences of identity, which is out of pattern for most workplaces. In the two modules of this session, participants will engage in conversation and activities to link their identity to their experience of culture and operations within their organizations.

We will cover topics like organizational culture, human resources, vendors, operating capital, investments, and partnerships. As we often think of program folks as those who lead in equity work, we’ll zoom in on the organizational approach to equity, reminding ourselves that everyone in an organization has a role in advancing equity.

Our time together will close with a reflection on possible implications for future work and development given your specific organizational goals.

Join us to:

• Deepen identity self-reflection, and explore the nature of identity and its construction.
• Link patterns of thinking and behavior to cultural and operational practices at work.
• Explore how dominant and non-dominant identities influence organizational culture and operations.
• Practice sharing our own stories of identity and how they inform our experiences, approaches, and decisions with our colleagues as well as those we seek to serve.

Cost to Participate

• Members: $150 per session or $675 for the full series
• Nonmembers: $200 per session or $950 for the full series

Session Info

Module A: Wednesday, November 9 | 1:30 pm – 4:00 PT

Module B: Wednesday, November 16 | 1:30 pm – 4:00 PT

Target Audience

All are welcome here, advocates and aspirants alike; Foundations of Racial Equity is a space for guidance and fellowship on the path to racial justice. Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to consider whether this entire series or individual sessions within it, will support you in making progress on your anti-racism journey.

We acknowledge and recognize that Philanthropy California members exist on a spectrum. Some are already well along in their racial equity journey, and others are just beginning. In this training series, we’ll provide participants with opportunities to explore the foundations of racial equity, and the ways systemic anti-Black racism most commonly plays out in philanthropy. You should join this series if:

• You are beginning your learning journey with your awareness of the impacts of systemic anti-Black racism and white supremacy in institutional philanthropy.
• You want to bolster your anti-racism efforts with content that gives you a foundational and holistic understanding of how racism shows up in philanthropy, and how to make progress towards racial equity in your institution.
• Your foundation does not squarely see racial equity as your target work but understands its importance.
• You want to act on racial equity and don’t know where to start.

Please note that all functional areas within organizations are welcome, including trustees.

If you require any accommodations to fully participate in this program, please contact [email protected].

Trainers

Trina Olson, Co-Founder + CEO, Team Dynamics

Trina Olson is a two-time executive director with a track record of building and retaining teams across race, gender, and sexual orientation to achieve shared goals. Trina has built an impressive portfolio of national and regional policy and advocacy experience, centering a multitude of progressive issues, including healthcare, hunger, a living wage, immigration reform, transgender-inclusive non-discrimination, and more. Trina has made her home in eighteen U.S. cities, including Seattle, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. A queer, white, cis-gender woman, Trina is motivated by the ways job creators could be addressing the intersection of identity and workplace more creatively and consistently to address the pervasive inequities still at play across race and gender, in particular.

Alfonso Wenker, Co-Founder + President, Team Dynamics

Alfonso Wenker is a seasoned executive leader and facilitator of transformational organizational culture and strategy campaigns. Serving in major leadership roles within the field of philanthropy, Alfonso has been responsible for driving sector and systems-wide change to diversify both perspective and personnel in order to better steward resources responsible for underwriting major movements. A Latinx, gay, cis-gender man, Alfonso was born and raised on the west side of Saint Paul, MN, to a Mexican mother and white father. Consequently, Alfonso has often been the ‘first’ or ‘only’ person on a team who is a Person of Color, gay person, or both throughout his career. He has experienced, first hand, how the attempted diversification in the U.S. workplace has both made strides and done accidental harm.BeforeTeam Dynamics, Alfonso was Vice President for the Minnesota Council on Foundations, where he grew the organization’s racial equity strategy. Alfonso is a highly sought-after speaker and executive coach. Alfonso’s leadership has been recognized as a 40 Under 40 Awardee, Facing Race Anti-Racism Award and as a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

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