Worcester Common Ground (WCG) is a community development corporation in the Worcester Piedmont Community that promotes and develops permanent and sustainable improvement in the community through affordable housing, resident activism, and economic development. WCG sought to meet the needs of their diverse constituencies while developing robust DEI goals, training, and programs. To achieve these goals, they partnered with IDT.

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Building Strong Foundations

WCG and IDT had agreed to a long-term commitment to assess WCG’s cultural and diversity practices. Prioritized efforts focused on: expanding comfort levels to regularly discuss race, racism, and other diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) topics amongst staff and board members; navigate staff and board roles/power dynamics/relationships relative to internal and external actions; determine WCG’s place/role/future in addressing larger systemic racial equity challenges; acknowledging and dismantling systemic racism in the non-profit sector and affordable housing field; and increasing staff and board capacities to hold each other accountable to WCGs mission and constituents.

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Divergent Views

After sharing preliminary findings to the Board of Directors, IDT suggested that the organization spend time answering the questions; Who are we? Who do we serve? And how do we do it? IDT indicated that when thinking of using a diversity and inclusion lens, it is important to resolve the answers to these questions first. Otherwise, devising a DEI strategic plan to assess culture, services, and constituents becomes increasingly complex and challenging to implement if there are no coherent definitions and understanding. Without answering these questions, IDT argued, it would be too challenging to assess its inclusive practices and cultures.

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Results

WCG spent the next year addressing critical areas identified by IDT. With scheduled coaching and strategy sessions throughout the year, WCG worked tirelessly to address those gaps, and after one year, committed to a multi-year strategy to slowly embed DEI principles into organizational operations.