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Hello Maria,

Happy New Year! Oh wait, I’m already behind by almost several months and feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the amount of work that I face daily. I have a new role focusing on IDEA(s) and special projects and in the back of my mind, I wonder if I’m already failing. When talking to my colleagues, here at the Alliance and elsewhere, I hear the same sentiments.

Your initial thought may be, “what does this have to do with IDEA(s)?” That feeling of overwhelm is a big issue, but it’s even more important when we ask if we are safe to express that feeling to the rest of the staff and leadership. Can I be authentically me and share that I’m struggling? I’m lucky that I work at an organization that prioritizes staff well-being; I personally feel comfortable enough to bring my whole self to the table, but I always want to be aware that other staff may not feel that way. There may be other actions that I, and the rest of the senior leadership team, can take to help everyone feel psychologically safe at work. By increasing those levels of safety, we can make sure that our organization is better because all staff are able to express when and where they see inequities and issues within an organization.

What are you doing to ensure that your staff feel psychologically safe?

In service,

Vice President, Organizational Equity + Special Projects

Creating Psychological Safety

The Fearless Organization talks about what psychological safety is, why it matters, companies that have benefitted from high levels of psychological safety, companies that have been hindered by low levels of psychological safety, and what organizations do to increase safety in their workplace.

Learn More

What We Are Learning

For our staff book club, we’ve been reading Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About The People We Don’t Know. Although we have had some hot debates about whether or not this is an IDEA text, I personally, have felt like it has helped me question what I see and hear around me as well as my own individual thoughts and feelings. I enjoy that the stories are centered around news items that we have all heard about and for which we already, most likely, have some preconceived notions.

Upcoming Trainings

Ongoing

Equity & Inclusion Virtual Office Hours

A new FREE monthly service allowing members of the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers Forum to pop into an hour-long office hour to ask their inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility questions confidentially.

April

Idaho Nonprofit DEI Webinar Series

Our partners at The Idaho Nonprofit Webinar series have designed this series to give you the tools to understand and implement DEI practices within your organization virtually. This series is approachable and affordable, starting at $20.

April through August

Demystifying Trust-Based Philanthropy

Our friends at The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project are hosting a FREE six-part webinar series addressing common questions, clarifying misconceptions, and exploring ways to overcome obstacles in implementing trust-based philanthropy. 

May

EDI Readiness Workshop Series

Participate in this workshop to understand and embrace your own personal readiness in embarking on an EDI initiative, identify areas within your organization for improvement, and gain a better understanding for how you can personally and confidently lead your organization through its EDI work

August

2023 UNITE Annual Nonprofit + Grantmaker Conference

We have opened registration for this year’s annual conference! We will have several IDEA-related topics including Intercultural Creativity® for NonProfit, Creating Your Organization’s IDEA Action Plan, and Creative Reflective Leadership: Improve Self-Awareness & Authenticity. Early bird pricing ends May 31 and scholarships are available to qualifying organizations.

We are currently planning our 2023 calendar. If you have an IDEA topic that you would like to learn more about, let us know here.

Read

DEI at the board level is challenging. To move forward and really have influence, boards must engage deeply and take a more active role in advancing DEI, which requires that they focus on themselves — not easily done. Learn more.

Watch

How does bias shows up in philanthropy? This video describes a few kinds of bias that can show up in the application judging of any grant application.

Listen

There are lots of ways that inequities can occur in our meetings without us even knowing about it. Tune in to this episode of Inclusive AF to learn about what to look for.

Do you have a resource that you think would be worthwhile to share, tell us about it! Missed a previous issue? Click here to access our archive.