In January of 2023, The Alliance for Health Equity launched its second cohort of the Nonprofit Justice and Equity Institute, with the goal of assisting nine local nonprofit institutions in their commitment to further transform their organizational culture.

In preparation, each organization completed a readiness assessment to determine their stage in equitable practices and programs currently in place. Then, over the course of six months, the members of this second cohort attended seven learning sessions and participated in six hours of capacity building coaching to advance their understanding about systemic inequities.

Co-created and facilitated by the Tammy Dowley-Blackman Group, LLC (TDB Group), these learning sessions focused on the topics of justice and equity leadership, why race and justice matter, the intersectionality of social, health, and economic factors, and accountability to the community. The final component provided an opportunity for each nonprofit to draft a customized Justice and Equity blueprint (i.e., Accountability Plan) to help each organization address internal and external systemic inequities.

The Nonprofit Justice and Equity Institute was designed to support the local nonprofit sector in its commitment to recognize and mitigate the deeply rooted inequities experienced by its most marginalized community members and to embed social justice and racial equity throughout its decision-making and operations. This important and impactful work is focused on solving complex community issues with an equity lens that seeks to produce sustainable solutions.

As this year’s program comes to an end, we applaud the steps taken by the second cohort of the Nonprofit Justice and Equity Institute, including these nine Chester County nonprofits:

• 2 Fish & 5 Loaves
• Chester County History Center
• Chester County Futures
• Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County
• Kennett Library
• Oxford Arts Alliance
• Trellis for Tomorrow
• Valley Forge Park Alliance
• YoungMoms

We also would like to take a moment to thank our partners, the Chester County Community Foundation, The Fund for Women and Girls, Nelson Foundation, Phoenixville Community Health Foundation, and United Way of Chester County. Alongside The Alliance for Health Equity, these Chester County funders have invested in the impactful work that The Nonprofit Justice and Equity Institute is doing to alleviate inequities and community health disparities in the nonprofit sector. To learn more about The Nonprofit Justice and Equity Institute, click here. 

Learn more at The Alliance for Health Equity.