OUR EQUITY FRAMEWORK
As part of our organizational transformation, here’s how the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger will be structured and organized going forward, with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging centered within all of our work:
With equity as one of our core values, here’s what you can expect as a member of the Blueprint network:
Equity statement: We read an abbreviated version of our equity statement at the beginning of each meeting. It serves as a reflection of the Blueprint’s own commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, guided by our organization’s internal values and principles.
Language justice & accessibility: We are committed to accessibility for all. We host every Blueprint meeting in both English and Spanish and also offer automated closed captioning. (Please contact us if you have any other accessibility needs to fully participate. This can include but is not limited to interpretation and translations in other languages.)
Compensation: We offer compensation to anyone who voluntarily participates and is not representing an organization as a paid employee.
Meeting norms & expectations: We have established norms and expectations for all meetings to support our pledge to equitable practices.
OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY
Equity is achieved when everyone has a fair and just opportunity to live the healthiest life possible, no matter who we are, where we live, or how much money we make. This requires understanding and removing obstacles that impact hunger, such as poverty and discrimination.
We recognize that poverty and hunger disproportionately impact families and individuals from historically oppressed and marginalized communities – the result of a long history of policies that have created and maintained barriers to opportunity for people of color and non-native English speakers.
At the Blueprint, we strive to center equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging within all of our work. We demonstrate our commitment by:
The Blueprint will demonstrate inclusion by:
Welcoming and inviting all opinions and perspectives;
Ensuring everyone is treated with respect and fairness;
Seeking community and stakeholder voices that have historically been left out; and
Leveraging the unique perspectives, abilities, and qualities that individuals choose to share.
Here are some of our practices to elevate community voice, build community power, and engage directly with those who have historically been left out:
Ongoing Work as an Organization
We are committed to ongoing learning and self-reflection as an organization that’s regenerative and actively working to reverse historical inequities, particularly as it relates to food justice and sovereignty.
In April 2024, our team kicked off an internal assessment to begin evaluating our internal processes and outcomes, including how we show up for our network of partners, through an equity lens as part of our forthcoming organizational transformation. Throughout this process, we’ll be intentional and transparent about this work and openly communicate this process with our network – what we can and will do better.
Our first step in this process, identified by our team, prioritized co-crafting a broader equity statement with our land acknowledgment built into it. This new equity statement, available and in use as of May 2024, serves as a reflection of the Blueprint’s own commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, guided by our organization’s internal values and principles. We now read an abbreviated version of this statement at the beginning of each meeting.
Being Participant-Centered
Anyone is welcome to join and participate in the Blueprint!
Language justice ensures there’s space for participants to speak in the language that they feel most comfortable using. We offer simultaneous interpretation in Spanish and English, along with closed captioning, at all Blueprint-hosted meetings. We also provide all public communication in both languages.
We are committed to accessibility for all. Please contact us if you have any other accessibility needs to fully participate; this can include but is not limited to interpretation and translations in other languages.
We value and welcome participation by those with living or lived experience. As part of our commitment to equity, the Blueprint offers compensation to anyone who voluntarily participates and is not representing an organization as a paid employee.
Meeting Norms & Expectations
With equity as a core value and central part of our framework, we’ll demonstrate our unwavering commitment throughout every meeting and expect all attendees to do the same.
The Blueprint uses established norms and expectations for all meetings to support our pledge to equitable practices.
Standing in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
We stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and nations, recognizing the original stewards of our lands and the challenges that they continue to face today due to genocide and displacement by colonialism and U.S. public policy.
Our land acknowledgment, written by a local leader within the American Indian Movement, is one way we do this. It’s included within our equity statement, which is read at the beginning of every meeting. We also share it in other ways to honor Indigenous communities and encourage others to learn and take action.
We also support Indigenous efforts through grants for traditional food access, elder storytelling, and accomplice and self-determination trainings.
Accessible Funding Opportunities
We actively develop accessible funding opportunities to support community-based organizations – often those who are traditionally overlooked for funding – to increase healthy food access in their local areas and neighborhoods. They’re intentionally designed to minimize barriers, with only limited requirements to encourage instead of deterring or disqualifying interested applicants.
Additionally, the Blueprint creates shared opportunities for community members to lead decision-making around grant program development and distribution of funds.
Equity Resources & Opportunities
We encourage other organizations to start or continue their own equity journey. The Blueprint offers resources like a yearlong equity challenge, along with an equity continuum and self-assessment tool.
The Equity Continuum is a practical, self-assessment tool that aims to provide partners — those working in the field of anti-hunger and poverty — with a way to assess your organization's progression in shifting policies, practices, programs, and measures to advance equitable outcomes. It can be a helpful framework and educational tool for conversations with staff, strategic planning with boards, project and policy development, and advancement of community leadership.