The events of 2020 exacerbated the inequities among our communities of color.
We acknowledge that incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into our practices is an ongoing learning process, and we continue to seek opportunities to learn with and from our partners, stakeholders, supporters, and community members to better understand the inequities within our communities of color.
UWLC believes in collaborative approaches to solving complex social issues in our community, including racial equity.
In June 2021, UWLC awarded Racial Equity Collaboration Grants to four collaboratives working to advance racial equity. Funding was awarded to BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) organizations or programs with projects benefitting communities of color. Each project incorporates capacity-building elements and strategic, shared learning across the collaborative.
Awards were given to the following collaborative projects:
- ISAAC + CSU Access Center’s ‘Cultivamos Larimer County’ program: Leadership development programming for emerging BIPOC youth leaders to support their dreams of creating local, immigrant/minority-led programs or organizations.
- Cultural Enrichment Center + From the Heart + Black African American Cultural Center at CSU: WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) programming facilitated by From the Heart for Black African American middle and high school youth which includes hope, personal responsibility, self-advocacy, and other social emotional learning skills over the course of 6 weeks.
- La Cocina + BIPOC Alliance + Foothills Unitarian Church: Consultation to build a Core Network of collaborative BIPOC organizations and support regenerative healing of leaders and their work.
- Alianza NORCO: Advocacy work to support the immigrant community with their continued need for low-cost/pro-bono immigration legal services.
UWLC received a variety of innovative and impactful applications from local collaborations serving our communities of color. The Racial Equity Collaboration Grant process was guided by a diverse and impacted group of community advisors to select the final recipients.
This grant process is only a start.
United Way of Larimer County will continue to examine our own systems, resource distribution, hiring practices, and more with the lens of equity. We continue to invest in our long-standing commitment to civic engagement and the pursuit of democracy. And, we will remain a leader in addressing the basic needs of community members who have been disproportionately impacted by the events of 2020 and many years before it.
Your generosity supports important programs like these and gives all members of our community the opportunity to thrive.
