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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Join these organizations in signing The Nonprofit Partnership's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pledge:

  • Erie Arts & Culture
  • St. Patrick Church
  • Community Access Media
  • Presque Isle ProMusica
  • Erie Playhouse
  • Northwest Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center
  • Julia Hospice and Palliative Care 
  • Trinity United Methodist Church
  • The Erie Community Foundation
  • Erie County Law Foundation & Attorneys and Kids Together
  • L'Arche Erie
  • Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership
  • Young Artists Debut Orchestra
  • Brevillier Village
  • OpenedEyes
  • Erie Dance Conservatory, LLC
  • Harborcreek Youth Services
  • Community Country Day School
  • Sarah Reed Children's Center
  • Mental Health Association of NWPA
  • Achievement Center
  • National Alliance of Erie County (NAMI)
  • Perseus House
  • Erie Homes for Children and Adults (EHCA)
  • Community of Caring
  • Pennsylvania Equality Project
  • A Hand Up Erie
  • French Creek Council, Boy Scouts of America
  • Dafmark Dance Theater
  • Film Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania
  • Edinboro Legion Pool Inc.
  • Hope on Horseback Therapeutic Riding Center
  • Family Services of NW PA
  • Crime Victim Center of Erie County
  • Mercyhurst University
  • Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC)
  • All About Character Inc.
  • Erie Philharmonic
  • Erie Center for Arts & Technology
  • Safe Journey
  • United Way of Erie County
  • White Pine Center for Healing
  • Foundation for Free Enterprise Education
  • Erie Regional Library Foundation
  • The Script Project
  • Foundation for Erie's Public Schools
  • Project Love, Inc.
  • Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network
  • Autism Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania
  • Erie Downtown Partnership
  • Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
  • Erie Family Center
  • Multicultural Health Evaluation Delivery System
  • Compass Reading Center
  • Harvest912
  • Northwestern Community Youth Center
  • American Cancer Society
  • SafeNet
  • Seiche Dance Collective
  • Erie DAWN
  • Northwestern Community Education Foundation
  • WQLN PBS/NPR
  • Second Harvest Food Bank of NW PA
  • Erie Day School
  • Maggie Knox Western
  • Goodell Gardens & Homestead
  • Career & Dreams Inc.
  • Sikh Cultural Society of Erie
  • Emma's Footprints
  • Multicultural Community Resource Center
  • Erie Cancer Wellness Center
  • Americans for the Competitive Enterprise System, Inc. (ACES)
  • The Presque Isle Light Station
  • Jefferson Educational Society
  • Stairways Behavioral Health
  • Erie Art Company
  • Community Shelter Services, Inc. 
  • Erie Zoological Society
  • expERIEnce Children's Museum
  • HANDS
  • Iroquois School District Foundation
  • Lake Erie Food Rescue
  • Mercyhurst Preparatory School
  • Northwest Institute of Research, Inc.
  • Inter-Church Ministries
  • Our West Bayfront
  • Inner-City Neighborhood Art House
  • All Aboard Erie
  • Parkinson Partners of Northwestern PA
  • Erie City Moms
  • Child Development Centers, Inc.

Only members of The Nonprofit Partnership can sign the pledge. Non-members can access a modified PDF version of the pledge here

Read and sign The Nonprofit Partnership's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pledge below.

The nonprofit sector is a significant moral and economic force in our country and community. The sector, from the smallest start-up to the largest social service provider, employs millions of Americans. It is imperative that we ensure diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces that reflect the good work done by mission-serving organizations.

Not only is diversity, equity, and inclusion the right thing to pursue and foster in our sector, it has been proven that it improves our ability to be great at our work. Building organizations that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive creates more functional and productive organizations.

In order to be successful in this realm, we recognize that effective DEI initiatives go beyond just rhetoric and are founded in very practical considerations regarding how we do business. Without effective processes and practices, DEI initiatives will flounder which ultimately hinder our ability to increase our impact.

Therefore, we commit to the following practices to ensure diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces in the nonprofit sector:

Planning & Policies

  • Our organization pledges to prioritize DEI in our planning processes by identifying specific DEI goals, along with timelines for accomplishing goals and key performance indicators used to measure, monitor, and evaluate progress toward goals.
  • Our organization pledges to make a public commitment to DEI by adding a DEI component to our mission, vision, and values statements, or by publishing a separate DEI statement.
  • Our organization pledges to identify staff, volunteers, and/or Board members to focus on DEI work within the organization and empower them to communicate recommendations, challenge assumptions, and champion DEI health.
  • Our organization pledges to commit financial resources to DEI work.
  • Our organization pledges to ensure that all of our policies, procedures, and practices are consistent with our DEI statements and strategy.

Board Operations & Governance

  • Our organization pledges to collect and analyze demographic information on Board members in order to monitor Board diversity relative to the community and nation.
  • Our organization pledges to create and uphold formal policies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in Board recruitment and operations.
  • Our organization pledges to have regular Board-level conversations around DEI and the organization’s successes and failures in this realm.

Programs & Services

  • Our organization pledges to ensure that diverse communities’ perspectives and needs are considered in the planning, development, implementation, delivery, and evaluation of programs and services.
  • Our organization pledges to collect and analyze demographic information on clients/constituents and to use this information to inform our activities.
  • Our organization pledges to accurately represent our diverse clients/constituents on our website, in printed collateral, and elsewhere.

Organizational Culture & Human Resources

  • Our organization pledges to offer DEI training to staff, leadership, Board members, key volunteers, and key partners, at least once per year.
  • Our organization pledges to create an environment in which is it possible to have difficult conversations about DEI topics by sharing clear expectations and rules of engagement for such conversations.
  • Our organization pledges to collect and analyze demographic information on employees in order to monitor staff diversity relative to the community and nation.
  • Our organization pledges to adhere to equitable hiring practices, including: publishing salary ranges in job listings for transparency; refraining from requesting salary histories from job applicants; and refraining from including degree requirements for open positions unless a given degree is materially important to the day-to-day responsibilities of the role.
  • Our organization pledges to routinely assess compensation, comparing employee salaries to industry, community, and organizational benchmarks.
  • Our organization pledges to ensure that all employees are given equitable access to professional development opportunities.
  • Our organization pledges to ensure that a formal annual review takes place for each and every staff and leadership position; that a standardized rubric is used to evaluate performance, determining promotions and merit-based raises; and that this process results in a written report that is stored in the employee’s personnel file, along with a customized professional development plan based on the employee’s goals and aptitudes.

The Nonprofit Partnership’s Pledge

The Nonprofit Partnership recognizes that in order to effectively instill these practices in our member organizations, that we must be a partner in this effort. Therefore, the Partnership pledges to:

  • Ensure, through education, training, and sharing of best practices, that all member organizations and their staff have access to information that builds the foundational knowledge of DEI in order to strengthen member DEI initiatives. Where NPP cannot provide those resources, NPP will direct organizations to consultants and other external parties who can assist them in this realm.
  • Provide governance training to Board members in areas of DEI and help to create pathways to Board membership for diverse populations.
  • Provide research and information related to competitive and equitable pay for salaried positions.  Relatedly, NPP will only post positions on the NPP Job Board that 1) include a salary range and 2) do not require a salary history from job applicants.
  • Assist nonprofits in understanding and interpreting demographic data of the community and provide resources to help organizations reflect the communities they serve.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pledge Signature
Authority to Bind Organization
By clicking "Agree" below, I confirm that I am an authorized representative of my organization with the authority to make binding decisions on behalf of my organization.

The Nonprofit Partnership's offices at The Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Transformational Philanthropy are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM.

Phone 814.240.2490
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