The Alliance - Advancing Community Development by Confronting Racism
The Alliance is a coalition of community development organizations and practitioners dedicated to increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of leadership of the community development field by address racism. The Alliance recognizes there are many aspects of diversity, but the coalition has chosen to focus on racial and ethnic diversity because it has been the central-diversity issue within the community development field. By focusing on diversity, particularly racial and ethnic diversity, the Alliance is seeking to create and maintain positive work cultures and environments in which the differences of all employees are recognized, understood and valued. Achieving the mission of the Alliance will enable member community development organizations to:
be more reflective of the communities in which they serve;- improve staff retention; create a learning culture within their organizations and across the community development field;
- increase organizational ability to attract talented individuals from all backgrounds;
- establish a great capacity to develop leaders within organizations;
- improve communication, boost morale, and increase effectiveness and productivity among staff and board members.
The Alliance has three strategic initiatives:
- Community Development Mentoring Program
- Recruitment and Retention Initiative
- Quarterly Forums or Alliance Meetings