The thoughtfulness that has gone into the organizational planning process is a good indication of our organization moving in the right direction. In the past, departments didn’t have key results to indicate progress towards accomplishing the organizational DEI objective. Now, I can honestly say that each department has drafted achievable goals for the remainder of this fiscal year. 

For instance, was there ever an objective to identify and pursue BIPOC donors? Has a goal to standardize the hiring process ever been a priority? Did you hear news about modifying the business analyst residency program to broaden the pool at any point until now? The organization is now moving forward to answer these questions and shift processes. 

We are operating in a historical moment when organizations can no longer sit on the fence when it comes to social justice. Our community—as well as the global community and the humanitarian industry—is rightfully committed to holding organizations accountable for their choices. This year, Charity Navigator will include a measure of each organization’s commitments to DEI as part of the rating process. 

To help things move forward, some initiatives I intend to implement are: Offering a DEI portal for useful resources; continuing to contribute to the development of an organizational learning agenda and glossary; partnering with I.T. to develop a recurring DEI-related survey; publishing a variety of content; releasing a DEI statement and bringing forward a DEI framework.

The DEI Framework’s purpose is to aid individuals, departments, and the organization in viewing the work we perform while inserting DEI. The framework will act as a lens for our work on a recurring basis—for example, using the most recent updates to the OKR process, 

I shared three themes that came primarily from the feedback taken from the baseline survey and best practices. Looking at the three themes (for example, Representation, Civility, and Learning) each department was able to answer accompanying questions that informed the development of DEI-specific KRs. Lastly, I envision adding one or two more domains to complete the framework before sharing the tool across the organization.

What you can count on seeing from the DEI department at AHAH in the next year will continue to gradually take shape. Constantly affirming the organization’s direction is difficult, but critical. In the past, I have advocated for what’s right, professionalized offices, coached colleagues, empowered individuals, offered perspectives in committees that completely changed conversations, etc. to reflect U.S. society and a multicultural world. 

What we do together here will be no different. The journey will be arduous, but one we will take together. Say “goodbye” to who you were a few minutes ago. Now, as individual community members working towards something larger than ourselves, it’s time for each of us to grow together and get even better.