B.L.A.C.K EQUITY INTENSIVE
Building Love, Agency, Community, and Knowledge for Equity
A Team Intensive for Black Leaders and Organizations
Even as momentum is building in movements for Black liberation, many Black leaders are experiencing burnout, isolation, and a lack of support and validation. Many nonprofits and social change organizations publicly espouse that “Black Lives Matter,” but behind the scenes, Black Leaders are encountering the same age-old barriers in our organizations that prevent us from thriving.
This team-based cohort program is a space for Black leaders that focuses on Pro-Blackness (the brilliance, gifts, ideas, and wisdom of Black leaders) so that we can come together to plant the seeds for organizational structures and cultures that support us.
MEET THE 2021 COHORT
The application period for 2021 is closed. 24 leaders from eight different organizations are currently participating in the first cohort of our B.L.A.C.K Equity Intensive.
Participating Organizations:
American Civil Liberties Union
Aspire Public Schools
Beneficial State Foundation
East Bay Housing Organization
Grow Dat Youth Farms
Greenpeace
National Harm Reduction Coalition
Southern California Grantmakers
Transform
Meet the teams here. >
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
This six-part series is a team-based cohort program for Black leaders. Each team will be made up of three people from six different organizations. Learn more about the selection criteria for this cohort in the program application.
This is a community building and visionary space for Black folks that asks: “How can we celebrate and cultivate our wisdom, knowledge, and gifts to help build Pro-Black organizations?”
Dates
Please make sure you can attend all dates before registering!
- February 24, 2021: Building Community
- April 7, 2021: Sharing Our Experiences
- May 26, 2021: Organizations as Structures
- July 14, 2021: Education For Us, By Us
- August 25, 2021: Organizing For Equity
- October 20, 2020: Closing Session
All online gatherings are held on Zoom and will go from 9:30am to 12:30pm PST.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can one person apply or do we need to apply as a team of three?
Q. Do all three participating team members need to be Black?
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Six teams of three (a total of 18 participants) will meet online for six sessions between February and October (2021). Sessions are facilitated by Black staff members of CompassPoint. Learn more about the selection criteria for this cohort in the program application.
We know that to catalyze change in an organization, it’s important to have multiple people pushing from within. We will build community, explore equitable structures, ground in a pro-Black political stance, and make plans to build agency while stepping into our power.
CompassPoint uses principles of popular education to create learning experiences that uphold self-determination, democratize participation, and engage everyone as a teacher and a learner. We invite participation from folks ready to actively participate in learning, growth, and mutual support.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this series, teams will:
- Deepen their commitment and expand their capacity to develop and implement equitable structures and practices in their organizations.
- Begin to identify indicators of equitable change at the individual, interpersonal, and/or institutional levels.
- Develop a sustainable learning community that supports their ongoing work toward more equitable organizations, counteracting the experience of isolation and fragmentation that can often hinder meaningful change toward equity and liberation.
Resourcing Your Participation
This program is offered with the following fee structure.
Fee is per team, not per-person.
| Annual Org Budget | Fee |
| $999K or less | $1,000 |
| $1M - $4M | $2,500 |
| $4M+ | $4,000 |
For nonprofit leaders, we encourage you to reach out to leadership at your organization and see if it’s possible to access organizational funds. Many organizations have funds available for learning opportunities or professional development. If it’s helpful for leaders at your organization to contact us directly, please email program facilitator, Liz Derias-Tyehimba: lizdt@compasspoint.org.
If funding is a barrier, please reach out to simonet@compasspoint.org for information on scholarships that may be available to you.
If you are a funder—consider sponsoring the participation of team members from your grantee organizations!
MEET THE TEAM
Liz Derias-Tyehimba
Co-Facilitator | Content Designer
Kad Smith
Co-Facilitator | Content Designer
Simone Thelemaque
Participant Experience Coordinator
With gratitude to the Borealis Reach Fund for helping to fund the design of this program.