REIMAGINING DIVERSITY COLLABORATIVE
Network leaders collaborating for change.
Lutheran Services in America leads the Reimagining Diversity Collaborative, which brings together our network CEOs and their board members to discuss ways to promote race equity and inclusion (REI) in a safe and trusted learning environment.
Realizing systemic racism has no home in the Lutheran social service community, participants challenge themselves and each other to deepen their understanding of systemic racism and work together to craft individualized solutions appropriate for their organizations and communities.
The Collaborative leverages a proven model utilized by our member We Raise Foundation in their journey to address racial inequities. We Raise Foundation funds part of the collaborative’s work, helping inspire and motivate change across our entire network.
The Reimagining Diversity Collaborative focuses on REI from a faith-based social ministry perspective that enables our member organizations to achieve their mission effectively and support their communities.
A purpose-driven board is committed to advancing equitable outcomes and interrogating and avoiding the ways in which the organization’s strategies and work may reinforce systemic inequities.
Facilitating candid conversations.
CEOs and their respective board members hear from experts in the field of REI and examine their own organizational policies and practices as they relate to racial equity. Participants engage in candid conversations with peers who share faith-based values—and with whom they don’t compete—which creates a one-of-a-kind, high-trust learning environment.
Aligning diversity with organizational mission.
The collaborative encourages CEOs and board members to reimagine diversity as an integral part of achieving their mission. Integrating race equity and inclusion practices today helps ensure the needs of all—staff, clients, community partners—are considered. Participants build their skills needed to hold internal conversations and to support the expansion of REI work within their organization. They seek greater understanding of their communities and reflect on how the lived experience of clients and staff provides opportunities to achieve greater impact.
