Equity
Racial Equity
Vision: All people in Maine have access to opportunities and life outcomes that are not determined or predictable in any way by race or ethnicity.
There are more than 100,000 people living in Maine who identify themselves as other than white. Of Native American, Asian, Arabic, African and Latino descent, they live in every county in the state. People of color are not new to Maine. They have lived here for hundreds of years and, for some groups, tens of thousands of years. People of color have been, and continue to be, active community members and dynamic contributors to Maine's economy.
Despite this, our conversations and research showed us that across Maine people of color encounter significant barriers that negatively impact their health and economic well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these barriers, as it impacted our communities of color at higher levels. In order to meet our mission of improving the quality of life for all Maine people, we needed to invest in strategies that call attention to race-based barriers and help correct the systems and practices that create them.
What MaineCF Did
Tackling racial equity is a challenging proposition. MaineCF decided to approach the issue investing in communities of color while supporting white leaders on their equity journey. Our goal was to move the equity conversation forward in real ways while ensuring funding to those doing the work on the ground.
The Investing in Leaders of Color Program supports nonprofit leaders of color, who are doing critical work to build racial equity in our communities. We discovered that these leaders are often leading under-resourced organizations and struggled to find the time and resources for professional development--or to find professional development relevant to their needs. The ILOC program provides individualized coaching to BIPOC leaders, helping them grow professionally, strengthen their organizations, and build their networks. Participating leaders report that this program helped them access training they otherwise would not have had and led to improvements in their organizations and leadership.
“I had fears of being unprepared or not well received [as a presenter]. So we dove into that, going in to things I had accomplished already, life goals, life in general…[My coach] used this to build my confidence. Being part of this has helped me organize my division better, organize my thoughts, and know how to channel confidence.” -- ILOC participant
Related to the ILOC program, the Technical Assistance Consultants Cohort, developed and supported in collaboration with the Maine Health Access Foundation, provided training to organizational development consultants from across the state. The program had two goals: to increase the participants’ understanding of, and skills to work with, marginalized communities; and to help them understand how to address racial equity in their work.
MaineCF created Economic Opportunity Grants to support programs that increase access to employment opportunities, education and professional and business development for Maine’s BIPOC communities. These grants are awarded through our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Fund. This program is continuing and you can see recent grants here.
To build support for racial equity work the Leadership Learning Exchange for Equity, based on a program developed by New Hampshire Listens, brings together influential white leaders from across Maine to engage in a peer-to-peer learning community to learn about, and reflect on, the role of race and white privilege in their work, personal lives and communities. The goal of the program is to build a community of leaders who are ready to be allies in our work to raise awareness of and increase racial equity. Leaders who participated reported that the experience was transformative to their understanding of overt and systemic racism. Many are actively working to integrate equity principles into their organizations. The program is continuing in partnership with Thomas College.
MaineCF’s internal work
MaineCF leadership and staff knew that in order to undertake racial equity work throughout the state, we needed to examine our own systems and how they intersect with race. MaineCF hired OpenSource Leadership Strategies (OSLS) consultants to provide a critical analysis grounded in equity capacity building and organizational change processes, as well as best practices in the field. OSLS conducted a racial equity assessment for MaineCF and provided racial equity training for the foundation's staff, Board of Directors and county advisors. In addition, MaineCF set up an Equity Leadership Team comprised of a cross-section of staff to organize additional learning opportunities and help develop an equity lens for MaineCF's work going. This work continues as an organizational priority and will be incorporated into our next strategic plan.
More information
MaineCF’s Commitment to Equity
MaineCF's Statement on Racial Violence and Systemic Racism
MaineCF staff has assembled a selection of books, articles, podcasts, and other resources to help individuals get started in their exploration of issues around racial equity. Check it out here.
In 2016, MaineCF hosted a statewide summit, “Power, Privilege and Difference,” featuring sociologist Allan Johnson (1946-2017). You can listen to Johnson's presentation here, and read more about his life and work here.
Contact
For more information, contact Gloria Aponte C., senior program officer, at gaponteclarke@mainecf.org or 207-761-2440.
Samaa Abdurraqib, community engagement coordinator at the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and Joseph Jackson, director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, talk about the importance of self-care and the challenges of their leadership roles.
Claude Rwaganje, founder and executive director of ProsperityME, highlights the importance of Economic Opportunity Grants
Marie McCarthy, chief operations and people officer at L. L. Bean, reflects on the LLEE program's safe learning environment and the creation of a network to support racial equity in Maine.
MaineCF Senior Program Officer Gloria Aponte C. highlights how MaineCF is working to support racial equity in Maine. "We are committed to learning, listening, and amplifying unheard voices."
MaineCF Vice President of Community Impact Lelia DeAndrade and Senior Program Officer Gloria Aponte C. present a Zoom webinar highlighting strategies the foundation has adopted and what it is learning from its racial equity work in Maine.
All videos: Sijie Yuan/Maine Community Foundation
