Equity Work
United Way of Franklin County (UWFC) is committed to improving quality of lives for ALL in our communities. This means recognizing that many individuals’ and families’ path towards the basic building blocks of American prosperity is barricaded by inequity and injustice. As a community – as a nation – it is time for us to acknowledge that, historically, systems which were built under the ideals to serve and protect our inalienable rights have often failed at protecting everyone. These inequities impact all of us, preventing too many people from achieving their full potential. We know that change must start in our community.
Holding true to our organization’s vision and values, we ask for you to mobilize with us in pursuit of an equitable, respectful, and opportunity-filled community for all. We invite you to reach out to get involved in our work and share your voice. It is time for Franklin County to prioritize and expand dialogue on matters that have hindered quality of life for many of our neighbors.
Statement of Diversity & Inclusion
We take the broadest possible view of diversity. We recognize your humanity and dignity, first and foremost. We value the visible and invisible qualities that make you who you are.
We welcome that every person brings a unique perspective and experience to advance our mission and progress our fight for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community.
We believe that each United Way community member, donor, volunteer, advocate, and employee must have equal access to solving community problems.
We strive to include diversity, equity, and inclusion practices at the center of our daily work. We commit to using these practices for our business and our communities.
Join us in embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion for every person in every community. LIVE UNITED
Commitment to Equity
Equity is the foundation of our work, from our engagement with donors to our investment of community resources to our interactions with the public. We define equity as the presence of justice and fairness within the procedures, processes, and distribution of resources by institutions and systems. We commit to equity as a core value and practice to advance our mission of connecting people, resources, and organizations to create a thriving community for everyone. Our intent is to affirm and foster the human dignity in every person we encounter. Our mission compels us to prioritize historically marginalized and systematically excluded people. It is necessary to focus on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, as well as other intersectional identities, to end the historical, social, and systemic inequities that persist in our country.
We acknowledge that we can only be successful if we recognize, raise up, and support leaders from underrepresented neighborhoods. UWFC is committed to engaging these leaders as partners, donors, and volunteers. Further, we commit to intentionally creating pathways for them to be included in decision-making and leadership roles within our own and other organizations.
We can only eliminate inequity when all individuals reach their fullest human potential. We maintain that building and sustaining equity in our county requires an ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion that is fully expressed in our organizational culture, values, norms, and behaviors and those of our partners.
Approach to Cultivate DEI
UWFC is committed to fostering an organizational culture that is diverse, inclusive, and equitable. We strive to include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices at the center of our daily work. We commit to using these practices for our business and our communities.
UWFC has outlined strategies to help us strive for this culture.
Letter: United Against Racism
At UWFC, our vision is a community where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through health, education, and financial stability. Though we strive to accomplish this daily, we acknowledge that many individuals’ and families’ path towards these basic building blocks of American prosperity is barricaded by racial inequity and injustice...