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    • Anti-Racism Transformation Team 

     

    ARTT is now accepting volunteer membership applications!

    Based on our current membership, we are seeking white community members committed to an anti-racist identity to join Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s Anti-Racism Transformation Team. 

    Applications are due Friday, November 20.

     

    APPLY NOW


    Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s (KZCF) vision is a community where every person can reach full potential. As we see it, a community where every person can reach full potential is one in which identities such as race and ethnicity are not predictors of an individual’s ability to live a high-quality, self-determined life.

    To transform our organization and community by dismantling racism, and to be more accountable to people who are historically underrepresented, KZCF has created an Anti-Racism Transformation Team (ARTT). This work is being done in partnership with ERACCE (Eliminating Racism and Creating/Celebrating Equity) and Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training.

    The ARTT provides essential leadership in designing the process to becoming an anti-racist institution, and ensures accountability toward this goal. The team consists of a cohort of leaders from both within the Community Foundation and from the external community charged with:

    • Researching KZCF policies, practices and behaviors
    • Identifying and revealing the ways racism is inherent within and perpetuated by the structure of our organization
    • Leading the organization to correct/eliminate racist policies, practices and behaviors
    • Fostering the internal growth and transformation of our organization by securing the training, skills, and technology needed to empower, board, staff and volunteers to dismantle racism inside our institution
    • Harnessing the opportunity for leadership inherent in our position in the community to work to dismantle racism beyond our own walls.

    ARTT Seeking New Team Members

    The Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) is entering the fourth year in the life of its Anti-Racist Transformation Team and is seeking qualified individuals to serve in this critical transformation process. This team’s long-term charge is to to eliminate and dismantle racism within the Community Foundation’s practices, policies, goals, and culture to support positive and meaningful impact in Kalamazoo County. To maximize effectiveness and accountability, the Anti-Racist Transformation Team is made up of both internal and external stakeholders.

    The team provides essential leadership in designing the process to becoming an anti-racist institution, and ensures accountability toward this goal. Members of the Anti-Racism Transformation Team possess diverse skills, perspectives, and identities and serve a minimum of a 3-year period (in addition to the training time period).

    In our commitment to follow an effective ARTT model, we recognize the need to have a balance of identities on our team. Based on our current membership, we are seeking white community member volunteers committed to an anti-racist identity to join KZCF’s Anti-Racism Transformation Team.  Our terms are on a rolling basis, so some of the new members will start their term January 1, 2021 while some will begin in January 1, 2022. 

    Please fill out the following application by Friday, November 20. 

    Qualified applicants will be invited to a virtual interview with members of the ARTT between November 30 and December 11. Team members will be selected and notified no later than December 31.

    Training is provided for new members. Members are asked to commit to the following days and times for virtual team training sessions. 

    • January 13, 14, and 15 (1-4 pm)  
    • January 27, 28, and 29 (1-4 pm)

    Additional training dates will be communicated as soon as they become available. 

    Any questions can also be directed to artt@kalfound.org or 269.585.7237.

    Essential Abilities for Team Members

    1. Team Oriented 
      The team is comprised of approximately 10 to 15 members of diverse identities, cultures, races, genders, religions ages, and life experience. The team also represents all KZCF functional areas and roles across the organization. Team members should have the ability to exercise empathy and build strong trust, collaboration, and communication among diverse identities and membership.

    2. Understanding and Application of an Anti-Racism Analysis 
      Understanding of the concept of institutional racism, ability to identify it within KZCF functions, and offer productive feedback/strategies to advance organizational development.

    3. Self-Reflection 
      Ability to address one’s own personal prejudices, biases, and participation in perpetuating racism.

    4.  Project Management 
      Possess skills to help move anti-racism planning forward: implementation steps, time management, and communication.

    5.  Listening 
      Ability to listen actively, creatively, and reflectively.  In order to work together and promote a sense of trust and camaraderie, this ability is necessary so that members can share personal experience and feel heard and supported.

    6. Resilience
      The work is demanding and often draining as we strive to disrupt behaviors of racism within ourselves and within KZCF. It can also be triggering of past experiences and traumas. It is necessary that you have spaces/tools of individual and collective resourcing or tap into those available through KZCF to be able to continually re-commit to the work.

    7. Commitment 
      Willingness to dedicate significant time to the cause through an intensive training process and for at least an initial three-year commitment after the training is completed.

    If you have an interest and possess the qualities described above, we welcome your application!

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    • Application

      Due Friday, November 20.

    • Applicant Information


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