PBN Diversity Equity & Inclusion 2024
SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY LESS THAN 150 EMPLOYEES: United Way of Rhode Island Inc.
MAKING SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS to address diversity, equity and inclusion across the state has become second nature for United Way of Rhode Island Inc.
When the Providence-based nonprofit launched its $100 million Live United 2025 strategic plan in early 2021, United Way sought to create opportunities for Rhode Islanders of all ages and create transformative change, including improving racial equality across the Ocean State. Since dedicating its efforts to this work close to four years ago, United Way has distributed more than $90 million in grants to programs that address racial inequity.
Senior Director of People and Culture Kevin Matta says addressing racial inequity will take both internal efforts at the organization and collaborating with local partners, such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, leaders and government agencies.
“We want to partner [with others] around equity in the work that we do,” Matta said.
However, United Way’s influence involves more than just throwing money at the problem. The organization wants to move the needle on issues of justice and prosperity. As part of the organization’s plan, which includes the “Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” – or JEDI – philosophy, United Way has developed its multiyear “Equity Challenge,” a tool to engage the public in conversations that provoke thoughts around issues such as privilege, bias, power and racism, while promoting behavior change.
As a series of emails, webinars and in-person events, the Equity Challenge serves as a public learning exercise. Matta estimates that nearly 5,000 Rhode Islanders have participated in the program over the past five years.
“At its core, our Equity Challenge provides opportunity for Rhode Islanders to learn and to unify,” Matta previously told Providence Business News. “It provides businesses, individuals and organizations with a low-barrier entry to better understanding the equity-related topics that affect us all.”
Various Equity Challenge activities have evolved as United Way staff members gathered feedback from program participants. Initially designed as a 15-day virtual series that could be worked on individually, it has become a seven-day “sprint” that people complete collaboratively.
“Particularly as we came out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw that people didn’t want to learn in a vacuum,” Matta said. “They wanted to come together to discuss these issues. We even added pop-up events so people could meet in person.”
This year’s program kicked off on Juneteenth, the federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. that is annually celebrated on June 19, involving 1,388 individual participants and 17 organizations, including the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau. Erin Hanson, PWCVB’s director of community affairs, says the bureau saw the initiative as an opportunity for the organization to grow.
PWCVB staff members asked questions and learned from each other, which was meaningful in building understanding and connections within the team, Hanson says. Plus, staffers also had training that addressed ways to ensure that they are welcoming to all of their guests, especially with the PWCVB being Rhode Island’s welcoming group for out-of-towners.
“Kevin [Matta and United Way] made us think about how we react to people and situations and really recognize some of our own biases,” Hanson said.
Matta sees the in-person training as a way to amplify what participants learn online. Technology provides great tools to get the information out, he says, but the one-to-one conversations are even more impactful when it comes to engaging them in difficult topics such as race and privilege.
“For me, it’s about taking people on a journey,” Matta said. “I share my own personal story, which humanizes the work that we’re doing. You can’t ignore the fact that there’s a real person right in front of you.”
Change doesn’t happen overnight, but United Way is committed to making a difference that will impact future generations. Matta’s goal, he says, is to encourage people to become allies for all groups that need help lifting their voices. But he does it without shaming or finger-wagging.
“Not everyone is there yet, so we encourage them along,” he said. “But it’s not a feel-bad experience. There’s no shame or blame, but there is self-reflection and growth.”
