Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
What we work on every day
As with many other organizations, Mount Baker Foundation initially sought to develop a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy. Then we decided we didn’t want to just have a policy that might gather dust, but rather an action-oriented commitment to DEI principles.
Here's what we've done so far:
Intentionally worked to diversify our board and advisory members. We are still working on this! If you have interest in serving as a board member or advisory member, contact us.
We partnered with local video makers to create videos about BIPOC owned businesses in Whatcom County.
Created a diversity stipend for board members of all non-profits in Whatcom County. We did this through Whatcom Family & Community Network. This program includes a stipend for attending board meetings as well as for childcare and transportation reimbursement.
Our policies and by-laws have been revised to eliminate gender-specific pronouns.
Our recruitment practices and job descriptions / profiles have been revised to remove educational credentials and for the board, the requirement for prior board experience.
MBF has endowed four $100,000 scholarships, one each at Western Washington University, Bellingham Technical College, Whatcom Community College and NW Indian College to provide yearly scholarships for students from underserved minorities.
MBF has also pledged $1 million over 10 years for a $100k fellowship for graduate level students from underserved minorities in the Kidney Research Institute at the University of Washington.
MBF has created a board diversity questionnaire for prospective board or advisory members and we are asking all existing board members to complete the same.
Our new Go! Grants are specifically geared towards community engagement and particularly those focused on diversity, equity. and inclusion. Our Go Grants have included supporting the Chardi Kala Project, Bellingham Unity Committee, Ferndale Multicultural Project, and the Bellingham Back to School Block Party.
We have funded a Digital Equity collaboration that provides for broader access to internet connectivity, laptops, and equipment.
We are funding scholarships for individuals who graduate from Evergreen Goodwill programs for higher education. These individuals generally are low income individuals and do not speak English as their primary language.
Our Kidney Health Awareness materials are all available in Spanish, we have begun adding Ukrainian translations and are looking at additional languages. Even if these are not the language of the majority in our community, we wish to show respect for different cultures, acknowledge and welcome them.
