Equity at BSF

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) are at the core of what we do and how we work.

In 2019, BSF planned and documented our next five-year Strategic Plan. In order to meet our mission and vision, Boston Schools Fund has embarked on a five-year strategic goal to be anti-racist, highly operational, and sustainable. We understand that focusing resources on defining and executing on what it means for Boston Schools Fund to be diverse, equitable, inclusive, just, and anti-racist is intrinsic to our work and impact. 

Continuous learning and growth are built into our organizational culture.

What this ongoing work looks like at BSF:

  • Continuing to build our entire staff’s capacity to have discussions about diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and anti-racism, prioritizing team discussion time and resources to create shared language and set goals.

  • Organizing and delivering team-led, internal monthly DEIJAR learning sessions (e.g. the history of schools and demographic change in Boston, inclusion best practices, DEIJ problems of practice in our work).

  • Trainings with Dr. Liza Talusan, an author and practitioner-scholar for equity and inclusion, including her Engaging in Diversity, Inclusion, and Action and Building an Anti-Racist Practice series

  • Researching, refining, and implementing more inclusive, equitable hiring and onboarding processes

  • Investing time with our Board and organizational leadership to set clear goals, expectations, and criteria for success in all organizational functions

  • Auditing our grants portfolio and grantmaking processes for bias

  • Annually reviewing organizational processes/systems/policies for bias

  • Defining our DEI maturity and developing supporting systems and tools to measure our progress

  • Establishing a DEIJ committee (members include an intentional cross-section of veteran and new staff representing diverse areas of the organization), to distribute DEIJ leadership and work across our organization

  • Continuing to refine how we work as a team to become a more inclusive organization (e.g. improving feedback culture, clarifying roles and expectations, distributed leadership models)