Ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.
Study by McKinsey & Company
Unity360 Institute is a program of SFPoC, offering customized, experiential Antiracism, Equity & Inclusion training workshops and technical assistance for institutions, companies and organizations to guide them toward intentional representation and an inclusive transformative culture.
OUR VISION
Our vision is to plant the seeds of transformation for personal reflection, truthful storytelling, deep dialogue, and conversations on the journey toward racial healing. We curate learning engagements and provide IDEAS (inclusivity, diversity, equity, accountability, and sustainability) thought-partnership, education, and audits.
Our approach to IDEAS engagements is unique to Unity360 Institute and curated for each client we support. While there is need in many spaces for information and knowledge sharing about diversity, inclusion, and equity topics, the key to sustainable change toward true inclusivity is a deeper, more personal dive that shifts perspectives and understanding through experiential activities and storytelling, creating personal connections and trust which heighten awareness, empathy and compassion.
WHAT WE DO
ASSESSMENT
In order to tailor programming to meet each client’s needs, engagement with SFPoC’s Unity360 Institute begins with an anonymous online questionnaire which assesses participants’ knowledge of IDEAS topics and their general feelings and attitudes toward this work.
AWKWARD DINNERS/EXPERIENCES
Following the collection of the assessment results, we provide a first engagement in the form of our award-winning Awkward Dinners, named in recognition of the difficulty many encounter in engaging in courageous conversations about race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, and ability, etc. This is a small group encounter curated to create a courageous space for honest sharing and learning, based on a healing justice framework. (1) Awkward Dinners are grounded in restorative and transformative concepts based on the principles that all humans are of value and deserve to be treated as such, and that empathy sparked by personal storytelling can be transformative to individuals, who in turn can transform systems and institutions towards equity and inclusivity.
NEEDS ANALYSIS
We analyze the data from the surveys, and while sharing and exploring the data with participants within the Awkward Dinner format, will also collect qualitative data to further uncover organizational needs around diversity, equity, and inclusion. The data from the surveys and Awkward Dinners help the U360I team to pinpoint acute areas of need, as well as areas of strength. Team members share recommendations and next steps of engagement. All U360I offerings are unique to each client and crafted specifically to address their goals and needs.
(1)Healing Justice is a framework that identifies how we can holistically respond to and intervene on generational trauma and violence and to bring collective practices that can impact and transform the consequences of oppression on our bodies, hearts and minds. Cara Page and the Kindred Healing Justice Collective (Transformharm.org)
“The Awkward Dinner experience helped to open leadership's eyes to the curiosity of how inequality and racism shows up in organizations and their work. Some of the most impactful moments came from being able to broaden our perspectives and see the contrast in daily life experience within our team between people of different backgrounds and broader society as a whole. We were able to explore how our work connects to sustainability and the issues impacting the community.
Kieran Bowers, President of Swire Properties
ENGAGEMENT OPTIONS
Workshops run between two and three hours in length to ensure time for a deep dive into the topics as well as ensuring time for participants to make the personal connections necessary to create impact.
Some examples of content include:
FOUNDATIONAL WORKSHOP
Major topics of IDEAS are touched upon and explored.
EQUITY AUDITS
Policy, procedures, and practice.
LISTENING CIRCLES
In-house and community, to uncover stakeholders’ experiences and perspectives on inclusivity and equity within the organization.
BIAS
How do we form biases, what are their unintentional impacts, and how do we counteract them?
ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES
Explores the values that are important to the individuals and the company or organization as a whole. The exploration informs the creation of a values statement while moving toward a purpose and values driven organizational mindset.
HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS
Historical formation of inequities and injustices can help to shine light on current established policies, procedures, and practices that unconsciously negatively impact systematically excluded people and communities.
MICRO-AGGRESSIONS
What are they, who is impacted, in which areas are we more likely to commit them, and how do we avoid them to the best of our ability?
COACHING
Our collective of thought leaders include many coaches in the areas of IDEAS and the Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and DEI Committee development and support
UNITY360 INSTITUTE FOUNDERS
Roni Bennett, Heather Burdick, Quincie (Q) Doucet, JoHanna (J) Thompson
TO SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION Contact us: info@unity360institute.org