Community Equity
Working to realize our vision of a vibrant region with opportunity for all, we’re committed to addressing inequities affecting all marginalized residents.
Committing to Equity is Our Organization’s Vision for the Community—and More
Our effort to address inequities that keep many in the community from succeeding begins with a $10 million, 10-year commitment. And 10 years is just the beginning. Why? Because our community and our nation continue to struggle with issues related to race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, poverty, and others that affect marginalized populations. Empowering community voices and focusing on solution-based investments through collaboration will help individuals succeed, families thrive, and neighborhoods prosper.
Highlights
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Opportunity for All
Recognizes every resident’s stake in advancing and enhancing positive change through greater equity.
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Long-term Effort
Commit $10 million for the first decade of ongoing work.
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Conversation, Collaboration
Ensures neighborhood and community voices will inform and support solution-based investments.
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10Years
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$10Million
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1Goal
Help Create a Vibrant Region with Opportunity for All
Building on this commitment to equity, the Community Foundation launched the Mohawk Valley Equity Pledge to get community residents and organizations to demonstrate their support for the advancement of racial equity and social justice. Together, we will encourage diversity, challenge injustice and help build opportunity for all. Taking the MV Equity Pledge is a great first step to becoming part of this important community effort.
Related Stories
The Community Foundation has spent the past 10 years — and even to this day — learning, listening, and having ongoing dialogue with neighborhood residents, stakeholders, and partners to collectively turn challenges into progress. We have been asking our residents directly what they want their neighborhood to be in the future, and we are listening.
The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties has announced nearly two dozen grants totaling more than $165,000 as part of a long-term strategy addressing the fundamental causes of systemic racism and socioeconomic inequity that impact historically marginalized populations in the two counties.
As part of its Community Equity Initiative, the Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties has awarded a new series of “Power of Our Community Neighborhood Impact Grants.” Black- and Brown-led organizations as well as other nonprofit organizations located within and/or serving Utica’s Cornhill and West Utica neighborhoods were asked to apply.
Essay: Community Foundation commits to collaboration, investment to bring about change.
The Mid-Utica Neighborhood Preservation Corporation (MUNPC) and the Community Foundation have signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) as the next step in development of MUNPC’s Leisure Time Activity Center site as a collaborative multipurpose “impact center.”
More than 100 residents took part in the Community Foundation’s Equity Initiative Advisory Group town hall forum, the culmination of the group’s work and discussion over the last several months.
The Community Equity Forum will take place on Wednesday, October 20, 6:00-8:30 p.m., at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, with a report on the group’s work to date, and breakout sessions for attendees to share their thoughts.
We’ve come to think of some of our work as a series of “initiatives,” things that we’ve introduced or started, but the growing number of major projects are much more than the word’s definition suggests.
Building on our $10 million community initiative for racial equity and social justice, the Community Foundation is urging community residents to take the Mohawk Valley Equity Pledge to build grassroots support for meaningful change.
The MV Equity Pledge logo was the hand-drawn creation of a local artist, Dave Mentus, whose flare and style came through in the design.
The “Community Equity Initiative,” as it’s called, is only beginning to take shape. But there are some things that we do know and can share with you, after a few months into this latest phase of the Community Foundation’s evolving work.
Academic excellence, professional development, civic service, and self-esteem are the four foundational elements that comprise the methodology of success for the Mohawk Valley Junior Frontiers.
The Community Foundation Board of Trustees approved a $10 million plan as an initial 10-year commitment to address racial equity and social justice issues.
The Community Foundation of Herkimer announced the first step in a long-term strategy to challenge and overcome systemic racism and a broad range of longstanding barriers to opportunity for persons of color.
ACR Health has added an essential service for Mohawk Valley lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.