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Class dynamics impact organizations in numerous ways.
They can inhibit growth, prevent organizations from accomplishing
their goals, and even limit participation of the very people
an organization seeks to serve.
Class Action assists
organizations to address issues of class and money through
assessing needs, clarifying vision and mission, helping
to develop goals, and implementing action strategies.
Our consulting services can help your organization solve
persistent challenges and increase effectiveness. We have
worked with schools, non-profits, religious organizations,
social change organizations, and other groups to identify
class issues impacting their work.
Download our Talking Class on Campus flyer for more details about our work on college campuses.
We help individuals and organizations to recognize the
value of our differences and to develop skills for bridging
class barriers and create real connections.
Our programs have proven effective and designs interventions that
address the particular needs and issues of your group or
organization. Class Action has developed creative ways
of asking questions, sharing personal experience, and creating
safe space for people to engage with issues of class.
Our programs and interventions address each group's particular
needs and issues.
Bridging the Class Divide: Helping Your Group/Organization
Work Together Across Class
Dealing with class is often the last taboo for groups
and organizations. Yet the ignored issues of class differences
and classism may be impacting organizational effectiveness.
Whether it's staff/board relations, dealing with donors
and development, pay scales, class cultures, or different
communication styles, class issues are present and impacting
your work. Some goals for your organization may include:
Increase Staff Diversity
Pay arrangements, work hours, and benefits impact who
can afford to work at an organization. We assess and revise
personnel practices to help attract a more diverse workforce.
Build Inclusive Leadership
By default, people with the economic flexibility to attend
multiple meetings, and those whose education and communication
styles reflect a certain class background, are often selected
to lead organizations. We identify cultural biases and
the structural obstacles that prevent the full participation
of low-income and working-class people.
Create Welcoming Workplaces
Subtleties of organizational culture - where in an office
people are placed, who spends social time together, what
communication styles are respected - affect employees'
feelings of being valued or devalued in the workplace.
We assist organizations in assessing existing norms and
building more welcoming environments.
Improve Fundraising
Class backgrounds and fears about money can prevent staff
and volunteers from engaging in fundraising. By build understanding
of underlying issues, we open doors to participatory relationships
with donors and increased fundraising success.
Class Action helps build new alliances
that have the potential to foster and support social
change, including building a more just economic community.
~Dorothy Emerson
Unitarian Minister
Class and Communities of Faith
Spiritual teachings hold many messages about the use and
misuse of money. In practice, class dynamics impact communities
of faith in numerous ways. Class Action creates space to
explore issues of class and money and their impact on congregational
life. Through conversation, reflection, and action, we
assess existing practices and improve congregational health.
Here are some of the ways we may be able to support your
efforts:
Create Welcoming Places of Worship
Subtleties of culture
often determine who feels welcome. We create safe and
supportive contexts to explore cultural biases and structural
obstacles in order to encourage the full participation
of individuals from varied class backgrounds. This can
create a deeper sense of intimacy and community.
Increase Economic Sustainability
We
help build dues structures and fundraising campaigns
that speak honestly about financial needs and encourage
all members to make meaningful contributions.
Bridge the Gap Between Values and Lifestyle
Examining religious
teachings and exploring feelings about class and money
can help people resolve inner conflicts. Through this practical
spiritual work, people gain peace and claricoty about their
lifestyle choices, charitable giving, and personal priorities.
Class Action creates safe and supportive
environments to break the silence and isolation, and
mobilize collective wisdom. These are the building blocks
of social change.
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