Organizational Change Work

To facilitate the ability and improvement of LGBT organizations to retain and advance people of color, thepipelineproject developed a two-day curriculum in the style of strategic planning to assist managers, Executive Directors and Boards in understanding the historical and contextual reasons their organizations have had difficulty attracting and retaining people of color staff and Board members.

This curriculum forms the centerpiece of what we refer to as our "environmental change" work that seeks to makes Movement organizations more accessible, welcoming and positive environments for people of color (and by extension, all people) and giving those organizations the tools to get the most out of their staffs and Boards generally.

Our curriculum was initially tested with 16 Community Center Executive Directors from around the country in the winter and spring of 2009. Feedback received from those initial curriculum participants was almost wholly positive.

Additionally, because the curriculum is structured to culminate in a set of goals and objectives for participants, their organizations, and groups of participants collectively, effectiveness was easily assessed. In reviewing progress several months after the end of the last testing session, most participants had made significant progress towards achieving their goals and completing their objectives. We are currently negotiating with other organizations to work with them using this
curriculum and the supportive services provided post-curriculum.

With respect to those post-curriculum services, LGBT organizations have found them invaluable. Services include on-call availability for participants as they work to achieve their goals and coach participants as they trouble-shoot challenges.