A Message from Adam Luecking, CEO, and the Clear Impact Team:

Equity, as defined by our friends at PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity, is, “just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.” The events in the past few weeks are a stark reminder of where we are as a country, and we have a long way to go to achieve fair and just inclusion. The Clear Impact team stands strongly united with all people and communities who are mourning, outraged and hurting.

The senseless murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others highlight the injustices long present in our country and point to the need for all of us to do more to end racism and racial inequity. People of color are wronged by those who are privileged every single day whether by explicit action, or by a complicity of silence. We cannot stand silent. This is a human rights issue, and true to one of our company core values of embracing diversity, equity and inclusion – we believe none of us is above anyone else.

For all people of color, for the communities we serve, for our governments and NGO customers across the globe, for our staff and for one another, we stand against racial injustice. Putting an end to racism will take a whole lot more than this statement. We don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we are committed to listening, learning, and using our voice to be a positive voice for change.

Additionally, we are putting our money where our mouth is and we are encouraging our network of deeply committed RBA practitioners, as well as the business community, to do the same. Silent complicity implies that corporations have moral obligations that reach beyond the negative realm of doing no harm. As a result, we are committing to donate 1% of our annual net income to supporting racial equity efforts to help dismantle white supremacy and anti-black racism. We are doing this by donating to the “Winning on Equity Fund” set up by PolicyLink and managed by the San Francisco Foundation. We are calling on our network and the business community to make a similar gesture of a financial contribution to either PolicyLink or the Winning on Equity Fund. Corporations must join with those taking to the streets to make meaningful change.

For businesses looking for ways to support racial equity outside of a financial contribution, here are two additional action steps you can take immediately:

  1. Read the Corporate Racial Equity Advantage and accompanying blog post, How Companies Can Advance Racial Equity and Achieve Business Growth both by PolicyLink.
  2. Invest in your leadership team and staff with a racial equity workshop or consultancy from Equity & Results, R.A.C.E. for Equity or Racial Equity Institute.