Moving From Transactional to Relational: How Funders Can Work in Partnership With Black, Indigenous and People of Color Communities.

BACKGROUND: The Racial Equity Coalition (REC) formed to address persistent educational disparities. The coalition was composed of 14 Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) organizations that provide culturally integrative youth services. OBJECTIVES: REC, with support from United Way of King County, engaged in participatory research to identify commonalities and shared struggles to inform collective action. Participatory research aligns with REC's commitment to equitable participatory processes. This article focuses on REC's experiences with funders. The objective was to understand what creates positive and challenging experiences with funders, and to identify recommendations for funders to become more culturally responsive. METHODS: A research committee was formed including representatives of nine REC organizations and United Way of King County staff. The committee conducted interviews with each of the 14 REC organizations and conducted thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Through participatory analysis, the committee drafted narratives that were further refined through a series of research retreats attended by all REC organizations. RESULTS: Recommendations were to incentivize collaboration, listen to communities to create culturally responsive definitions of success and measurement strategies, arrive at mutually agreed upon approaches with organizations, honor the connections BIPOC organizations have with their communities, and provide unrestricted funding to allow BIPOC organizations greater agency. CONCLUSIONS: A major challenge for BIPOC organizations is navigating White dominant culture that too often shows up in funding requirements. Having to fit dominant culture standards stifles BIPOC organizations' abilities to meet community needs and the responsiveness of their approaches. REC identified recommendations for funders to be more culturally responsive and community centered.

The RAISE Coalition: Lessons Learned From a Multisector Coalition Used to Implement High-impact Population-Wide Strategies in Cleveland, Ohio.

BACKGROUND: Recent public health initiatives include policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies with the aim of improving community health. These high-impact, population-wide strategies provide opportunities for multisector coalitions to engage and inform the implementation process to ultimately reach underrepresented communities, like Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to discuss (1) the objectives of "Reaching Asian Americans through Innovative and Supportive Engagement," (RAISE) a multisector coalition (2) describe the process in which the coalition was engaged in, and (3) share lessons learned that can inform future partnerships with various sectors that reach AAPI communities that are highly diverse and in geographically dispersed areas. METHODS: Asian Services In Action, a community-based organization in Cleveland, Ohio recruited 10 member organizations to participate in a multisector coalition to identify, plan and implement a PSE strategy reaching AAPIs. LESSONS LEARNED: Key lessons learned include: the need to navigate competing priorities for member organizations; the value in creating a space where racial/ethnic diversity and cultural adaption are discussed; and the importance of creating a shared learning community for coalition members. CONCLUSIONS: As the public health landscape shifts toward effectively improving community health through PSE strategies, it is vital that multisector coalitions are included to potentially have the greatest impact in health overall and to increase community engagement and buy-in.