Hello there,

Thank you for joining the June Communities Ending Poverty Anti-Racism call. We thank the Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership and Sharissa Unger Hantke for continuing to support and facilitate the Community of Practice (CoP). This Community of Practice is not recorded to foster safe space dialogue.

Discussion Highlights

• Participants introduced themselves, shared their pronouns, and expressed their feelings as they entered the space. They emphasized the importance of coming together, learning from each other, and working collectively to challenge racism and promote community growth. 
• Rochelle shared the Days of Significance document, a resource for observing different holidays and shared that it provided an opportunity for conversations about shifting power. 
• Participants shared their experiences and successes in implementing anti-racism actions in their workplaces, such as receiving a grant for anti-poverty reduction work and joining a coalition for inclusive municipalities. They also discussed challenges and sought advice on creating equitable funding programs, stigma reduction workshop and exploring participatory budgeting.
• The group discussed the challenge of getting organizations to integrate anti-racism work and not just treat it as a checkbox. They shared ideas such as having an executive endorsement, implementing GBA Plus analysis, involving leaders in the change process, and seeking external consultants for guidance.

• The next Anti-Racism CoP call will be July 27th at 11:00 a.m. ET. The Tamarack EDIJR Audit also needs a focus group to gather member voices and experiences within Tamarack. Rochelle will be hosting a focus group call on July 27th at 1:00 p.m. ET. Please get in touch with maureen@tamarackcommunity.ca or rochelle@tamarackcommunity.ca if you can participate in the focus group. Members can skip the form included in the link above. Honourariums are being considered for this work.

Resources

• WEBINAR | Critical Race Theory and its Implication for Indigenous Cultural Safety
• GUIDE | Days of Significance Guideline
• FUNDER | Catherine Donnelly Foundation
• REPORT | Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) 2017
• FRAMEWORK | The Art of Inclusion
• SUMMARY | Communities Ending Poverty: Summit for Strength - A new funder perspective: shifting models to empower change

Upcoming Opportunities

• TRAINING (private) | Influencing Systems Shifts and Policy Change | July 11 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET | Learn about the role of policy in broader systems change efforts. | Email orpah@tamarackcommunity.ca to be added to the calendar invitation. 
• WEBINAR (public) | Businesses Reducing Poverty | July 19 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET | Examine solutions to increase the financial inclusion of the working poor.  
• WEBINAR (private) | Boosting Financial Literacy: from poverty to possibility | July 27 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET | Discover how two financial empowerment initiatives are helping individuals living in poverty make sizeable gains. 
• WEBINAR (private) | Rent Banks – Strategic innovation in a time of crisis | August 23 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Learn how local rent banks and provincial networks play a critical role in helping to stabilize housing and prevent homelessness.

Sincerely,

Orpah Cundangan (she/her) 

Learning Lead, Communities Ending Poverty

Vibrant Communities, Tamarack Institute

orpah@tamarackcommunity.ca