Fair Chance Welcomes New Pathways Partners

Today I am proud to release Fair Chance’s Racial Equity Framework and Plan. This document is the outcome of over two years of deep reflection, critical conversations, and collaborative work resulting in a guide for Fair Chance’s work moving forward. I want to thank Fair Chance’s Racial Equity Taskforce, our board, our alumni, and greater community for their input and support. We could not have arrived at this place without your voice.

Fair Chance’s vision is “every child succeeds”. In the Washington area, this cannot be achieved without identifying and dismantling the systemic racial barriers that keep children and families in poverty. The racial equity outcome that will drive our future work is as follows:

A racially equitable DC is where every child succeeds. This condition is possible only when all children, youth, and families- regardless of zip code or Ward- have access to and benefit from:

  • High-quality and equitable services such as (but not limited to) pre-natal care, school-readiness, out-of-school time programs, nutritious food, health care, affordable housing, employment credentialing, and job opportunities;
  • Power in decision-making through leadership of and inclusion in the process when the above services are created, changed, or discussed; and
  • Policies that promote equity in accessing or receiving services.
To ensure the above, our work is done in collaboration with, and through, the nonprofit partners we serve.

Fair Chance is in a unique position at the nexus between nonprofits serving communities in poverty, and the funders that donate to and contract with our partners. We have committed to using our unique position to advance our racial equity outcome through the following roles:

Each role has corresponding strategies that the staff and board have committed to enact over the next three years. I invite you to read the report in full, and learn about the process we used to develop the framework and the actions we will be holding ourselves accountable to moving forward. Most importantly, I welcome your comments and feedback, as we do this work in relationship and partnership with others. As a community, together we can help build a racially equitable DC where every child succeeds.

In Service,

Gretchen Van der Veer, PhD
Executive Director

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