Conceptualizing a Pyramid Model on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for Non-Profits and Community Organizations

Project Overview

Organizations must create inclusion strategies to achieve a sense of belonging among the clients and communities they serve. Understanding how Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) guides our work at Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services (MCHS) is essential. This model provides an EDI framework specifically designed for non-profit organizations serving newcomers and marginalized communities. Access Alliance is committed to using this framework to inform not only our internal practices but also our future partnerships and community involvement. Using this model, we hope to build a sense of belonging amongst our community members.

At the same time, we believe that the clarity of this model can offer a deeper understanding and subsequently, a deeper commitment to EDI by all non-profits. Despite non-profits’ social awareness, research indicates that newcomers and racialized groups are not equitably reflected in the sector.

In this project, we created a structured framework to conceptualize EDI components with the goal of creating a sense of belonging for everyone we work with and serve. We developed a comprehensive Pyramid Model for understanding and implementing EDI in community-based organizations. The pyramid model frames equity as “our lens of understanding”, diversity as “who we are”, inclusion as “the intentional actions we are taking” and finally, a sense of belonging as “our goal”.