Our Approach

vision

We believe in the power of community voices and collective action to achieve audacious goals, including systems change and policy reform. We envision a Chicago where every community thrives in a city that is responsive and accountable to their needs, particularly communities of color.

We are working to transform Chicagoans' relationship to power by activating and connecting our network of racial justice advocates inside and outside civic systems. Together, we aim to change how these systems work, draw a collective blueprint of the future we deserve, and build the foundations of a new world.

Strategic Plan

Transforming Chicagoans' Relationship to power

We codified our vision for the future through five strategic directions and implementation plans, set to begin in 2024 and span the next five years. This collaborative effort involved more than 50 members of our community, board, staff, Fellows, and partners. Together, we engaged in a co-designing process facilitated by Seva Gandhi from Collaborative Connections to identify and define these strategic directions.

Read our full strategic plan here.

We’re working to transform Chicagoans’ relationship to power
By activating a constellation of racial justice advocates inside and outside civic systems, changing how they work and who they work for, we’re drawing a collective blueprint of the future we deserve and building the foundations of a new world.

Expanding Our Capacity and Nurturing Our Well-being

Staff & Board Development, including recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new executive director.
Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding additional staff to support communications, policy,
and organizing.

Telling Our Story to Grow Our Impact

Building a Foundation for Expanded Narrative Work
Collecting stories of impact for the CUE Storybank
Sharing CUE Network Projects to seed wide impact through our annual report and Equity Playbook.

Catalyzing and Aligning the CUE Network

Connecting Fellows via an online database and website updates
Developing a shared analysis through various community convenings and cafe-style discussions.

Redesigning and Supporting Civic Institutions for Public Accountability

Co-designing a vision of structural change for government, philanthropy, research, and media through civic strategy tables.
Defining co-governance through public engagement series and a co-governance committee in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice
Implementing models of co-governance with city departments.
Supporting Fellows’ projects to redesign civic institutions.

Tools

Let's find better answers.

Chicago United for Equity utilizes several racial equity tools and frameworks to support our work in creating an equitable and inclusive city. One of these is the Racial Equity Impact Assessment (REIA), which evaluates the effects of new policies, community engagement initiatives to ensure impacted voices are heard, and data transparency practices to hold leaders accountable.

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CASE STUDIES

Seattle Lighting Case Study

Minneapolis Schools Case Study

other organizations