Membership | Government Alliance on Race and Equity (2024)

GARE is a national network of governmental jurisdictions. Given the different types of government jurisdictions, and the needs of one’s jurisdiction or municipality, GARE has three types of membership: core; state/regional; and associate. The type appropriate for your jurisdiction is based on your government structure, who you serve, and your funding mechanisms.

GARE does not currently extend membership to individuals, school districts or school boards, nonprofits (exception: nonprofits whose constituencies are exclusively governments or government employees), sheriffs or police departments.

Members are jurisdictions that have made a commitment to advancing racial equity across the breadth (all functions) and depth (from frontline staff to appointed and elected leadership) of their jurisdiction. This commitment can be demonstrated by development and implementation of a Racial Equity Action Plan or Strategic Plan, integration of racial equity into other strategic or operational plans, use of Racial Equity Tools in routine decision making, and/or adoption of legislation which describes the jurisdiction’s commitment.

Core membership is generally for an entire government jurisdiction (i.e. a city or county) and includes access for each staff member within the jurisdiction. Other examples of jurisdictions that would apply to be core members would be independent agencies that specifically serve government entities – often formed through an act of legislation or executive order.

Examples: Washington County, OR; City of Chicago, IL; Atlanta Beltline, Inc., GA

Core Members pay annual dues on a sliding scale, based on number of employees:

• Up to 1,000 employees = $1,000
• 1,001 to 4,000 employees = $5,000
• 4,001 to 8,000 employees = $7,500
• 8,001 to 14,000 employees = $12,500
• 14,001 to 20,000 employees = $17,500
• More than 20,000 employees = $22,500

A jurisdiction may become a member at any point during the year. Annual renewal dates are based on the original date of joining and are subject to completion of the membership renewal process.

State/Regional Agency Members
State/Regional Agency members are an office, division, or department that operates on behalf of the state or serves multiple municipalities or counties.

Examples: California Department of Housing & Community Development, CA; Triangle J Council of Governments, NC

State/Regional Agency Members pay annual dues on a sliding scale, based on number of employees:

• Up to 500 employees = $2,500/year
• 501-4,000 employees = $5,000/year
• 4,001 – 10,000 employees = $8,000/year
• More than 10,000 employees = $15,000/ year

Associate Members
Associate members are a department or agency *within* a municipality or county.

Examples: City of Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, PA; Arlington County Department of Human Services, VA

Associate Members pay annual dues on a sliding scale, based on number of employees:

• Up to 4,000 employees = $2,000/year
• 4,001 – 14,000 employees = $4,000/year
• More than 14,000 employees = $6,000/ year

Join the GARE network to enjoy access to:

GARE Online Community is an online forum connecting 11,000+ public stewards who are advancing racial equity in over 400+ local, regional and state governments in our network. Use the GARE Online Community to cultivate and deepen peer-to-peer relationships, access tools and resources, stay update on in-network member events and opportunities, showcase wins and works-in-progress, ask questions, give and receive feedback and discuss timely topics.

Monthly Online Programming that exposes practitioners to the GARE approach (visualize, normalize, organize, operationalize), and showcases it in action. These programs facilitate conversation and relationship building amongst peer-practitioners so they can surface ideas on how to apply racial equity approaches in their respective jurisdictions.

Special Webinars & Programming on timely topics that are led by racial justice movement makers and experts. Recent examples include webinars on the Supreme Court Affirmative Action ruling, ARPA webinars, and more.

Convenings and Conferences are large scale in-person (and sometimes online) convenings that gather hundreds of practitioners over the course of 1-3 days to showcase best practices, recent wins, lessons learned, new tools and resources, and much more. We gather leading practitioners with at least 3+ years of experience at our Leadership Summit, and as a whole network through the Governing for Racial Justice convening, as well as regionally and statewide in collaboration with local member leadership and strategic partners. Our next full network convening, Governing for Racial Justice is slated for November 1-2, 2023, and registration will open in September 2023.

Network Groups gather by professional affinity and expertise to build relationships, share how they are applying racial equity core concepts in their home agencies and institutions, and identify and co-create new tools and resources for the field of practice. These spaces are led by racial equity practitioners, and conversation continues online via their online community group. Current active groups include a Libraries networking group, and a Housing, Land and Development networking group, a Racial Equity CEOs group (by invitation only). Network groups may be open to all or by invitation only and should be organized in consultation with GARE staff. Interested in forming a new group? Write to us at GARE@raceforward.org.

Innovation Communities & Learning Exchanges are intimate cohorts where up to 15-30 experienced racial equity practitioners working in government convene consistently to cultivate relationships and craft a racial equity tool or resource that is relevant for their work and the GARE network at large. Current cohorts include Southern Innovation Community and a Root Solutions to Public Safety cohort.

GARE Learning Center is where new-to-the network practitioners learn core concepts for racial equity at their own pace. Courses include video, audio, quizzes, readings, and recorded presentations. A personal learning journal is designed to spur individual reflection and retention of core concepts. Enrollment is complemented by an online peer learning community where you can ask questions, comment and reflect with others taking the course and build lasting connections with peers working towards racial justice through their roles as public stewards.

Online Training GARE members are given priority access and discounted rates in Race Forward trainings with experienced facilitators in the GARE approach. A list of upcoming training opportunities is available here.

Strategic Projects & Partnerships we actively cultivate relationships with aligned institutions, organizations, and networks so that racial equity practitioners working in GARE membership jurisdictions have access to the resources and relationships they need to advance racial equity in government.

• State Strategies work in partnership with State of Equity
• 2023 Transformative Justice Infrastructure Fellowship in partnership with PolicyLink and Communities First
• Federal Initiative on Race and Equity (FIRE).
• 2023 grant and technical assistance support in partnership with Public Finance Initiative, PFM, and more on Bond Markets & Racial Equity
• Our new and expanding team is actively working on new tools, frameworks, and resources for data, measurement, and evaluation with strategic partners.

Racial Equity Insight, an exclusive in-network quarterly resource showcasing recent and relevant innovations in the racial equity field that is distributed via the GARE Online Community and the GARE in-network monthly digest.

GARE In-Network Digest, an exclusive monthly email featuring in-network opportunities, tools, and resources. You will be invited to receive these directly into your inbox once your jurisdiction or agency becomes a member and you create your GARE Online Community profile.

Read more about GARE’s new practitioner-led direction here.

GARE recognizes that racial inequities currently exist across all indicators for success, including in education, criminal justice, jobs, housing, public infrastructure and health, regardless of intent, region of the country or size of jurisdiction. GARE also recognizes the reality that government played a central role in the creation and maintenance of racial inequity, and did so explicitly for centuries and has done so for 50+ years implicitly via policies and practices that perpetuate inequities, even when they are color-blind or race-neutral. Government will continue to perpetuate racial inequities unless there are intentional and strategic interventions that lead to transformation.

Visit our page to learn more.

Working within an institution to transform the institution can be fraught with challenges. We have therefore identified a set of core beliefs about how to operate in a manner that advances racial equity. Embodying these beliefs in our routine operations can strengthen our ability to work through the many challenges we face while bolstering our resiliency.We believe:

• Race matters – although tensions or anxiety can sometimes be a part of conversations about race, we know it is necessary for us to name race head-on, both in the details of our work and how we work with each other.
• Inclusion matters – people impacted by a decision should be engaged in the decision-making process.
• History matters – while the institution of racism was created well before our time, we are dealing with both the historical legacy and current reality. Racism and racial inequities have resulted in trauma, both to individuals and to communities. A trauma-informed approach to our work is necessary for our collective humanity.
• Leadership matters – Transforming our systems towards greater racial equity requires consistent and courageous leadership. We recognize the importance of formal and informal leadership. We support formal leadership working to advance racial equity, as well as the development of emerging leadership.
• Understanding matters – Our institutions, systems and structures are complex. To transform our institutions and organizational cultures, it is critical that we develop a more nuanced understanding of that complexity. This includes moving beyond only quantitative approaches and incorporating qualitative and experiential ways of knowing
• Movement matters – Racial inequities have been intentionally created and maintained over an extended period of time. They will not disappear on their own. To advance racial equity, we must be organizing within our own institutions and across institutions, always putting community at the center.
  We believe that a racial equity movement must build and expand the engagement of governmental jurisdictions (and others) across the country.
• Power matters – Because power has so often been used to perpetuate inequities, we recognize that we can sometimes have an awkward relationship with power. We believe in intentionally examining, considering, negotiating and claiming power that advances racial equity.
• Learning matters – Creating environments of learning within and between our organizations will help to replicate success, expand learning from each other’s experiences and leverage change. Our network and this movement will benefit from continuous, intentional learning and feedback.

In the spirit of continuous learning, we will refine these statements on a routine basis.