Equity Imperative

Our Commitment to Equity

The Maddox Fund is committed to helping create a more just and equitable community. We fulfill this commitment with our partners by recognizing and addressing the systemic injustices that have marginalized communities and continue to leave many people behind. We engage in and reimagine partnerships to advance education, marginalized youth, and wildlife conservation.

Undergirding this commitment is the conviction that all human beings are interconnected, not just with one another, but with all of nature – a belief that makes our desire to foster connection and a sense of belonging even more urgent.

"A State of Becoming"

Read about how we came to make this change
and how it will affect the 2020 grant application.

Read the Statement

Equity Research

We took time to listen to our partners.
See what we learned.

Read the Report

Defining DEIJ

Below are the definitions of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice as they apply to the context of our work.

diversity

embracing differences in race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, age, faith tradition, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability or disability in order to diminish historic barriers and disadvantages and to reduce bias

equity

providing the resources and support needed to help marginalized individuals and organizations thrive, thereby ensuring we can no longer predict advantages or disadvantages based on our differences

inclusion

elevating the values, voices, styles, experiences and identities of people who have continually been marginalized, thereby increasing shared understanding, dignity and the opportunities to belong and succeed

justice

dismantling historic systems that have marginalized our neighbors and creating new liberating systems to take their place

Frameworks

We understand that this work is not simple. Maddox developed this diagram to help us frame our work and the work of our partners. It places equity and justice in the center. We also recognize the multidimensional nature of racism and understand that work towards liberation requires us to address oppression at multiple levels. For more on how Maddox understands this, please see this video.

We have compiled a number of resources we found helpful to us on our Equity Resources page. Our learning is ongoing and we welcome any discussion. If you have any questions, thoughts, suggestions, or just want to talk, please contact us.