Our Values

1. Tradition and History:

   • We honor our ancestors and connect through shared history while also recognizing historical trauma.

   • We preserve and nurture cultures of our communities to enrich our future. 

   • We respect the cultures and beliefs of others.

   • We remember our organizational roots.

2. Embodying Justice:

   • We actively acknowledge the systems of oppression (including, but not limited to: racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia) in which we exist. 

   • We recognize how our individual and collective powers and privileges uphold systems of oppression and promise to make continuous and concerted efforts to challenge them personally and organizationally

   • We commit to extending our resources to defend our communities by empowering them to make change.

3. Sustainability:

   • In daily, mid-range and long term goals we will create a work plan that lives on beyond us. 

   • We create systems and practices that build up our youth leaders, lay leaders and the organization. 

   • We actively work towards engaging in partnerships and financial decisions that are conscious of our impacts on people and our planet. 

   • We thoughtfully and responsibly use our funding to support our work and staff. 

   • We take time to celebrate and appreciate the work along the way. 

4. Integrity

   • We are honest with ourselves and our communities. 

   • We act in good faith and honor our commitments. 

   • We will be transparent in the goals, actions, and decisions taken on behalf of members of this organization.

   • We take ownership of our actions even in failure and conflict, and we embrace discomfort as a part of individual and collective growth.

   • When confronted with challenges to our values, we commit to collective and proactive conflict resolution. 

5. Bringing Humanity to our work 

   • We act in the best interest of the individual with respect to their role in the community. 

   • We amplify the strength of others and ourselves and make space for individuality by acknowledging each unique contribution to the whole.

   • We acknowledge and accept the limitations and boundaries of ourselves and others. 

   • We create space for everybody to take on leadership.

   • We welcome vulnerability and emotional honesty. 

   • We take the time to celebrate each other without an agenda.

   • We strive to create an inclusive, supportive, healthy, compassionate and joyous workplace and bring the same respect and energy to all our interactions with the community.

6. Communication

   • We will listen.

   • We meet people where they’re at.

   • We give honest and respectful feedback to help others grow. 

   • We create a space where people are heard by recognizing hierarchies of power and the impact of positionality.

7. Hope

   • We take the time to acknowledge the work that has been done and recognize how victories that have been achieved move us closer to our goals.

   • We recognize the hope our work provides to others and embrace that responsibility. 

   • We cultivate confidence and have faith that justice can and will be achieved by actions that move us forward. 

   • We will draw hope in the most difficult times, in the most uncertain times, and we will incite hope when it may seem lost.