We advocate for every American to meaningfully participate in the democratic process. We commit to political equality, recognizing that Black Americans, women, and communities of color have historically been excluded from participating equally in the democratic process and continue to be in many places. We also recognize that for centuries, these groups and their struggle for equality have pushed our country to live up to its founding ideals.
We consider our ability to make systemic impacts when deciding how we want to do our work and choosing the work we do. When doing so, we realistically evaluate our capacity to accomplish quality work by balancing it with both process and product delivery.
We strive to be good partners and collaborators while staying true to our nonpartisan principles. We believe the communities we serve should guide our priorities and we act accordingly, and we treat our external partners with full respect, actively listening to them and their expressed needs.
We work to build a diverse organization. We make deliberate efforts to recruit and hire a diverse staff. We strive for the communities we serve to see themselves reflected in our teams, including our programmatic leadership. We dedicate ourselves to building a workplace where everyone feels empowered to share their perspectives without feeling individually responsible to speak for an entire group.
We commit ourselves to diversity, growing together as a learning organization. We recognize that diversity in all its forms strengthens our organization and enriches our work. We believe that diverse perspectives are crucial to developing innovative solutions that address the multifaceted challenges to democracy. We value curiosity, open-mindedness, and a willingness to challenge our own assumptions.
We recognize and value our various workstyles, approaches, and perspectives. We commit to building a collaborative environment where everyone contributes their unique skills and insights. We recognize that different workstyles, approaches, and perspectives complement each other, leading to deeper understanding, richer dialogue, and stronger advocacy. We commit to proactively ensuring accessibility for employees with disabilities to ensure that every member of the organization has a full opportunity to participate in and contribute to our work.
We embrace a culture of appreciation, as individuals and as an organization. We actively acknowledge the range of contributions from staff and the hard work they put into achieving our mission. We celebrate our successes and recognize each other for jobs well done.
We value feedback. We trust our colleagues to create a safe and supportive space where everyone can speak openly and learn from every experience. We understand that feedback, when given with grace and received with openness, is a powerful tool for personal and collective advancement. Feedback should be direct, constructive, and given in ways that are respectful, supportive, and sensitive to the diversity of our workplace.
We commit to clear and inclusive decision-making at all levels of the organization. We communicate and document decision-making processes, so everyone knows and understands levels of responsibility and authority in their team, in their department, and in the organization.
We value open communication. We commit to communicate transparently about changes to our work, our culture, and our policies, and to include those impacted in an open dialogue, so all voices are considered, and everyone understands how and why decisions are made.
We accept responsibility for and hold ourselves and others accountable to these principles. As we pursue our mission and advance our democracy, we will continue to lean into these principles and develop ways to hold ourselves accountable to them.
