Equity in the Center (EiC) provides diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training for nonprofit and for-profit organizations. It is funded by left-of-center nonprofits and generates revenue through its seminars.

EiC was originally a project of ProInspire, an ethnic-minority leadership development group, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. EiC was founded in 2016 and was spun off as an independent organization in 2020. ^{1 2}

In 2022, more than 1,800 individuals registered for EiC’s programs, 72% of whom worked for nonprofits. Four percent of registrants were from government agencies. ³

Race Equity Culture

Equity in the Center promotes a “race equity culture” that actively combats alleged white supremacy, which it holds responsible for racial inequality in society. ^{4 5}

EiC encourages individuals to “decolonize your mind,” “understand implicit bias and your identity and role in enabling and propagating systemic racism,” but “don’t put the burden exclusively on people you perceive to be more conscious than you, usually people of color, to explain the system.” ⁶

EiC encourages organizations to perform statistical analyses to determine the extent and severity of racial inequity, and then “cede power to people of color within and across teams, organizations, and systems” to rectify the inequalities. ⁷

EiC promotes race equity culture through a process of “awake to woke to work.” In the first stage, awake, individuals in an organization recognize the value of the race equity culture, but have only begun to pursue it by collecting data on racial demographics within the organization and establishing DEI departments. In the woke stage, the company implements strategies to create the race equity culture, including creating racial demographic datasets that records pay scales, promotion scheduling, and any other areas with potential disparities. In the work phase, the company fully embraces the racial equity culture and exports it outside the organization. ⁸

Services

In 2020, Equity in the Center earned $270,039 in revenue from its services. ⁹ EIC’s primary service is a seminar for organizations to learn how to create a race equity culture. Prices for the service range from $190 for an individual or small team at a nonprofit with a less-than-$1 million budget, to $11,825 for for-profit companies or nonprofits with a budget exceeding $10 million. ¹⁰

EiC conducts smaller seminars on equity topics, with pricing usually ranging from $100-300. Topics include “Intersectional Allyship for Racial Justice: A Workshop for BIPOC Allies” and “More than Fragility: A Deep Dive into Understanding & Dismantling Whiteness.” ¹¹

EiC offers its Race Equity Cycle Pulse Check for free to evaluate the prevalence of race equity culture in organizations and individuals. ¹² More than 50 organizations have taken the Pulse Check. ¹³

Loudon County Schools

Equity in the Center has provided its services to Loudon County Public Schools, a wealthy northern Virginia school district embroiled in controversy over its race and gender policies. All staff in the school district are required to undergo training from EiC. ¹⁴

Leadership

Equity in the Center president Kerrien Suarez was formerly an independent nonprofit and diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant for ProInspire, the United Negro College Fund, the National Black Child Development Institute, the National Center for Children in Poverty, and Martha’s Table. ¹⁵ She is a board member of NEO Philanthropy. ^{16 17}

Board member Andrew Plumley is the head of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Arabella Advisors. ¹⁸

Funding

Equity in the Center was launched with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. ¹⁹

Advisors

Equity in the Center’s advisers include individuals from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Arabella Advisors, Demos, The Bridgespan Group, FSG, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, and the NewSchools Venture Fund. ²⁰

1. “Equity in the Center Expands Beyond ProInspire.” ProInspire. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://www.proinspire.org/equity-in-the-center-expands-beyond-proinspire/.
2. “Kerrien Suarez.” The Equity Lab. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://www.theequitylab.org/kerrien-suarez
3. “Our 2022 Year In Review.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/2022-year-in-review/.
4. ^[1] “Building a Race Equity Culture in the Social Sector.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EiC_infographic_final_v2.pdf.
5. “Call to Action.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/call-to-action/.
6. ^[1] “Call to Action.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/call-to-action/.
7. “Call to Action.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/call-to-action/.
8. “Building a Race Equity Culture in the Social Sector.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EiC_infographic_final_v2.pdf.
9. “Equity in the Center Inc Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/850728401/202103069349300930/full.
10. “Awake to Woke to Work: Building a Race Equity Culture Open Enrollment Workshops.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/services/working-sessions/awake-to-woke-to-work-building-a-race-equity-culture-open-enrollment-workshops/#FAQ.
11. “Race Equity Culture Partner Trainings.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/services/#working-sessions.
12. “Race Equity Culture Cycle Pulse Check.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/race-equity-cycle-pulse-check/.
13. “Our 2022 Year In Review.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/2022-year-in-review/.
14. Ghate, Debi. “Loudon County Parents at War Over Critical Race Theory in Curriculum.” Philanthropy Roundtable. March 30, 2021. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/loudoun-county-parents-at-war-over-critical-race-theory-in-curriculum/.
15. “Kerrien Suarez.” The Equity Lab. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://www.theequitylab.org/kerrien-suarez.
16. “Kerrien Suarez.” NEO Philanthropy. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/kerrien-suarez/.
17. “Who We Are.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/who-we-are/
18. “Who We Are.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/who-we-are/.
19. “Kerrien Suarez.” The Equity Lab. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://www.theequitylab.org/kerrien-suarez.
20. “Our Partners and Advisors.” Equity in the Center. Accessed December 29, 2022. https://equityinthecenter.org/our-partners-and-advisors/.