One year ago, CCS purposefully affirmed our commitment to racial justice and our efforts to foster a more inclusive and equitable world. Today, we remain dedicated and steadfast in pushing this commitment forward.

One year ago, CCS purposefully affirmed our commitment to racial justice and our efforts to foster a more inclusive and equitable world. The senseless killings of George Floyd and countless other Black lives ignited the desire to firmly stand in solidarity with our colleagues and communities of color. Systemic racism and discrimination have no place in our society. We actively condemn violence and aggression directed at anyone based on their race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender.

Today, CCS remains dedicated and steadfast in pushing this commitment forward. While there are no words to describe the anguish and frustration as these injustices persist, CCS continues the work to create change both within the firm and beyond. We are a firm comprised of passionate, mission-driven people with a dedication to making the world a better place, and we recognized that this work needed to importantly start from within.

An important first step in advancing our commitment was creating our DEI Mission Statement to establish CCS’s core values. Through inclusive and challenging conversations amongst leadership and staff, CCS developed our guiding principles to hold ourselves accountable for creating a respectful, inclusive, and equitable company culture for all employees. Leadership listened, adjusted, and committed to growth to stimulate this cultural change.

As a firm, we also acknowledged that we have much to learn on this journey and made the decision to partner with professional consultants who have expertise in areas related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We began our partnership with Nadia Jones of Culture Cipher, who led us through the development of firm-wide training and education, as well as guidance in the key early decisions on our DEI journey. CCS also partnered with Holistic to conduct interviews, small group conversations, and a firm-wide survey to understand key factors of job satisfaction, growth, and belonging. Additionally, Holistic underwent a deep analysis of our recruitment pipeline to help us understand opportunities for more inclusive practices from the moment a team member applies.

Resulting from these initial steps forward, CCS committed to taking specific, measurable actions in the areas of:

We have made important and necessary progress in this past year, but we recognize that this is an ongoing journey, and our work must persist.

We will continue to develop resources and assess our operational practices to foster advancement and a positive environment for all employees, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, parental status, national origin, different abilities, age, veteran status, or other invisible traits. We know that as a firm, we are only as valuable as our people, and that there is strength in diversity.

CCS commits to learn and grow through compassion, humility, and accountability as we partner with organizations across the nonprofit community and beyond.

Click the video below for our DEI Mission Statement from the CCS team.