Equity Resources

This resource page offers learning materials to support your personal equity journey. The lists include tools for applying an equity lens to your community-based or organizational work. 

Budget Equity

This list contains resources from past projects about how to center equity in the budgeting process. 

Disclaimer: These budget equity resources were developed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the language in these resources may no longer be relevant, but the resources may still be useful to anyone who is interested.  

The allocation of public resources through a budgeting process is key to advance racial equity. As the public health and economic crises continue, jurisdictions are investing in the increased services needed by the community. We are all learning and adjusting as this pandemic shifts through uncertain times. The crises have also created revenue challenges for jurisdictions. This creates a tenuous situation where community needs are increasing while revenue projections are decreasing. Leaders are working to make difficult decisions, serving their communities and balancing budget challenges.

The development and modification of jurisdiction’s budgets are some of the most important and challenging decisions that department heads, managers, councilmembers make. The public has entrusted government with managing their public funds to serve the public, and our budgets demonstrate how we manage those resources. Because government is in the business of serving, budget decisions are almost always difficult even in stable financial times.

Having tools to help illuminate the equity impacts of budget decisions helps decisionmakers make the most informed decisions possible. Jurisdictions across the United States have been using racial equity budget tools for years to help overcome the racial inequities faced in their communities. Below, you’ll find templates and information on a handful of these tools. There is no reason to recreate the wheel when jurisdictions have been learning and improving their tools for many budget cycles. They can also serve as a starting point for tailored tools to be developed.  

1. GARE Racial Equity Tool Worksheet
2. Equity Lens for Budget Analysis Tool
    
3. City of Portland Racial Equity Tools:
   1. City of Portland Budget Equity Tool
   2. ​City of Portland Racial Equity Action Plan User Manual
   3. City of Portland Racial Equity Plan Template
   4. ​City of Portland Road Map Tool
4. City of Seattle Racial Equity Tools:
   1. Seattle’s Racial Equity Toolkit during COVID-19
   2. Seattle’s Racial Equity Toolkit
5. City of San Antonio
   1. City of San Antonio 2020 Complete Budget Equity Tool
6. Santa Clara County
   1. Overview of Santa Clara County Budget Equity Tool
   2. Santa Clara County Public health Budget Equity Assessment

Equity + Intersectionality

View the resource list below to learn more about equity, intersectionality, and disparities in health. The resources provide information on concepts that are important to deepening understanding of equity efforts. 

Creating The Healthiest Nation: Advancing Health Equity 

Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics 

Health Equity: Moving Beyond “Health Disparities” 

Intersectionality 101: Institute for Intersectionality Research and Policy 

Kimberlé Crenshaw on Intersectionality, More than Two Decades Later 

Racial Equity & Public Health Fact Sheet (2021) 

What Is Intersectionality and Why Is It Important?: American Association of University Professors 

Power Sharing

Building structures to authentically engage communities in local government efforts to address health disparities is another key step towards equity. The resource list below offers information on strengthening power sharing efforts in your community. 

Building Power to Advance Health Equity: Findings from a Survey of Departments about their Collaborations with Community Power Building Organizations (2020) 

Urban Institute: Community Voice and Power Sharing Guidebook (2021) 

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Equity, Power-Sharing, and Renewal of Civil Society (2019) 

Racial Justice and Power-Sharing: The Heart of Leading Systems Change 

Power Sharing: Infographic 

Leading Locally: A Community Power-Building Approach to Structural Change (2020) 

NACCHO Exchange: Taking a Public Health Approach to Address Structural Racism and Mitigate Health Inequity (2021) 

Power Moves: Your essential philanthropy assessment guide for equity and justice 

Racial Equity Tools 

Explore the list below to learn more about the topic of racial equity. The list includes ways to advance racial equity in your community, and examples of how other jurisdictions have included racial equity in their policies and programs.  

American Public Health Association: Advancing Racial Equity-Webinar Series (2021) 

A guide to the Accountability for Equitable Results framework (2019) 

GARE: Racial Equity – Getting to Results Resource Guide 

GARE: Equitable Development as a Tool to Advance Racial Equity Report 

GARE: Racial Equity Toolkit – An Opportunity to Operationalize Equity  

GARE: Racial Equity Action Plans Toolkit 

King County: Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan 2016-2022