Our Values

Our Commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)

Geneva Global is committed to incorporating JEDI values as the foundation for core decisions and actions that we make: within our culture, across our teams, and in our client work and relationships. We also prioritize our JEDI lens when sharing our work and learnings with others. We seek to create and maintain an inclusive, anti-racist, anti-discriminatory culture rooted in equity and trust. We believe it’s critical to be transparent about our work and learning journey, and all our efforts in this space, as the philanthropic community works to contribute to more equitable systems and structures.

Defining Culture Through Community Agreements

Geneva Global staff co-constructed five Community Agreements to support a culture that is respectful, safe, open, curious, inclusive, and representative of our JEDI values. We integrate them at the individual, managerial, and team/all-staff levels.

  1. Create a culture rooted in equity and trust
  2. Embrace discomfort
  3. Center learning and growth
  4. Cultivate an inclusive space for multiple truths, experiences, and voices
  5. Engage in frequent, open, and clear communication

From Principles to Practice

Our JEDI Vision and Strategy 

Within Geneva Global, all levels of the organization hold responsibility for advancing the company’s JEDI work and living our principles. Two specific teams have additional responsibilities, including the JEDI Team and the Executive Leadership Team. 

Formed in 2017, with members coming from all parts of our business, the JEDI Team has worked with leadership and across the company to develop an overarching JEDI strategy and priorities for the next two years. The JEDI Team:

  • Develops and fosters Geneva Global’s culture to create the conditions for belonging and community
  • Creates the conditions for, and builds the capacity of, staff members to bring a JEDI lens to their day-to-day work
  • Helps others reflect on their own JEDI journey by creating psychologically safe opportunities, spaces, and platforms for staff to learn and connect
  • Provides educational opportunities, resources, and tools for staff to continue their learning and growth

How We Use JEDI in Our Business

  • Policies:

    Our people are our most important asset and it is crucial that we ensure everyone who works at Geneva Global feels seen, heard, and supported by their peers and our leadership. We have worked to incorporate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as a core lens through which we evolve and refine Geneva Global’s internal policies and practices. This has included reviewing, analyzing, and updating our recruitment, hiring, and retention practices to align with our JEDI values. 

  • Culture Club:

     

    The Culture Club is a quarterly discussion series for Geneva Global (and Global Impact) staff that dives into books, movies, television shows, podcasts, and more that are related to JEDI topics, issues, and events. This regular meeting creates a space for learning, discussion, and growth among staff. 

  • Communications:

    Geneva Global shares our JEDI journey and philosophy not only with our staff, but within the philanthropy community and our peers. Whether through sharing our work and amplifying others’ voices on social media, developing a response framework to guide our JEDI-related corporate communications, or creating JEDI-related content, we are always using our JEDI lens to inform and improve our communications. You can view our previous JEDI-related blog posts and statements on our Insights & Ideas page.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):

    We began using our allotted CSR funding to support racial justice in 2020 and have continued to do so. We have made multiple donations to Philadelphia area organizations, including I’m FREE, Frontline Dads and the Philadelphia Black Giving Circle, which collectively pools charitable resources for Philadelphia’s Black community, distributed through grants to Black-led and Black-serving nonprofit organizations. We are looking into additional ways we can provide support for local organizations through volunteering and pro-bono work.

Our Next Focus: Building JEDI Work into Our Client Work

As we continue this journey to incorporate JEDI values throughout our organization, we have also begun to educate ourselves as philanthropy professionals and what it means to bring these values to life in our client engagements. For example:

We’ve helped families embed more trust-based approaches to their giving as it aligned with their values and aspirations as funders.

When sharing recommendations on giving, we include information on what equitable giving looks like and provide best practices for these approaches–informed by other leaders in this space, including the Trust Based Philanthropy Project.

We are asked at times to identify organizations to support in certain issue areas, and we prioritize finding organizations that promote equitable community impact, e.g., for climate change, we identified organizations protecting Indigenous peoples’ land rights as one effective way to slow climate change.

We look forward to deepening this work over the next two years as a priority in our two-year JEDI strategic plan.