At Kern Community Foundation, we believe that a strong nonprofit sector must work to embrace, safeguard and promote the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) among its leaders, employees, volunteers, clients and supporters. In fact, the community’s—and many funders’—trust in each nonprofit is closely linked to that agency’s ability to demonstrate that it practices DEI in its effort to make our world a better place for all. 

Beginning with links to local agencies that work to improve conditions for communities of color, people with disabilities, and other underserved or underrepresented populations, you will find plenty of resources on this page to help your agency be deliberate and intentional in understanding and applying DEI values to the betterment of Kern County’s truly diverse community.

VIEW DEI RESOURCES

Local Agencies

• ACLU Foundation of Southern California defends the fundamental rights outlined in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
• Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative is building a future where every person in Kern County has a place to call home. The Collaborative has a Racial Equity Committee, along with other committees, for community stakeholders to get involved.
• B-Glad ensures equal access of the deaf and hard of hearing community to the same opportunities afforded their hearing counterparts.
• California Farmworker Foundation serves and supports California farmworkers by providing programs and services to better their quality
  of life.
• California Rural Legal Assistance fights for justice and individual rights alongside the most exploited communities of our society.
• The Center for Sexuality & Gender Diversity provides a safe, supportive space and services to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, and a bridge to the greater community. The Center provides LGBTQ cultural competency training to healthcare and social services providers. 
• Defy Ventures leverages entrepreneurship as a tool to increase economic opportunity and transform lives of people with criminal histories.
• Dolores Huerta Foundation creates networks of healthy, organized communities pursuing social justice through systemic and structural transformation.
• MLK Community Initiative /Circle of Life Development Foundation builds strong communities collaboratively to close the economic gap.

• NAACP strives to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.
• UFW Foundation empowers communities to ensure human dignity.
• Valley Center for the Blind assists persons who are blind and visually impaired in living a more independent and opportunity-filled life.
• Vision y Compromiso supports promotoras and community health workers to address disparities and improve health outcomes for underrepresented communities.

Events

• The Bakersfield Police Department Community Collaborative (BPD-CC) is seeking community input on local police reform efforts through a series of “Listening Sessions.” The last session was Nov. 10th, but there may be similar efforts in the future.