Nonprofits in region sought for diversity initiative

FAYETTEVILLE — Nonprofit organizations in Northwest Arkansas will be recruited for a diversity initiative funded through grants from the Walton Family Foundation and the Walmart Foundation.

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville’s IDEALS Institute will take the lead in providing training and technical assistance to 100 organizations, according to an announcement Thursday.

The foundations are giving about $2.2 million to the University of Arkansas Foundation and about $2 million to the Arkansas Community Foundation, a spokeswoman said.

The announcement marks an extension of a pilot program launched in 2018 as TRUE Northwest Arkansas, with five cohorts to participate in the training over the next two years.

TRUE Northwest Arkansas began as a three-year project, according to its website, with the aim of fostering “an environment where all members of the Northwest Arkansas community can thrive and feel included.”

Advisory council members for the pilot effort have included leaders of various community-based organizations, including the Transgender Equality Network, the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas, the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese and the Islamic Center of Northwest Arkansas, according to the TRUE Northwest Arkansas website. The pilot project received financial support from the Walton Family Foundation and the Walmart Foundation.

Joe Randel, a senior program officer with the Walton Family Foundation, said that with the new training initiative, one goal is to develop a sense of community among the organizations that end up participating.

“We didn’t want to focus on any one sector or type of organization. These are values that we believe are shared across the region,” Randel said, adding that small nonprofit organizations will be able to take part.

Elecia Smith, director of the IDEALS Institute, in a statement said the effort will be about “training, recharging and uplifting” nonprofit groups in the region as well as helping them implement strategies to boost diversity, equity and inclusion.