2011-2026 | CELEBRATING 15 YEARS
Key Terms
Explore our glossary of key terms that define our work and values.
Better understand the language and concepts central to social impact, equity and systems change.
- A -
Accountability – Taking responsibility for actions, decisions, and their impact on people and the planet.
Adaptive capacity – the ability of organizations and communities to adjust to change.
Adaptive leadership – Responding to complex challenges with flexibility, learning, and shared problem-solving.
Advocacy – Speaking or acting in support of a cause, policy, or community need.
Allyship – Actively supporting and standing with marginalized groups.
Anti-oppression – Challenging and dismantling systems that create inequality or harm.
Anti-racism – Proactively working to identify and eliminate racial inequities.
Authentic engagement – Building genuine, reciprocal relationships with stakeholders and communities.
Awareness building – Educating others to increase understanding and inspire change.
- B -
Belonging – Creating environments where people feel valued, included, and able to contribute fully.
Behavioral insights – Using psychology and human behavior research to shape effective programs and policies.
- C -
Capacity building – strengthening skills, processes, and resources for lasting impact.
Cultural competency – Understanding and respectfully interacting with diverse cultural perspectives.
Collaborative governance – decision-making shared among stakeholders.
Collective impact – Cross-sector collaboration toward a shared, measurable social goal.
Community-led solutions – Approaches designed and driven by the people most affected by an issue.
Civic engagement – promoting active participation in community and social issues.
Cultural humility – ongoing self-reflection and learning about other cultures.
- D -
Data-driven strategy – Using evidence and insights to guide decision-making.
Decolonization – Challenging colonial systems and uplifting Indigenous sovereignty and knowledge.
Design justice – creating systems and solutions that prioritize marginalized communities.
Digital inclusion – equitable access to technology and digital resources.
Diversity – The presence of varied identities, experiences, and perspectives.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) – Practices that promote fairness, respect, and representation.
Dynamic systems thinking – Understanding how interconnected systems influence outcomes.
- E -
Ecosystem building – Strengthening networks of organizations, leaders, and resources around a shared purpose.
Education and outreach – Sharing knowledge to foster awareness and action.
Empowerment – Enabling individuals or communities to make decisions and drive change.
Environmental equity – Ensuring all people share fairly in environmental benefits and burdens.
Environmental justice – Addressing environmental harms that disproportionately affect marginalized groups.
Equitable evaluation – Assessing programs in ways that center fairness, cultural context, and community voice.
Equitable funding – ensuring financial resources are distributed fairly.
Equity – Fair treatment that accounts for differing needs and barriers.
Ethical leadership – Leading with integrity, fairness, and social responsibility.
Ethical storytelling – sharing narratives responsibly, respecting subjects’ voices.
Evaluation and impact – Measuring effectiveness to improve programs and outcomes.
- F -
Facilitation – Guiding groups to collaborate, communicate, and reach shared decisions.
Fair labor practices – Ensuring safe, equitable, and just working conditions.
Food justice – Equitable access to healthy, culturally appropriate food.
Forest preservation – Protecting forests to sustain biodiversity and climate stability.
Fossil fuel reduction – Decreasing dependence on oil, gas, and coal to limit emissions.
Framework development – Creating structured models that guide planning or assessment.
Future-ready planning – Preparing organizations to adapt to emerging trends, technologies, and needs.
- G -
Gender equity – Fair treatment and opportunities for people of all genders.
Governance – The systems and policies that guide decision-making in organizations.
Grounded practice – Work informed by lived experience and community wisdom.
Growth strategy – A plan for sustainable, mission-aligned expansion.
- H -
Healing justice – Approaches that address both systemic oppression and individual/community healing.
Holistic approach – Considering all interconnected parts of a system or issue.
Human-centered design – Designing solutions that prioritize people’s experiences and needs.
Human rights – Basic freedoms and protections to which all people are entitled.
- I -
Impact assessment – Evaluating how actions or programs affect communities and ecosystems.
Impact measurement – Tracking the tangible results of initiatives over time.
Inclusive facilitation – Guiding discussions in ways that ensure all voices are heard and valued.
Inclusive leadership – Leading in ways that empower and value all voices.
Inclusive policy – policies designed to ensure access and fairness for all.
Indigenous knowledge – Traditional wisdom rooted in long-term relationships with the land.
Institutional transformation – Reshaping systems, norms, and structures to advance justice and equity.
Intersectionality – Understanding how overlapping identities shape experiences of oppression or privilege.
Investment in communities – Directing resources toward local well-being and resilience.
- J -
Just transition – Ensuring workers and communities benefit as economies shift to sustainability.
Justice-centered frameworks – Strategies that prioritize fairness and structural change.
Justice-oriented metrics – evaluation measures that prioritize fairness and equity.
- K -
Knowledge equity – valuing diverse forms of knowledge and experience.
Knowledge sharing – Exchanging expertise and insights for collective growth.
- L -
Liberatory design – Designing processes and solutions that reduce harm and expand freedom and agency.
Leadership development – Building skills and capacities for individuals and teams to drive meaningful change.
Learning organization – an organization that continuously adapts based on experience.
- M -
Mentorship – Guidance and support between experienced and emerging professionals.
Mission alignment – Ensuring actions reflect an organization’s purpose and values.
Movement building – Strengthening collective efforts for social or environmental change.
Mutual aid – Communities supporting one another through shared resources and care.
- N -
Nature-based solutions – Using natural systems to address societal challenges.
Nonprofit capacity – The ability of mission-driven organizations to deliver impact.
Narrative change – Shifting dominant stories to reshape understanding and power.
Network building – Creating connections that enhance collaboration and reach.
- O -
Organizational change – Transforming internal culture, systems, or structure for greater impact.
Organizational strategy – A plan that defines direction, priorities, and success measures.
Outreach – Connecting with audiences to inform, involve, or engage.
Outcomes evaluation – Assessing whether goals and objectives are achieved.
- P -
Participatory design – Involving stakeholders directly in the design process.
Participatory governance – Involving community members directly in decision-making structures.
Partnership development – Building relationships that strengthen shared goals.
Philanthropy – Donating time or money to advance social or environmental good.
Policy advocacy – Influencing laws or regulations to promote equity and sustainability.
Power analysis – Examining how power flows within systems and how it shapes decisions and outcomes.
Power dynamics – the structures of influence within systems or organizations.
Power shifting – Redistributing decision-making toward those most affected.
Purpose-driven strategy – Aligning planning and action around mission and values.
- Q -
Qualitative research – Gathering non-numerical insights from interviews, stories, or observation.
Quantitative evaluation – Measuring data-driven outcomes using numbers and metrics.
- R -
Racial equity – Fair treatment and opportunity for people of all races.
Reflective practice – regularly analyzing actions and decisions to improve impact.
Regenerative practices – Restoring and renewing natural and human systems.
Resilience – The capacity to adapt and thrive amid change or challenge.
Resource mobilization – Securing and aligning funding, people, and partnerships to advance a mission.
Restorative justice – Repairing harm and restoring relationships through accountability.
Root-cause analysis – Identifying underlying factors that drive systemic problems.
- S -
Shared leadership – Distributing authority and decision-making across a group rather than concentrating it at the top.
Social accountability – holding organizations and institutions responsible to communities.
Social impact – The measurable positive change created by an organization or initiative.
Social innovation – New solutions that address social or environmental challenges.
Social justice – The pursuit of fairness, equity, and human rights for all.
Stakeholder engagement – Involving those affected by decisions in shaping outcomes.
Strategic alignment – Ensuring actions, resources, and goals work toward a shared vision.
Strategic communications – Using messaging and media intentionally to advance impact.
Strategic planning – Setting goals, priorities, and pathways for an organization’s future.
Storytelling for impact – Using narrative to drive understanding, empathy, and action.
Sustainability – Meeting present needs without compromising future generations.
Systems literacy – understanding how interconnected systems influence outcomes.
Systems mapping – Visualizing relationships and patterns within complex systems to inform strategy.
- T -
Team facilitation – Helping groups work together effectively toward shared goals.
Theory of Change – A framework linking actions to desired long-term outcomes.
Transformative change – deep, structural change that addresses root causes.
Transformative leadership – Inspiring deep, positive change within systems or people.
Transparency – Operating with openness and honesty about decisions and processes.
Trauma-informed practice – Approaching work with awareness of trauma’s impact on individuals and communities.
- U -
Universal design – Creating environments and systems accessible to all people.
Urban ecology – Studying and supporting ecosystems within cities.
Utility justice – Fair access to energy, water, and other essential services.
- V -
Values alignment – Ensuring choices reflect shared principles and ethics.
Values-driven leadership – leading based on core ethical and organizational values.
Vision development – Defining a clear, aspirational future direction.
Voice amplification – Elevating perspectives of those historically unheard.
- W -
Well-being – The overall health, safety, and happiness of individuals and communities.
Whole-system approach – considering all elements of a system in decision-making and design.
Workforce development – Building skills, opportunities, and pathways for workers to thrive, especially in marginalized communities.
Workplace equity – Ensuring fair opportunity, pay, and respect in professional environments.
