High-quality feedback loops can play an important role in helping nonprofits and philanthropy ensure their programs are meeting their intended goals and advancing their commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). At its best, feedback allows organizations and funders to hear diverse perspectives, practice inclusive engagement, and shift systems, structures, and power in response to inequity. But feedback isn't always practiced through an EDI lens, and many organizations with a commitment to EDI may not fully understand the power of feedback loops to shift culture and transform relationships in ways that advance equity. This session will explore the relationship between feedback, program improvement, and EDI as experienced by several organizations who have participated in the national capacity building program, Listen4Good. To date, Listen4Good has worked with more than 100 funders and almost 500 nonprofits across the country. Through videos, small group discussions, and stories from nonprofit leader(s) and community participants, we hope to spark discussions that will raise awareness of feedback loops as a way to center program improvement on the lived experience of people at the heart of our work and engage them as partners in making lasting, meaningful change.

Learning Objectives:

1. What are best practices for creating high-quality feedback loops
2. How can the integration of feedback loops serve as a stepping stone for ongoing client engagement and partnership?
3. How can organizations, funders and nonprofits, more deeply involve community members in decision-making and shifting power towards greater equity?