CLASP advocates for public policies and programs at the federal, state, and local levels that address poverty and advance racial equity, improve the lives of low-income people, and create ladders to economic security for all. We identify and seek to tear down barriers that hold people back due to their race, ethnicity, immigrant status, or geography, as well as low income. CLASP accomplishes this by looking for large-scale opportunities to improve federal and state policies and working back and forth between levels of government to achieve maximum impact, bringing state and local innovations to the federal level and translating federal legislation and regulation into ambitious game plans for state and local change.

The impact of systemic racism transcends generations, especially in regard to achieving fair and equitable education, economic, and employment opportunities. Public policy in these areas has historically been white centered in its practice, narrative, and culture in a way that has perpetuated exclusion of impacted people of color rather than intentionally partnering with them to develop policies that center their needs. CLASP is committed to a vision where that culture is dismantled and replaced by one that is inclusive, participatory, and emphasizes authentic partnerships. As an anti-poverty policy organization we have a vision that requires us to build a culture that centers racial equity and dismantles systems of oppression, both internal and external.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Goal One: Seize new opportunities federally to reduce poverty, promote economic security, and advance racial equity through large-scale policy change that benefits working families and communities of color.

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Goal Two: Ensure equitable/effective implementation of policy wins at federal and state level through expert technical assistance. Work with federal and state agencies as they implement new policies.

Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.

Goal Three: Strengthen partnerships with grassroots and impacted communities both as a core value in itself and as a crucial way to advance our mission.

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Describe an investment in leadership

CLASP continues to prioritize both identifying and connecting staff to leadership development opportunities that help to advance their individual and collective growth in areas of expertise and cross-cutting areas. Staff at all levels are given opportunities to broaden/deepen their scope of engagement by offering opportunities to lead projects; engage in connected work like fundraising to develop and diversify their skills; and connected to professional development opportunities within and outside the organization. Specific examples include hosting internal training events around an array of topics including fundraising, facilitation, legislative affairs, communications, etc. The organization also financially support staff leadership development engagements including fellowships.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Networks of Collective Impact Efforts

• Thought Leadership

• Raising Awareness

• Community Building

• Policy Advocacy

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

A core organizational goal of the organization is to strengthen partnerships with grassroots and impacted communities both as a core value in itself and as a crucial way to advance our mission. This allows us to deepen our commitment to racial equity, connect to field organizing and energy, shift narratives, hold up long-term vision no matter what the immediate net steps, and create accountability for policy solutions that lead to structural and impactful change for impacted individuals and communities. This year alone we have made substantial progress towards meeting this goal including launching a new child care network while maintaining coalitions from previous years and adapting them to the current legislative and political context, launching the New Deal for Youth partnership with young leaders, and partnering with impacted people through the Community Partnership Group to inform our income and work supports program.

CLASP is committed to deepening our understanding of the intersection of race and poverty and the role of racism in maintaining a society where communities of color disproportionately experience systemic poverty. In the spring of 2020, amid the pandemic and the racial justice movement, CLASP took time to critically analyze and evaluate our role in fighting for racial equity and justice as an anti-poverty non-profit organization. Although, we were already fervently committed to racial equity prior to this movement, we acknowledged the need to do more by continuing and deepening our engagement in making sustainable transformational change. To meet this need and identify the next phase of CLASP’s racial equity journey, we conducted an internal assessment of CLASP’s staff, consultants, fellows, and Board members. The assessment affirmed the progress CLASP had made toward prioritizing and centering racial equity internally and externally. One of the most important revelations from the assessment was the call to create and implement both a “Bold Vision” for CLASP’s racial equity journey and an explicit framework to inform and guide our policy and advocacy efforts. This framework will include practical ways of directly infusing racial equity into policy efforts, technical assistance, and our related strategies and partnerships.