Project Stone Catcher

Project Stone Catcher provides opportunities for nonprofit leaders to develop the skills and understanding necessary to lead nonprofit organizations in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion and to advance social justice issues for the broader community. In alignment with our mission, Project Stone Catcher aims to build a community of stone catchers who trust each other, offer support to one another and provide safe space for exploration and discussion of issues that have historically been difficult to discuss. The name of this effort is inspired by Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Stevenson calls upon those with power and privilege to catch stones – to stand between those who “cast stones” and those who are daily injured by a politics of hate and violence. Thus, to be anti-racist, to be an accomplice in advancing social justice, requires one to be a stone catcher.

As part of this effort, we have curated a list with recommended books, movies, and podcasts to deepen your learning and are also providing select timely resources from other sources:

• FLNSD Recommended Books, Movies, and Podcasts
• Impact Cubed DEI Resource Library
• DEI Reading List for Beginners 
• San Diego BIPOC History Ride
• HBR Race at Work Podcast

THE EQUITY JOURNEY

Since 2020, Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego has been partnering with the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance to bring you The Equity Journey, a three-part series of online learning opportunities focused on equity, inclusion, and diversity.

Each Equity Journey offering has two parts: a self-guided on-line course broken into two or three learning modules and a series of 90-minute small group discussions corresponding to each module. The discussion sessions are an enhanced program feature unique to the Fieldstone offering. Past participants have been enthusiastic about the impact of the group discussions, reporting that they help them feel connected to other leaders and to the material as they navigate this Journey.

In 2022 we will be offering: The Equity Journey 3.0 – What’s Fair? Exploring Social Justice in America

Social justice is complicated. No matter what your personal, professional or community roles are, the topic is difficult to pin down. This short course helps you explore social justice using a broad lens, including race and ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, ability, birthplace, economic status, history, education and politics.

Equity Journey 3.0 builds on Equity Journey 1.0 and 2.0 and further develops one’s understanding of social justice. This two module course, will help you:

• Improve your understanding of social justice;
• Be more aware of the barriers that hinder social justice;
• Create a personal definition of social justice and learn how to put it into action;
• Examine strategies for how to support and nurture social justice;
• Gain confidence to engage in conversations and activities to advance social justice in your organization and community; and
• Connect to and learn from other nonprofit leaders committed to social justice.

Learners will earn an e-certificate upon completion of the course work and participation in the monthly discussions.

Important Dates:
Registration Closes – April 19, 2022
On-Line Course Opens – April, 25, 2022
Module 1 Discussions – May 9, 2022 at 9 am or 1 pm or May 10, 2022 at 9 am
Module 2 Discussion – May 23, 2022 at 9 am or 1 pm or May 24, 2022 at 9 am

These courses work well for individuals, boards, leadership teams or organizations. They are a cost effective and impactful way to train employees and leaders in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion and to create a shared vernacular as a starting point to begin organizational efforts and discussions to address change in your agency.

Recent Programs

Board Diversification – A Two-Part Series on Building a Diverse Board
A Crossroads and Turning Points Webinar featuring Ali Levin of BoardBoost Consulting 

Community Restorative Circle with the National Conflict Resolution Center

Taxilandia  – A Virtual Salon Exploring Gentrification and the Power of Place
with the La Jolla Playhouse

Race, Equity & Worker Power in San Diego with San Diego Workforce Partnership
Webinar Video  |  San Diego’s Racial Equity Gap – How We Got Here

FORTIFY: The Racial Equity Series
6-Part webinar series on the Foundations of Racial Equity
Series Videos  |  Full series information

The Catcher Stone

Our “CATCHER” stone serves as a reminder of one’s commitment to catching stones, especially during hard times, and to help one identify others who are also working in solidarity as Stone Catchers. Leaders are encouraged to put their stone where they and others can see it — this way, it might generate curiosity from others and provide stone catchers the opportunity to share the story of the stone and invite others to join our work for social justice.

“CATCHER” joins a collection of stones crafted by FLNSD to encourage nonprofit leaders as they work.  Other stones include the words LEAD, COURAGE and GRATITUDE.

FLNSD often uses the symbol of the cairn to illustrate the work of leaders.  Cairns are the rock formations found all over the world and used by travelers to mark a path, help one find their way and encourage one to keep going on their journey.  With these stones, FLNSD provides gentle reminders of encouragement to Network Members while allowing them to build personal cairns to mark the way for those they lead.

Join Project Stone Catcher

Add your name to our Interest List for Project Stone Catcher to receive information and updates on upcoming programs in this series.