News & Events

The Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence (NICNE) has received funding to support the work of the Belonging Task Force from Healing Illinois, a statewide effort of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), managed in partnership with the Field Foundation of Illinois, to build a bridge to a racially equitable Illinois by supporting organizations to engage in the work of racial healing in their communities. Grants were received in 2021, 2024, and 2025.

In 2025, funding was awarded to continue facilitation of the Belonging Task Force monthly meetings, and to implement marketing activities to spread messages of Belonging across the community. This grant allowed for the printing of new t-shirts, and marketing materials such as information cards, stickers, window clings for participating belonging businesses, as well as a new logo and website updates.
A community-wide billboard campaign sharing messages of belonging with faces of diverse community members was launched to help ensure that all people in our community feel seen, heard and valued and all people see that they have a role to play when it comes to creating a culture of belonging.

Videos on key belonging stories were captured and will be presented as shorts which will be distributed on YouTube and across social media campaigns, and included on the Belonging website. These stories celebrate our differences and capture ways in which each storyteller shares how they have found a sense of belonging in Rockford.

Community engagement activities to help people tell their belonging stories and engage in the work of belonging were developed, including lesson plans created in partnership with Jodan DeWilde at the Rockford Area Arts Council to engage students across all age groups which will be implemented at the start of the school year, and activities in partnership with Rockford Public Library, which will include 3-D printed Belonging keychains, greenscreen and podcasting activities to tell stories of Belonging, and custom printing using Belonging designs.

In 2024, funding was awarded to continue facilitation of the Belonging Task Force monthly meetings, allowing for expert presenters and critical conversations focused on eight various systems to confront barriers and strategize alternatives for dismantling racism and co-creating systems of equity. Systems discussed include belonging and systemic inequities as they relate to higher education, the arts, criminal justice, public schools, faith communities, racial wealth and banking, transportation, and healthcare systems.This support also allowed for the capturing of key belonging stories, and continued strategy and collaborative action around the prior topics of food insecurity and housing. Conversations were held on affordable housing strategy, and this funding directly led to the creation of the collaborative Food Insecurity Task Force which meets monthly to address systemic barriers that have contributed to hunger, food deserts and swamps in our communtiy, and to solve the issue of a lack of full service grocery options on the West side of Rockford.
In 2020-2021, funding allowed the Belonging Task Force, facilitated by NICNE, to engage with Professor john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley to:
- Engage Rockford Public Schools – Lincoln Middle School and the Regional Office of Education to train on Targeted Universalism and explore replicable strategies to change education outcomes in our community.Targeted Universalism provides an approach for aligning and creating coherent strategies to create belonging and promote bridging. This approach dismantles structural exclusion and marginalization, and promotes experiences of belonging. Within a Targeted Universalism framework, universal goals are established and targeted strategies are developed based upon how different groups are situated within structures, culture, and across geographies.Among the core strengths of the Targeted Universalism framework is its potential for ingenuity, boldness in policy thinking, and building consensus by reinforcing the belief that we are all part of the same social and civic fabric.
- Train educators on the concept of Targeted Universalism and how Targeted Universalism can help area educators set universal shared goals and develop targeted strategies that work for all students.
- Support Rockford Park District and Collins Aerospace in their effort to become model employers, building belonging into all aspects of their organizations, including internal and external strategies to create cultures of belonging where all individuals are welcomed, seen, heard, and valued. Professor powell and his team at the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley provided guidance, resources, information and implementation strategies to integrate belonging into the fabric of each organization, creating a culture of belonging demonstrated through hiring, promotions, and leadership development.

Details about some of these past events and more are included below.

Past Activities

11.2019 – Initial meeting of the Belonging Task Force. In the Fall of 2019, as our country reacted to social injustice and deepening division, the group began to chart a course to co-create a culture of belonging in Rockford – where everyone – regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual we gathered to discuss how we could foster healing among divided groups in the Rockford community. Using a collective impact approach, identity, gender, age, physical ability, or religion – feels they belong. Initial Task Force members included representatives from the broader community, Eliminate Racism 815, Rockford NAACP, Rockford Public Library, Liam Foundation, Center for Nonviolence and Conflict Transformation (CNCT), City of Rockford, Unitarian Universalist Church, Transform Rockford, and several other organizations.

10.23.20 – Community Conversation on Othering and Belonging with john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley. Recording and summary presented with support from the Kjellstrom Family Foundation, Transform Rockford, and media partner WREX.

8.05.20 – A Year on Belonging: NW IL Regional Volunteerism Conference (August 2020 through August 2021) Recordings and summary presented with support from the NICNE Exchange on Volunteerism and Serve Illinois Commission.

2.05.21 – Foundations of DEI: Definitions, Concepts, Theories, and Exercises with Candid Conversations Matter, LLC, presented in partnership with UWNI as part of the Healing Illinois Initiative Recording and summary and toolkit for February through May workshop series.

2021 DEI for Nonprofits – Workshop Series

3.05.21 – Equity-Mindedness with Candid Conversations Matter, LLC, presented in partnership with UWNI as part of the Healing Illinois Initiative Recording and summary.

3.19.21 – Courageous Conversations Facilitator Training series with Traci D. Ellis, JD of Candid Conversations Matter, LLC Recording and summary and Toolkit. Presented with support from the Healing Illinois Initiative in partnership with United Way of Northwest Illinois.

4.09.21 Cultural Competence with Candid Conversations Matter, LLC, presented in partnership with UWNI as part of the Healing Illinois Initiative Recording and summary. Presented with support from the Healing Illinois Initiative in partnership with United Way of Northwest Illinois.

5.07.21 Anti-Racism with Candid Conversations Matter, LLC, presented in partnership with UWNI as part of the Healing Illinois Initiative Recording and summary. Presented with support from the Healing Illinois Initiative in partnership with United Way of Northwest Illinois.

5.19.21 – Targeted Universalism: Changing Education Outcomes with john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley Recording and summary. Presented with support from the United Way of Northwest Illinois, United Way of Rock River Valley, and Regional Office of Education #4.

6.21.21 – Mental Health Providers – Professional Development, Workshop 1 of 4: Cultural Humility & Anti-Oppression for Mental Health Providers with Jessica Oladapo, Diversity to Inclusion, Inc. to help support mental health professionals supporting youth with mental health needs. Recording 1, Recording 2, and summary. Presented by Rosecrance in partnership with NICNE, with funding from the Children’s Healthcare Foundation of Illinois via the Youth Mental Health System of Care planning group.

5.09.22 – Building Racial Equity and Belonging into Your Board Culture with Candid Conversations Matter, LLC. Program summary. Presented with support from grant funds received from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to aid NICNE in delivering capacity building supports and services to organizations in northern Illinois.

10.18.22 – Belonging Model Employer Event and Keynote from john a. powell

On October 18, 2022, the Belonging Task Force welcomed more than 165 business and nonprofit leaders to hear keynote speaker, john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at University of California, Berkeley, share a keynote address on the imperative of Belonging as it relates to the workplace and the science behind his work on Othering and Belonging.

Given the increasing diversity of our teams, we cannot take a sense of Belonging for granted, and the work being done around Belonging has never been more critical. Purposeful and deliberate cultivation of a sense of Belonging for all, across all differences, is imperative to harness the benefits of Belonging for us as individuals, for highest-performing teams, and for our organizations, businesses, and institutions. Belonging is the top human capital issue employers face today and a sense of Belonging is one of the top five key factors in an employee’s decision to stay with an employer; Social Belonging is a fundamental human need, hardwired into our DNA, yet 40% of people say that they feel isolated at work.

Following a keynote presentation from john a. powell, Mr. Thomas McNamara, Mayor of Rockford, led a panel discussion with area employers who are working to build a culture of Belonging in their workplaces where everyone is seen, heard, and valued. Area employers shared their progress made and lessons learned to help other businesses chart a course to build a culture of Belonging in the workplaces across our community. Panelists included Collins Aerospace, Rockford Park District, Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity.