Dear EPIP Friends and Colleagues, Recently I was in a conversation with other parents about whether or not it was our responsibility to place our kids in diverse schools. Many of us agreed on the importance of teaching our kids to appreciate the diversity of cultures and languages in our society as well as how to work, play and live with people who may seem different. Regardless of their backgrounds, kids in a diverse school all work together towards the same goals: learning a lesson, storming the castle during recess, or enjoying a lunchtime meal. As I reflect on that conversation, I am reminded of the upcoming JAG Unity Summit and its purpose of creating shared strategies for advancing equity, assessing equity work and developing a new vision and plan for collaboration. Like those pre-K kids, we can work together, regardless of our backgrounds, to achieve the same goal of ensuring that our work in philanthropy moves toward more equity and inclusion so that all of the communities we serve have the same chance to succeed in life. I hope that you will join your fellow EPIP members in Washington, DC this spring for the JAG Unity Summit. EPIP will have our own day of programming on June 6th, so you’ll still have a chance to meet new voices in philanthropy and reconnect with old friends in the field. Be sure to stay for the rest of the Summit so you can spread your network and ideals for a new vision of collaboration to advance equity in society. Registration is open! Register at https://www.greenmoonsolutions.com/jag2014/. If you have questions please see our FAQs. I look forward to seeing you and storming philanthropy together in June! Yours, Jasmine Hall Ratliff, Chair, EPIP Board of Advisors P.S. There is still time to propose a workshop session for EPIP Unites on June 6th. See http://www.epip.org/2014/02/epip-unites-at-the-unity-summit-call-for-sessions/ for more details.