Our Story
Build Stronger Communities.
There is no place-based systems change without racial equity.
We help organizations assess how racial equity and strategy are prioritized in their work—strengthening how our partners evaluate, design, and communicate about the social justice they seek locally and nationally.
Our expertise is fortified by decades of experience, allowing us to convene community stakeholders and expose the root causes of inequities. With racial equity as our North Star, we amplify the voices of Black, Indigenous, and Latine communities so our clients can better serve communities.
We sharpen our focus to measure what matters. That’s how we secure lasting, structural change for our clients.
We inspire action, challenging clients to design more just systems.
OUR COMMITMENT TO RACIAL EQUITY
We invite you to learn more about our ongoing commitment to racial equity as we work to shift power and uplift communities of color.
Learn MoreVision
We envision a society where race no longer predicts life outcomes.
Mission
We strengthen the knowledge and capacity of our partners to transform systems, eliminate racial disparities, and build equitable communities.
Guiding Principles
We believe advancing racial equity requires partners and allies to be engaged in learning and unlearning; as individuals, as organizations, and in partnership with the communities they serve.
We believe the voices and experiences of those affected by structural racism must be amplified to shift power and centered in the design of more just systems.
We believe that getting to the root causes of structural racism and enabling those with influence and resources to change their behaviors are essential to addressing systemic inequities.
We believe developing an equity mindset, changing narratives, and shared accountability are critical levers to lasting, structural change.
We believe nothing happens without true commitment, shared values, and trusting relationships.
History
’83
Equal Measure began in 1983 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, exploring how large institutions could collaborate to address complicated issues such as economic development, educational opportunities, housing, and jobs in the surrounding community, focusing on capacity building in the social sector.
’90s
The organization moved out of the University of Pennsylvania to become the nonprofit OMG Center for Collaborative Learning. We were at the cusp of two important trends: a nascent social sector commitment to independent evaluators and the emergence of more complex methodologies, prompting the expansion of our services into strategic planning, evaluation, and capacity building.
’00s
As foundations, along with the rest of the social sector, began placing more emphasis on place-based systems change, our work continued to evolve in complexity. We took on major multi-year projects focused on education, community health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion with clients like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
’10s
The 2010s saw several major developments, including a name change to Equal Measure, leadership transition, and continued growth. We also refined our strategic positioning, repackaging our services with more bundled, customized offerings to help our clients go even deeper, so we can work together in an ongoing relationship to advance social change.
’20s
As Equal Measure reflects on its 40-year legacy in the social justice field, we’re ushering in a new chapter—hiring our first Black president and CEO and drawing from our “superpowers” of evaluation, strategy, and communications to advance racial equity and systems change.