We are at a pivotal point in world history and now is the time to act. Altum is incensed and heartbroken at the repeated killings of people of color and other minority groups due to systemic racism. Altum condemns the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McClain, and the countless others who have died, and continue to die, because of racism and police brutality. We fully support the Black Lives Matter movement.
We cannot stand idle any longer in the fight against the social injustices that have hindered people of color for centuries. We believe future generations will consider this moment and assess how we responded. Altum is committed to doing our part in the fight for equality in our country and globally. To that end, we are announcing a new corporate initiative, Altum Action, and the following three initiatives as starting points to reinforce this commitment and mindset within our company.
- This summer we will launch Altum’s first scholarship program for people of color to assist students with education-related expenses. We’re eager for the opportunity to help in this small way and to encourage people to pursue their dreams. We are finalizing the details of the scholarship program and will start accepting applications through our ProposalCentral platform (https://www.proposalcentral.com) in August.
- As an organization committed to innovation and revolutionizing the research industry, we will also implement a Diversity Dashboard in ProposalCentral to display funding statistics for each funder compared to the entire ProposalCentral funder community. We want the Diversity Dashboard to help influence and guide funding decisions in ProposalCentral.
- We will recognize Juneteenth as an annual holiday to further educate ourselves, create space for learning, demonstrate solidarity with the Black Lives Matter organization, and contribute to our communities to learn more about addressing racial inequity.
We encourage other companies, research organizations, researchers and ProposalCentral funders to participate in these new initiatives to increase the impact. Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like more information.
By working together and leading with kindness and generosity, we can all do better and work harder to ensure an equal and fair world for everyone. We stand with communities of color in the fight against racial discrimination and inequality.
