Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity Statement:

Our mission as a non-profit is to give back to the arts community and forward the advancement of improv as an art-form. We want to be the inspiration and example for the larger improv community; if we do better, everyone does better. We believe this means creating a safe and welcoming environment for a diverse and inclusive community to come together and collaborate.

In 2022, our commitment was to increase the racial diversity at our camps, specifically Improv Utopia East, by at least 10%. In 2023, it is our hope that we can continue to increase racial diversity to 20% and increase attendance of those at different physical capabilities across the board.

We aim to make Improv Utopia an inclusive and diverse environment where improv enthusiasts can connect.

Our Commitment:

We aim to make Improv Utopia an inclusive and diverse environment where improv enthusiasts can connect, feature diverse representation in our instructors and leadership, and make partnerships with advisors to maintain a safe environment.

Continued goals:

  • Mandatory staff, instructor and volunteer diversity training.

  • Virtual programming throughout the year featuring our diverse community leaders.

  • Generate more diverse content, featuring diverse communities and artists on the Improv Utopia platform.

  • Increase racial diversity and representation of differing capabilities across all camps.

  • Maintain the strong gender and LGBTQIA+ representation at our camps.

By 2025 we aim to:

  • Increase the racial diversity at all our camps to 25–30% or more of our total campers.

What We've Done:

  • Set and accomplished the following goals:

    Financial SupportBuild scholarship program to assist with hardship, open to all, not specific to diversity. This year, for West we were able to provide assistance to over 10 campers. ❥ Continue to maintain diversity discount.

    Diversity TrainingContinue staff, instructor & counselor diversity training. ❥ Add diversity training for campers. ❥ Add Virtual programming focused on accessibility and also featuring a diverse panel.

    Set TargetsContinue our goal to increase diversity and representation another 5% for East, West and Yosemite.

    Increase AccessibilityTry to provide lighting arrangements for those with light sensitivity when possible in classrooms. ❥ Provide travel assistance for those who require help at camp (ex. rides up the hill at West).

    Request and Respond to FeedbackPoll campers about affinity jam feedback. ❥ Add a new affinity jam for neurodiversity. ❥ Receive feedback regarding Yom Kippur and Yosemite overlap. ❥ Maintain and encourage various reporting structures: Surveys, Red Flag, email, direct contact. ❥ Create diversity facebook page and continue diversity roundtables for feedback and community.

    Regular Internal CommunicationHold monthly meetings between diversity advisor, board member and managing director to review diversity concerns, outgoing materials and upcoming events.

    Maintain Existing Connections & InitiativesContinue to maintain the strong gender and LGBTQIA representation at our retreats. ❥ Continue to find ways to acknowledge campers in various ways through awards and cabin awards. ❥ Continue diversity recruitment. ❥ Continue camper Bill of Rights. ❥ Continue to support recognizing camper pronouns. ❥ Continue to update diversity and FAQ section of website. ❥ Continue to receive instructor recommendations and maintain instructor application form on site.

    Open Up RecruitmentOpen up counselor selection. ❥ Include board member in D&I process.

  • Appointed Anita Nicholson our Diversity Adviser

    With her assistance we:

    ❥ Set diversity targets.

    ❥ Added diversity and inclusion page to site. ❥ Updated site to include past diversity actions and current focuses.

    ❥ Reached out to diverse improv groups & individual members for recruitment to increase representation. ❥ Sent out recruitment emails with more targeted diversity message.

    ❥ Offered a diversity discount to BIPOC campers. ❥ Awarded 4 Diversity Scholarships and 9 Partial Scholarships

    ❥ Reached out to past POC campers for feedback on increasing diversity. ❥ Reached out to other Diversity directors on the East Coast for feedback.

    ❥ Established Staff Diversity Training. ❥ Added Red Flag Reporting for safer reporting practices and accessibility. ❥ Included into opening ceremonies a diversity message with safety discussions. ❥ Held D&I Brainstorming Sessions at Camp.

    ❥ Created D&I Facebook group for year round discussion. ❥ Requested specific diversity feedback via our surveys.

  • Hired Allison Reese-Shapiro to be our Outreach / Inclusion Manager.

    With her assistance we:

    ❥ Awarded four Diversity Scholarships and nine Partial Scholarships. ❥ Aimed for more inclusive language, welcoming campers to share their pronouns and diversity with us.

    ❥ Opened conversations at our camps regarding boundaries to support a safe environment.

    ❥ Sought out diverse and talented instructors for our camps.

    ❥ Hosted free workshops marketed directly for diverse communities, featuring Master Instructors from those communities, including LGTBQA+, 50+, A Black Empowerment Workshop, All Encompassing Diversity Workshop, Women of Color, Asian, and LatinX/Latin(e).

We are currently offering a $50 discount for campers who aren’t traditionally and currently represented within improv stages. We also have scholarships open and available. You can reach out to Diversity@ImprovUtopia.org anytime for the diversity discount.

Do you qualify for diversity discount?

Check our inclusive categories!

CONTACT US ANYTIME

diversity@improvutopia.org

Report concerns safely, securely and anonymously 24/7

If you are uncomfortable with a situation, Be Proactive.

Client Code: Utopia

To file a report, provide client code Utopia and simply do one of the following:

  1. Visit www.RedFlagReporting.com and click on “File a Report”

  2. Call 1-877-647-3335

  3. Text RFR to 234-231-9005

  4. You may also use the following (be sure to be detail oriented, provide our client code, and indicate if you wish to be anonymous our not):

Red Flag Reporting is your hotline for:

  • Fraudulent activity / theft

  • Misconduct

  • Safety violations

  • Unethical behavior

Protect your organization and your co-workers — because everyone deserves to feel protected and safe.

RESOURCES ON DEMAND

Virtual

Series

All proceeds from our virtual series go to our Scholarship fund.