Community Building Initiative

Community Building Initiative (CBI)’s mission is to give people and organizations the knowledge, skills and courage to fight bias, remove barriers to opportunity, and build a more equitable and just Charlotte-Mecklenburg. CBI envisions a connected community where everyone wakes up to discrimination and injustice, interrupts inequitable systems and structures, and steps up champion equal rights, access and opportunity. CBI is a nonprofit established in 1997 by government and civic leaders to achieve racial and ethnic inclusion and equity in response to a crisis in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. In Fall 2011, after two years of thoughtful deliberations, CBI leadership expanded its work to include other aspects of diversity such as gender, religion, sexual orientation and socio-economic class/economic status. CBI programming serves three strategic purposes: DEVELOPING LEADERS, including LEC (Leadership for Equity Capacity) and LU40 (Leaders Under 40); CONNECTING COMMUNITY, including events and outreach such as the Annual Breakfast, interactive Bus Tours and Community Symposiums; and ADVANCING EQUITY, including Equity Impact Circles. More information about CBI’s work can be found at cbicharlotte.org.