Welcome to Strategic Community Alliance, Inc.

Our Programs

Do you want to build stronger relationships and be more successful in every area of your life (family, friends, co-workers, and community partners)? If so, it starts with taking the free Core Values Index (CVI), which will give you an objective perspective of who you really are by enabling you to understand your deepest core self.

Effective cross-cultural, diversity, and leadership efforts will have the best results when we are honest with ourselves and others. The CVI can help you be honest with yourself because you will gain insight into who you truly are by identifying your strengths while revealing your blind spots. It is a remarkable tool when a couple or members of a family, team, organization, or community each take the assessment. The CVI is also exceptionally effective if only you take it because you can apply the wisdom gained to positively impact your relationships, even if others have never taken it. Understanding who you are, what validates you, and those you love can positively influence your relationships.

You will discover your hard-wired design and a much clearer perspective of your true strengths and weaknesses that can transform your outcomes in a very positive manner.

To learn more about you, take the free CVI, go to Employer CVI Link – eRep

Our programs are designed to encourage partnerships with individuals and entities who choose to invest in our communities with the goal of long-term sustainability, mutual respect, and prosperity. We seek collaborations where all parties are committed to personal accountability, appropriate transparency, return-based investment, and a view toward improving the whole instead of individual success. SCA is especially interested in creating mutually beneficial affiliations between and amongst the various minority communities of color. Genuine and strategic partnerships amongst minorities of color can be of immense value.

SCA's primary reasons for supporting such alliances are:

We learn more, achieve more, and uplift more people when we create partnerships.
Partnerships demonstrate to others within the community how to leverage assets to accomplish community objectives.
Partnerships promote an interdependence that incentivizes everyone to support the success of others.
Partnerships institutionalize successful systems for everyone in the community.
Partnerships within the community often serve as the positive model that encourages adolescents and young adults to make good decisions.

Making good decisions is contagious and inherently guards against unhealthy and counterproductive decisions. The following provides an overview of SCA's primary programs:

Finance

Finance is a critical element of SCA’s programming because the lack of time-tested financial and investment strategies has paralyzed and robbed minority communities of their prosperity for decades and generations. SCA is committed to helping those interested in tackling this area of their lives by embracing and adopting strategies recommended by subject matter experts and practices of other minorities who have experienced success in this area. SCA works independently and in partnerships with others to facilitate education, access, opportunities for financial investments, and economic prosperity for individuals and groups by working with experts in the areas of financial investments, retirement planning, stock markets, home ownership, and business development.

Crisis management is crucial to the success of any constituency. Minorities of color must seize and mitigate the damages of a crisis promptly. Whether it is a natural disaster, social issue, governmental planned activity, etc., minorities of color are often disproportionately affected by these conditions and rarely experience substantial equitable relief. Events such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the social justice movement following the death of George Floyd are examples where minorities of color did not position themselves to manage these crises positively. Both of these incidents resulted in advocates for minorities of color claiming that people of color were disproportionately and adversely affected by these crises. However, minority leaders and their advocates failed to seize the financial and other opportunities that came about as a direct result of these incidents. To engage positively during a crisis, minority leaders have to shift their view of minorities being victims to victors. Minority leaders and their advocates must engage, strategize, collaborate, take personal responsibility, and act during these periods of crisis. Minorities of color may not cause these crises; however, we must begin the process of positively affecting our outcomes and irradicate some of the problems that have historically plagued our communities.

Crisis Management

Healthcare

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted disadvantages faced by minorities of color, particularly Blacks. This claim gave rise to much discussion but resulted in no systemic solutions for minorities to combat their health concerns proactively. Compared to Whites, minorities of color generally face a higher risk of stroke, some cancers, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, etc. Healthcare professionals routinely convey that there are actions such as making healthy lifestyle choices, eating right, exercising, seeking healthcare regularly, avoiding smoking, etc., that we can take as individuals to lower our risks of several diseases. SCA partners with healthcare providers who have demonstrated specific interests and knowledge of these health risks for minorities of color and are committed to providing culturally sensitive healthcare. These relationships focus on educating and mobilizing the minority community to engage, take personal responsibility, and hold each other accountable for making healthy lifestyle choices.

A quality education is essential for minorities of color to obtain equality and success in America. Numerous studies and surveys succinctly demonstrate the positive outcomes for those who receive a quality education. It is in the best interest of minorities of color to actively engage their local educational systems to advocate for their children to receive a high-quality education because the educational experience will significantly determine their children’s future options, choices, and opportunities. Parental involvement and support of their children receiving a quality education are critical determinants of their children’s future. The participation of parents in their child’s education has proven to positively affect the child’s outcomes, regardless of the child’s color or ethnicity. SCA partners with parents, organizations, various minority communities, educators, and other stakeholders to support quality education through our support of parental involvement, tutoring, scholarships, and other such activities based on clear objectives and measurable goals.

Education

Arts and Culture

SCA promotes cultural diversity through exhibits, presentations, cultural performances, workshops, lecture demonstrations, and educational sessions of various art forms, such as performing and visual arts, theater, literature, etc., within local communities. Minority artists, culture, and art are often not integral to the local community art scene for various reasons. SCA works to identify and facilitate opportunities for artists and organizations from minority ethnic backgrounds who are seeking to learn, educate, engage, and collaborate with other artists and cultural organizations. SCA aims to reinforce and enhance mutually beneficial cultural exchange between and amongst minorities of color and the larger community. SCA will host artists from diverse ethnic backgrounds and races from our local communities and other countries to educate and engage local communities in cross-cultural experiences through their art forms. The primary goal of such efforts is to appreciate and celebrate unique art forms from diverse cultures, promoting understanding and respect for various cultures.

Additionally, a high percentage of minorities and Americans, in general, have never been to culturally diverse places such as India, Africa, Spanish-speaking countries, or places within the United States with a strong and significant cultural connection to one of the communities of color. SCA routinely develops cross-cultural activities and programs, such as conducting tours to different countries specifically designed to educate Americans about the history, art, cultures, and lifestyles of various parts of the world. These planned and curated cross-cultural experiences are organized and coordinated with American citizens with a history or experience with the countries to be visited. Tours conducted and facilitated by SCA are unique because they explore locations and offer experiences involving local arts and artisans, festivals, cultural performances, history, food, languages, traditions, and local life, beyond those found in typically conducted tours. These enriching experiences are made possible by SCA’s cross-cultural empowerment program and relationships with individuals, groups, and organizations of diverse cultures, races, and ethnicities in and outside of the United States.

The lack of professional development and leadership training coupled with sparse opportunities for hands-on experiences are vital contributors to the disparities in pay, promotions, and other compensation between minorities of color and others. Possessing a clear and working understanding of the processes and cultural norms of the American corporate structure is vital to achieving the highest levels of employment success. Many minorities, despite their exceptional academic and professional achievements, find the most prestigious positions in their chosen career path unattainable. These positions are inaccessible to minorities of color, in part, due to the lack of appropriate professional development for the next level. SCA facilitates opportunities and assists minorities with achieving and realizing their professional goals by providing professional development, leadership training, and mentorship opportunities. SCA, through a robust and viable coaching and mentoring program, works to prepare individuals from minority communities of color for positions of leadership and greater responsibility in workplaces and in the community. Each participant goes through several stages of training throughout the program and is eventually assigned a mentor. The mentorship program follows a structured format to ensure that the mentor and mentee are both mutually and individually responsible for successful outcomes.

Professional Development

Giving

A key value for participation in SCA’s programs is the opportunity to serve others. SCA provides opportunities for its participants, supporters, and partners to engage in activities to help individuals and organizations within and outside our communities. Through its mission and programs, SCA highlights and exemplifies key pillars of America’s exceptionalism, service and volunteerism.

While SCA does not lobby elected officials, our team does monitor legislation and provides policy-makers with a perspective that serves the best interest of minorities of color in areas such as civil rights, healthcare, education, criminal justice, business, investments, economic development, etc. SCA leverages every opportunity to partner with others who strategically, responsibly, and civilly promote the rights and interests of minorities of color. Too often, minorities of color face discrimination challenges in workplaces and the community. SCA provides training and consulting services to organizations to address these concerns proactively and responsibly. SCA also assists and represents individuals in the complaint process when the issue cannot be amicably resolved between the employer and employee. Our volunteers provide communitywide EEO/civil rights training and meet with regulatory bodies responsible for enforcing civil rights laws

Advocacy

Most of SCA’s programming activities are acquired and provided by external volunteer resources. Please contact SCA if you are willing to volunteer time, resources, and expertise that aligns with one of our programs.