CULTUREALL INC

CultureALL’s mission is to lead communities in valuing our culturally rich diversity and promote equity, and inclusion. Our multi-cultural education programs:
• Help Iowans prepare for work in a global economy by gaining knowledge about global cultures.
• Help community members accept and adapt to cultural differences, developing the mindset needed to navigate communicating and collaborating with people from different backgrounds.
• Help teachers develop new strategies for including global perspectives in their curriculum and gain a better understanding of how to handle interactions with immigrant students and families.
• Help immigrants and refugees become successful community members and citizens who share their diverse cultures, perspectives, customs and traditions.

CultureALL creates experiences that bring people together across cultures to talk, listen, learn, and collaborate in building a community where everyone is welcome.

CultureALL programs are grounded in a developmental model for intercultural sensitivity, adapted from the research of experts in the field of intercultural research and communication. This model assumes that inclusiveness – defined as the ability to communicate, solve problems, and address conflicts in culturally and ethically appropriate ways – is a personal journey for everyone. CultureALL offers itself as a guide, designing programs to meet people wherever they are on this journey and help them move forward. We approach this with the understanding that not everyone is starting their journey from the same place.

CultureALL has recruited and trained more than 180 individuals representing 70+ world cultures to become Ambassador educators who provide authentic, hands-on experiences that challenge people to shift perspectives, explore complex issues, and respect diversity. CultureALL has more than a hundred unique workshops, and presentations, adaptable to different ages and abilities.

CultureALL programs include:
• School Programs help students from diverse cultures explore concepts of culture together. They examine issues from different perspectives – to ask questions and challenge their own preconceived attitudes, beliefs, and fears. What they learn can help them overcome prejudices and become more open, compassionate, and accepting of the differences of others.
• Business Programs move beyond diversity training help companies to create a more inclusive environment by helping employees become more culturally proficient – with clients, with colleagues, and with each other.
• Senior Programs provide opportunities for seniors to explore world cultures by bringing the culture to them and address tensions caused by racial disparities among residents and staff in senior living facilities.
• Community Programs bring people of all ages and backgrounds together to explore, experience and celebrate world cultures.

Since 2005, CultureALL has touched the lives of more than 350,000 Iowans. In FY2019, 67 CultureALL Ambassadors representing over 30 unique cultures provided 1,108 unique cultural experiences that served 34,692 community members. The majority of these (27,277) were K-12 students in 15 school districts. Evaluations from our school programs show that these experiences help schools create a more inclusive learning environment for students by:
• Boosting student engagement
• Improving relationships among students from diverse cultures by helping them connect with their classmates in new ways
• Helping minority students to feel valued.

Our strategic priorities include:
• Expanding our programs into new markets to serve more people
• Evolving programs to address emerging community needs
• Recruiting and training more Ambassadors to meet the demand for programming
• Forging new alliances with diverse people, groups, and organizations
• Expanding financial resources to fuel future growth