To qualify for the Platinum Seal of Equity, you must maintain all Gold-level accomplishments and demonstrate commitment to ongoing, active engagement in diversity and inclusion efforts. 
- Step 1: Two-Way Communication
- Step 2: Support Minority Businesses
- Step 3: Diversity Scholarship
- Step 4: Awareness Programming (12 Months)
Step 1: Two-Way Communication
The first step in achieving Platinum-level is to establish, launch and maintain two-way communication with your community. This includes providing easy to access suggestion forms, surveys and other feedback mechanisms.
One of these feedback mechanisms needs to be an online survey you create in cooperation with USCMO to measure your community’s perceptions about diversity and inclusion.
Other mechanisms, including paper suggestion/feedback forms, are also encouraged.
To demonstrate achievement of this step in the Platinum-level process, the organization should provide evidence of the feedback mechanisms. The organization should also share the results of feedback collected from the community.
Additionally, the organization should periodically share feedback summaries with the community and share these communications with USCMO as part of the Platinum-level process.
Step 2: Support Minority Businesses
The second step in the Platinum-level process is to demonstrate your organization’s support for minority-owned businesses, especially African-American and women-owned businesses. This includes vendors such as printers, cleaners, caterers, and other vendors your organization hires.
In addition, your organization should promote the idea of supporting minority-owned businesses by including “We support minority-owned businesses” on its website, email newsletters and other marketing materials.
Step 3: Diversity Scholarship
The third step in achieving the Platinum Seal of Equity is to establish and maintain a diversity scholarship program that awards university-level scholarships to underrepresented minorities in your community. To maintain Platinum status, your organization should award at least one such scholarship each year.
Step 4: Awareness Programming
The fourth step in the Platinum-level process is continuing the regularly scheduled awareness talks at your community center. We encourage you to reach out to other community organizations to bring valuable outside viewpoints to these talks. To qualify for the Silver Seal of Equity, the organization must demonstrate at least twelve (12) months of consistent awareness programming.
Examples of awareness programming include:
- A day in the life of…
- Personal stories of prejudice
- Microaggressions
- Unconscious Bias
- Prejudice, pay, and promotions
- Deep dive into minority culture — food, clothing, style, and more
- Culturally representative pot-luck dinner
- What is cultural misappropriation with examples
- History of Racism in America
- Raising minority children in America
- Being an ally and bystander intervention
- Navigating the world with disabilities
- Safe spaces
Applicant organizations will present event calendars, programs, event promotional materials and photos to demonstrate twelve (12) months of consistent programs.