COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS INSTITUTE (CAI) OFFERS DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION SUPPORT TO CONDOMINIUMS AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS IN NEW MAGAZINE
April 30, 2021—Falls Church, Va.— To assist condominium and homeowners association residents in building inclusive communities while promoting and supporting diversity and equity, CAI is offering residents, professional community association managers, and businesses serving community associations access to the latest digital issue of Common Ground™ magazine, CAI's flagship publication.
“While Common Ground is normally available only to CAI members, we have chosen to make this issue available to every resident, owner, board member, manager and business partner in the community housing space because we believe this is one of the most important issues facing our communities, our country, and our world today," says Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI's chief executive officer. “From small condominium buildings to mixed-use communities and master-planned neighborhoods, the conversation about diversity and discrimination starts at home in our communities, and that's where it needs to continue."
Much like the rest of the country, the topics of racism and discrimination have been top of mind within many community associations. Some of the focus, particularly in Southern states, has turned to owners who fly the Confederate flag and rules regarding flags and signs. In Common Ground's “Symbol of Change" article, residents and managers can learn how communities have handled the flag and why fair housing becomes a concern.
CAI knows that cultural clashes and fair housing concerns extend far beyond flags. Creating Harmony in Diverse Communities, a new report published by the Foundation for Community Association Research, examines the extent of discrimination claims in community associations and suggests that communities such as condominiums, homeowners associations, and housing cooperatives with robust communications and active social events calendars have fewer complaints.
To help communities prevent and address discrimination complaints, CAI released the new Diverse and Inclusive Communities Guide, which includes an equality commitment for communities to adopt, a nondiscrimination policy, harassment education and policy, and more.
CAI members—community association volunteers, managers, management company executives, and business partners—have been making strides of their own to address diversity, equity, and inclusion. In Common Ground, we've highlighted a few of those who are developing educational materials, creating policy, writing articles, and instituting business practices.
The May/June Common Ground also includes articles about avoiding conflict, neighborliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how to have challenging conversations.
In addition to the new resources highlighted above, CAI has public policies advocating for fair housing and for a simplified process by which community associations can amend their documents to remove discriminatory restrictive covenants.
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About Community Associations Institute
Since 1973, Community Associations Institute (CAI) has been the leading provider of resources and information for homeowners, volunteer board leaders, professional managers, and business professionals in the more than 350,000 homeowners associations, condominiums, and housing cooperatives in the United States and millions of communities worldwide. With more than 42,000 members, CAI works in partnership with 36 legislative action committees and 63 affiliated chapters within the U.S., Canada, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates as well as with housing leaders in several other countries, including Australia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. A global nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization, CAI is the foremost authority in community association management, governance, education, and advocacy. Our mission is to inspire professionalism, effective leadership, and responsible citizenship—ideals reflected in community associations that are preferred places to call home. Visit us at www.caionline.org, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook @CAISocial.