Common Good City Farm Non-Discrimination Policy
Common Good City Farm prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, gender, gender identity and expression, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, veteran status, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Common Good City Farm is committed to providing a balanced, safe and educational environment for all program participants, visitors and volunteers. Common Good City Farm firmly believes that everyone should be treated equally and fairly. Persons with disabilities who require accessibility modifications should be in touch with the relevant program staff.
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In addition, please request a copy of Common Good’s Employee handbook for policies related to anti-discrimination and anti-harassment in the workplace.
Common Good Discrimination Complaint and Compliance Review/Grievance Procedure
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It is the policy of Common Good City Farm (Common Good) to ensure full compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws in all programs and activities. Common Good will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, ethnic group identification, creed, sex (including actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity), disability, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, veteran’s status, or age in any Common Good programs, services, or activities.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504”) prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability by state or local government agencies and recipients of federal financial assistance.
Discrimination includes, but is not limited to, excluding an individual from participation in or denying an individual the benefits of any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance due to the individual’s race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
Common Good does not exclude, deny benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, ethnic group identification, national origin, creed, disability, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, age, veteran’s status, or sex (including actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity) in the administration of its programs or activities.
Common Good is committed to taking reasonable steps to provide timely and meaningful access for Limited English Proficient Persons coming into contact with Common Good’s programs, services, and activities. Common Good will provide free language assistance to such persons. For more information on language assistance, contact
Samantha Trumbull, Common Good Executive Director and Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator
PO Box 26030
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 559-7513 Sam@commongoodcityfarm.org
This Complaint and Compliance Review/Grievance Procedure is established so that any member of the public who believes they have been subjected to discrimination in the receipt of benefits and/or services from Common Good on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, ethnic group identification, national origin, creed, disability, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, age, veteran’s status, or sex (including actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity) and wishes to file a complaint may do so following the outline below. In addition, Common Good’s Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator may, on her own initiative, undertake compliance reviews to investigate compliance with Title VI, the ADA, Section 504, and other federal and state civil rights laws in the absence of a complaint on a periodic basis. Common Good is prohibited from retaliating against any member of the public who files a complaint under these procedures and any retaliation will be handled promptly if it occurs.
The complaint shall be in writing and contain information about the complainant and the alleged discrimination such as:
The name, address, and phone number of complainant;
The name of the Common Good program and/or employee(s) against whom the complaint is
filed;
The location, date, and description of the alleged violation; and
The signature of the complainant or his or her designee.
Please see the TITLE VI/504/ADA and Related Statutes Discrimination Complaint Form at the end of this Procedure.
If the complainant is unable to submit the complaint in writing, they may call the Common Good Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator to submit a verbal complaint.
The complaint shall be submitted by the complainant or their designee as soon as possible but no later than 180 calendar days after the alleged violation to:
Samantha Trumbull, Common Good Executive Director and Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator PO Box 26030
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 559-7513
Sam@commongoodcityfarm.org
If a complaint is submitted directly to a Common Good program, office, or staff member, the program, office, or staff member shall forward the complaint to the Common Good Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator within 5 calendar days.
Within 10 calendar days after receipt of the complaint:
the Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator will make a determination of whether Common Good has jurisdiction over the complaint and send the complainant an acknowledgment letter informing them whether the complaint will be investigated. This letter will also inform the complainant of their right to file directly with the federal agency;
if the Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator finds jurisdiction, she will notify the Common Good program or individual that is the subject of the complaint and request a response to the complaint and will begin an investigation. The investigation may include interviews of the complainant, Common Good employees, contractors, subcontractors, subgrantees, and witnesses to the alleged discrimination, as well as review of any physical or written evidence.
The Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator may attempt to conciliate and resolve the complaint through a mutually agreeable solution. Any such informal resolution must be signed by both the program or individual that is the subject of the complaint and the complainant. Absent extenuating circumstances, the Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator will complete her investigation and resolution efforts within 30 days after beginning the investigation.
An appropriate, prompt, and impartial investigation of any allegations filed under federal non-discrimination statutes will be conducted. A preponderance of the evidence standard will be applied during the analysis of the complaint.
When the Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator determines that discrimination has occurred, and an informal resolution is not reached, the Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator shall determine any necessary remedial actions and order the complained-of program to implement the accepted recommendations.
Absent extenuating circumstances, the Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator will provide a written response to the complaint within 45 calendar days after beginning the investigation. The Coordinator will issue one of three letters:
a closure letter summarizing the allegations and stating that there was not a violation and that the case will be closed; or
a letter of resolution summarizing the allegations and describing the informal resolution mutually agreed to by the complainant and the program or individual about which the complaint was submitted; or
a letter of finding (“LOF”) summarizing the allegations and the investigation of the alleged complaint and explaining any remedial action to be taken by Common Good.
If the response does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant or the program may appeal the decision to Common Good’s Executive Director within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response from the Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator. Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Executive Director or their designee will meet with the complainant and the affected program or individual to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. The Executive Director or their designee may also interview witnesses and review any physical or written evidence. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting with the complainant and program or individual, the Executive Director or their designee will respond in writing to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.
If at any time a delay is expected, the Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator will notify the complainant in writing of the reasons(s) for the delay and the expected date for a response.
The Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator shall maintain records of complaints received, informal resolutions, investigation findings, appeals, and appeal decisions. The Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator shall document actions taken to resolve each complaint, communicate complaint activity to the appropriate federal agency as required, and maintain copies of complaints and documentation of their resolution for a period of not less than two (2) years.
The Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator (through the Executive Director) shall furnish a report to the Board of Directors at least annually regarding the number, nature, and status of complaints.
These procedures do not deny the right of the complainant to file a complaint with state or federal agencies, or to pursue litigation for complaints alleging discrimination, intimidation, or retaliation of any kind that is prohibited by law.
Our Civil Rights Coordinator is Samantha Trumbull, who may be reached by email at sam@commongoodcityfarm.org, or info@commongoodcityfarm.org with the subject line “Civil Rights.”
Demographic information for program participants is available upon request from info@commongoodcityfarm.org.