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In 1993, Fargo-Moorhead area leaders held several community forums to identify community issues needing urgent attention. It was determined that the community needed to embrace its increasing ethnic diversity and assist diverse populations in overcoming barriers to community participation. Leaders wanted to ameliorate intolerance of all kinds, increase understanding of the value of diversity, and develop a permanent system wide framework aimed at celebrating the ever-increasing cultures of the community. With this in mind, action to develop a proactive regional diversity project, to cover four cities (Fargo, West Fargo, Moorhead and Dilworth) in two counties (Cass County, ND and Clay County, MN) began.
A project development team was formed to develop the mission and long-term goals; to coordinate involvement from key stakeholders in the community; and to seek funding for the project. Cultural Diversity Resources (CDR) was established in 1994 as the Cultural Diversity Project and incorporated with its new name, Cultural Diversity Resources, in 1998 as a 501 (C) 3 tax exempt non-profit organization. CDR was established to address the challenges and opportunities of growing cultural and ethnic diversity.
Cultural Diversity Resources, Inc. is a proactive diversity initiative to address the challenges and opportunities of increased cultural and ethnic diversity in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area.
According to Census 2000, Fargo-Moorhead’s ethnic community doubles every ten years. New challenges and opportunities to bond as a strong community patterned in cultural and ethnic diversity abound. As such, the Cultural Diversity Project incorporated with its new name, Cultural Diversity Resources, in 1998 as a 501 (C) 3 tax exempt non-profit organization.
We currently have 3 full time staff members, 9 board members, 1 On-the-Job Training Receptionist working together with a pool of volunteers and interns to meet the challenges of our mission.
Our goals for the Fargo-Moorhead community are as follows:
To increase the understanding and value of diversity in our communities.
To create opportunities by eliminating barriers to community participation.
We hope that we can help set the community on path which would strengthen bonds in the community and create a better understanding of the misplaced fear, misinformation and barriers that keep individuals apart at work and in the communities.
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