DEI Statement & Initiatives

1Purpose & Scope

This document states LinkScape's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and defines how we turn that commitment into measurable action. LinkScape is a youth-led open-source and AI nonprofit and a fiscally sponsored project of The Hack Foundation dba Hack Club. Our mission — widening access to AI for students and communities with limited exposure to it — is itself a DEI mission, so inclusion is not a side program but core to what we do. This document is owned by the Founder and applies to all members, fellows, programs, and beneficiary-facing work. It complements PP-01 Code of Conduct, PP-06 Anti-Harassment, and PP-03 Recruitment.

2Our DEI Commitment Statement

LinkScape is a globally-minded, geography-agnostic community. We believe talent and curiosity are distributed everywhere, and opportunity is not — so we build for the people opportunity too often skips. We welcome contributors regardless of country, region, school, age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic background, or prior exposure to technology. We deliberately removed geographic eligibility restrictions (the former "Shanghai clause") because access should never depend on where someone happens to live.

Because some of our members are minors, inclusion at LinkScape also means safety: an inclusive community is one where young people can participate free from harassment and harm. We hold ourselves to PP-01 and PP-06 as part of this commitment.

3What DEI Means Here

4Measurable Goals

We set concrete, reviewable DEI goals rather than aspirations alone. The table below is a template; the Founder and Member Experience Lead set target values during each planning cycle (see G-13 Strategic Planning). Values are left blank here and filled at goal-setting time — we do not publish invented numbers.

Metrics rely only on data members consent to share, handled per E-02 Data Privacy. Reporting is always aggregated to protect individuals, especially minors.

5Initiative Roadmap

Initiatives are grouped by horizon. Owners and dates are assigned during planning; this roadmap names the intent.

• Near-term: keep recruitment fully geography-agnostic; publish an inclusive, plain-language application; ensure comms and meeting norms work across time zones and ages.
• Near-term: bias-aware screening (two-reviewer rubric in PP-03) and inclusive-language review of all public materials.
• Mid-term: expand AI workshops toward communities with limited AI exposure; track reach against Section 4 metrics.
• Mid-term: mentorship pairings so newcomers (including students new to AI) have support to grow (ties to PP-10).
• Ongoing: annual DEI review, and inclusion questions embedded in PP-14 Engagement Survey and PP-07 exit interviews.

6Roles & Accountability

• Founder — owns this statement and overall DEI accountability; reports progress in G-09 Annual Reporting / I-07 Annual Impact Report.
• Member Experience Lead — operationalizes DEI in recruitment (PP-03), onboarding (PP-04), and engagement (PP-14).
• CFO — owns safety/security escalation, which protects inclusion when concerns arise.
• All members — uphold an inclusive, respectful community per PP-01 and PP-06.

7Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• DEI metrics (Section 4) are reviewed at least annually and folded into I-02 Impact Measurement and I-07 Annual Impact Report.
• Findings drive concrete changes via O-11 Continuous Improvement.
• Members can raise DEI concerns any time through PP-06 channels or directly to the Founder.

8Review

This statement and its goals are reviewed annually by the Founder, or sooner if our community, programs, or beneficiaries change materially. Targets are refreshed each planning cycle so goals stay honest and current.

Approval and Adoption

Adopted upon signature by the officers below. Pending ratification at Sprint 0 (see LS-REG-001).

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