CEO Message
June 13, 2019
When we announced a few years ago that NCG would be taking up racial equity as a central part of our work we received praise, and we also encountered some skepticism. Many cautioned us that everyone seemed to be “getting into equity” and that we’d better be sure we had something distinct to add. We have taken that to heart.
May 2, 2019
It takes a lot of time to put together a day-long conference. We think about that when we consider the other things we will not be able to do, or will have to do later.
January 21, 2019
This region is widely considered to be the birthplace of the civil rights movement, but was also the center of power for the Confederacy, the heart of the Jim Crow South, and at one time a thriving regional marketplace for the trafficking and sale of hundreds of thousands of human souls.
November 8, 2018
My sweetheart and I were married a couple of weeks ago. We celebrated with friends and family with good food, dancing, and lots of laughter on a hilltop overlooking Tomales Bay. In the weeks leading up to our wedding the airwaves were saturated with the Kavanaugh hearings and the midterm elections. The disintegration of civility that has been fueled by cable news, the internet, and our political leaders for decades reached peak levels. Like so many people, we were riveted and distraught.
August 16, 2018
I’ve recently started a yoga practice. (OK maybe it’s a bit premature to call it a “practice,” but I have been to four classes so far, and I plan to keep going.)
June 7, 2018
More than 40 years ago, changes in federal funding practices undermined nonprofits dependent on those funds to maintain steady cash flow and financial stability. To address this, a group of local funders...
February 15, 2018
I am not gonna lie: the world is some tricky s**t right now. All around us, we are confronting myriad, urgent challenges: to the safety and well-being of our loved ones and neighbors, to the vitality of communities undermined by disparities and inequities, to the fabric of civility that can feel at times like it is shredding. At home and at work, we labor to discern what most needs our attention, energy, and resources so we can attend to it thoughtfully and well. We look for allies, we do our best to take care of ourselves and our loved ones along the way, and we search for reasons to hope.
November 9, 2017
There are some things you are glad to have, but hope never to have to use: A quarter for the phone booth (I know, I know – 20th century stuff). A snake for your drain. An epi pen. The capacity to respond quickly and effectively to an emergency is certainly close to – if not right at the top – of that list.
September 21, 2017
In 2007 I found myself in a situation we all dread: witnessing my mother’s declining health and doing everything I could to help her in what turned out to be her last year of life. With the hindsight of ten years, I now look back on that time as one of despair and helplessness as I watched her grow progressively more ill and ultimately pass away. But I also remember it as deeply intimate, precious, irreplaceable time with her that I cherish.
June 22, 2017
By Ellen LaPointe, President and CEO, Northern California Grantmakers