Announcing the 2015 Annual Conference Morning Breakouts

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

NCG staff has put a lot of thought into designing this year’s annual conference content. The day is divided into 3 distinct sections:

Setting the Stage
Implications
Solutions

Morning Breakouts | Implications

Following the Morning Plenary which will “set the stage” with a big picture presentation on the state of Bay Area communities, we’ll move into conversations on the “implications” of the shifts happening in our region.

Conference attendees will have six Morning Breakouts to choose from—each offering an opportunity to investigate how the changes happening in our communities are playing out in a specific issue area.

Each Morning Breakout will begin with a short presentation by a researcher and issue expert from the Public Policy Institute of California, our official Conference Partner. Then a moderated conversation with a panel of respondents will explore how the changes happening in our communities are playing out in each issue area.

The 2015 NCG Annual Conference Morning Breakouts are:

Displacement | Where are Communities Going and How Do Funders Respond?
With the growth of new capital, new developments, and new residents to urban centers, low-income communities and communities of color are being displaced at an incredible rate. In San Francisco, the median home cost is $1 million and the median one bedroom rent is $3,100. We are in a housing crisis. As communities are displaced, how do nonprofits respond? How do individuals access the services and resources they need? What are the economic and environmental implications?

Education | Filling the Gap: Success and Achievement for All Children!
What is the state of education in California? Who’s succeeding and who’s not and why? Get a picture of the educational landscape in California; what is contributing to the achievement gap; where current interventions may not be adequately framing the problem; the challenges posed by current policy approaches for any funder interested in children and youth; and the opportunities for philanthropy?

Health | What Does a Covered California Look Like?
Despite the dramatic increase of 1.6 million Californians made newly eligible for Medi-Cal through the ACA, millions of Californians—primarily low income families—will continue to remain uninsured. And with the incremental decrease of federal funds coupled with state cuts county and safety net budgets the most vulnerable Californians will still be without access to care. As Medi-Cal expands to cover 11.5 million Californians over the next few years, how can the public, private, and philanthropic sectors come together to monitor cost pressures and affordability to ensure continuous increase of coverage and access?

Justice | Moving from Just Us to Justice or Law, Justice, & Equity
Amidst national calls for overhaul of our criminal justice system, California is both leading the way in the reform movement but still has much work to be done. From policing to deportation to mass incarceration to the shifting policy landscape in California, we’ll consider who is being caught up in the system, reforms and services that are needed, and the role philanthropy can play.

Sustainability | Water, Water Everywhere?: Access & Affordability in a Drought
Water is life, but not every community has equal access. The drought in California is disproportionally impacting historically-ignored communities—both rural and urban. As the drought continues, what do funders working with Bay Area communities need to know about water access?

Workforce |Turning the Skills Gap into Opportunity
By 2025, three-quarters of jobs will require either a bachelor’s degree or some college; however, the supply of highly educated workers is not on pace to meet that demand. How do we address the skills gap? And how do we transform our system so that low-income students of color, parents, low-wage workers, first in family to attend college, people with low basic skills, and English language learners can be the ones to fill that gap