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Regional Vibrancy and Sustainability

Making this a place we can all call home. 

Northern California is diverse and beautiful, with a rich cultural history and commitment to social justice. We are called upon to preserve it through shared effort. Today, the region’s economic boom is deepening income disparities and displacing the very people who form the backbone of the services and cultural building blocks for safe, thriving communities.

In addition, our nonprofit and arts institutions are themselves experiencing record displacement, further eroding the vibrant character and culture that have been the legacy of our region for generations.

Preservation of our environment and the beauty of our surroundings, as well as the mitigation of climate change, are also central to the vibrancy of our region.

Defining our Terms

Regional Vibrancy. The unique and distinct character that defines Northern California: its natural beauty, human diversity, artistic and cultural richness, innovative, entrepreneurial and creative economic engine, and deep legacy of social justice. Our "heartbeat," if you will. 

Sustainability. Strengthening and preserving our region's vital workforce, diverse and rich populations, nonprofit, nonprofit infrastructure, artistic and cultural communities and institutions, and natural environment. 

Events

Impact Investing: Investing to Create Equitable Jobs
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 - 10:30am

As we rebuild our economy in the wake of COVID-19, we are left with an opportunity to make inclusive growth a new cornerstone of American economic progress. Join our Philanthropy CA peer, San Diego Grantmakers, to learn about San Diego Workforce Partnershp’s innovative Income Sharing Agreements a

Impact Investing: Disruptive Innovations in Health Care Investing and How Impact Investors Accelerated the COVID-19 Response
Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - 10:00am

The race for COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics is bringing forth the most powerful and innovative scientific collaboration in history. Join our Philanthropy CA peer, San Diego Grantmakers, to learn about philanthropy’s critical role to date and explore strategies impact investors ca

Dodging Democracy Doomsday Before November 3: How To Support a Freer, Fairer, Safer Election
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 - 10:00am

A perfect storm is swirling around November’s presidential election with ominous signs of bitter partisanship and chaos amid surging Coronavirus cases.

Grantmakers for Housing Stability: Targeting Racial Disparities in Homelessness
Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - 10:30am

Our health, ability to find and keep a job, success at school, and connection to our communities is dependent on stable housing.

Rent is Due: Developing Solutions for California’s Rental Cliff
Wednesday, August 19, 2020 - 12:00pm

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, California was struggling with a deep housing affordability crisis. Now hundreds of thousands more renters are at risk of eviction and homelessness as eviction moratoria and unemployment insurance benefits expire, and unemployment rates continue to rise.

All RVS Events

Resources

Resources from Building Community Power: Democracy at the Local Level

In an October 4 Webinar, we introduced funders to new efforts in California to reimagine democracy at the local level. These new tools for community power and democracy are broadening political participation for traditionally disenfranchised groups, expanding civic engagement beyond elections, and creating new platforms for making government more responsive, accountable, and equitable.

September Meeting Recap: Envisioning a Funder Network on Childhood Adversity
Background
Report: North Bay Fires and the Arts, One Year Later

October 2018 marks the one-year anniversary of the Northern California firestorm. With funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Northern California Grantmakers commissioned Learning for Action, an independent San Francisco-based research firm, to conduct this study to understand the extent of the fires’ impact on the arts community in the three most affected counties: Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino.

The study, North Bay Fired and the Arts, One Year Later, draws upon quantitative and qualitative data collected in each of the three counties from individual artists affected by the fires and from arts organizations serving the region.

Resources from Moving Black-Led Organizations from Crisis to Change: Solutions for Sustainability

A report issued last year by the Bay Area Black United Fund - Black-Led Organizations (BLOs) in the Bay Area: From Crisis to Change- noted that BLO’s which are lifelines to low-income Black communities are especially vulnerable due to a cumulative lack of resources to support growth, best-in-class systems, training and leadership development. Connections to mentors, coaches, experienced consultants, and other resources to assist with succession planning, board recruitment and the implementation of earned income strategies have been identified as keys to improving the sustainability of Black-Led Organizations and the communities they serve.
Resources from the briefing program include presentation, reports, profiles of Black-led organizations, and a description of the partnership opportunity.

Resources for March 16th COVID-19 Discussion on Funder Collaboration

Local funders identified needs, the strategies their organizations were deploying, shared resources, and discussed how they may coordinate response efforts. 

All RVS Resources

News

Wednesday, August 12, 2020
The Search is Over: Announcing NCG's New CEO, Dwayne S. Marsh

NCG’s board and staff are pleased to announce the conclusion of a rigorous search for the organization’s next president and CEO. From a pool of nearly 90 candidates and many strong contenders, one leader emerged as the consensus choice of board, staff, and management. Oakland’s own Dwayne S. Marsh brings nearly thirty years’ experience advancing racial and economic equity through sustained work in the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors.

Friday, July 17, 2020
NCG Bids Farewell to Policy Chief, Cecilia Chen

This month marks a changing of the guard in NCG’s policy advocacy. NCG’s Cecilia Chen is stepping down to assume a central role in efforts to end the criminalization of Black youth and youth of color in Oakland at the Oakland-based Akonadi Foundation.

Friday, June 5, 2020
NCG Members Speak Up

NCG's members are speaking up, some for the first time, about the protests, the killings, and the structural racism behind them. Several point toward organizations we can fund right now to fuel this movement. We are proud to share all of them here.

Alice Hom and Daniel Lau
Thursday, May 7, 2020
What We're Reading: May Equity & Social Justice Edition

As the pandemic illuminates the structural cracks in our system, the spring month of May brings about renewal and growth—we hope this collection of articles does just that for you. This month's collection aims to increase understanding and bring more attention to the impacts our communities are facing. We specifically highlight increasing disparities in communities of color, hardships of front line workers, the war narrative, and the need for racial equity inclusive economic power shifts.

Friday, May 1, 2020
All In for All of Us: A Public-Private Fund for Undocumented Immigrants

As Californians we know that our own well-being is tied to everyone else’s. California’s Immigrant Resilience Fund is making headlines demonstrating that we are standing together to make sure each and every one of us—native and newcomer—has resources to prevail through the outbreak. No one stands alone. We are one beloved community. Kathleen Kelly Janus, Senior Advisor to the Governor, and Daranee Petsod of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees joined NCG’s Emily Katz to explain how the fund came to be, some surprising new supporters, and what it means to have a ‘Si Se Puede’ moment (Yes, We Can!)

All RVS News