Search Results
In the face of profound political and societal challenges, philanthropy is called to lead boldly, moving beyond reactive and defensive strategies toward a proactive, equity-driven approach. At NCG's 2025 Annual Conference, "Becoming Our Vision," we will collectively explore how philanthropy can align its practices to support communities in defining and realizing their own futures.
Achieving racial equity and sustaining a viable democracy go hand in hand. NCG defines democracy as the processes, systems, and structures for historically marginalized and underrepresented community members to participate in a political system that fulfills the promise of an equitable multi-racial society. Northern California is a region that can model this approach, ensuring that people of color and other communities historically underrepresented and marginalized in our political process fully engage in the democratic process.
In California, a state where 27% of residents are foreign born and approximately 50% of California children have one non-citizen parent, the immigrant justice movement has worked tirelessly over two decades to secure victories at the city, county, and state levels. This includes Medi-Cal coverage expansion for undocumented immigrants, the CA Dream Act, immigration legal services for UC and community college students, the California Values Act (SB54) – our statewide sanctuary law – and the TRUST and TRUTH Acts, bringing transparency and accountability to how local law enforcement interacts with federal immigration enforcement efforts. These accomplishments have established California as a leader on immigration, serving as a model for other efforts across the country—and a target for federal- level attacks that threaten these hard-fought victories.
NCG's longest-running fund, the Arts Loan Fund (ALF) is excited to announce a new co-chair, Sarah Williams! The current ALF Chair Ron Muriera chatted with Sarah about the impact of the arts in social change, support that's needed for organizations in this moment, and what's missing in overall philanthropic funding for the sector. Get to know Sarah and read the interview, below!
Whether you're funding early childhood education, environmental justice, healthcare access, or economic mobility, technology is shaping outcomes in your field. If AI is helping determine who gets hired, who gets housing, who gets healthcare—or who is excluded—we can no longer afford to see tech as someone else’s issue.
Philanthropy California (Philanthropy CA) is an initiative of Northern California Grantmakers (NCG), SoCal Grantmakers, and Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties. Our combined membership represents more than 600 foundations, corporate funders, philanthropic individuals and families, giving circles, and government agencies investing billions every year to support communities across the state, the country, and worldwide. Learn more about our alliance.
Change starts from within. But where do you begin?
This final session will equip philanthropy professionals with practical tools to initiate reporting reform in their organizations. We’ll discuss how to identify key entry points for change, engage internal champions, and build momentum for a shift toward learning-centered reporting.