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The American banking system is broken, and the evidence is unmistakable. From the recent failure of one of the largest banks in the U.S. to ongoing predatory products blanketing lower-income communities, it is clear that we are at an inflection point. Bank regulators currently fall into the familiar trap of trying to fix the symptoms such as banning certain products, minor regulatory modifications without fixing the root causes of structural inequities. This results in repeated crises usually requiring taxpayer-funded bailouts but no meaningful change of the system. We must find better opportunities to address staggering losses of wealth through failures in the banking system while also building new structures that support economic equity and help build and preserve more local community wealth.

The Tax Equity Funders Network, Northern California Grantmakers, the Asset Funders Network of the Bay Area, and the League of California Community Foundations are hosting a three-part virtual learning and discussion series for California funders on improving economic security, wealth-building opportunities, and equity for low-income Californians through the tax code. This series, sponsored by Blue Shield of California Foundation, is informed by our recent scan of the CA tax credit ecosystem, and responds to California charitable foundations’ interest in learning about and addressing the challenges faced by low-income Californians at tax time and the potential to use tax systems to improve equity.

In partnership with AAPI for Civic Empowerment, OC Action and the Fresno Civic Engagement Table, AAF & Activate CA will host a two-part statewide briefing to provide funders with a roadmap heading into the 2024 election (and beyond) based on learnings and insights from Asian American and Pacific Islander community organizers that are at the forefront of mobilizing the AAPI electorate in California. 

The Build Back Better Act has the potential to help the nation grow, as framed by the White House, “from the bottom and middle-out" by providing families with funding for childcare, expanding access to affordable housing, education, and health care, and enforcing tax laws on the extremely wealthy.