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2024 promises to be a momentous year for democracy—locally, nationally, and globally. Over 4 billion people are living in countries with major elections this year. In the United States, we will also face familiar but obstinate challenges, including the dearth of local news and youth disaffection with voting and institutions. We will also face challenges that are new in this digital era, namely disinformation turbocharged by generative AI that has enormous power to deceive voters, undermine trust, and destabilize our information ecosystems.
A coalition of non-profit, philanthropic, business, and public sector partners are working to advance a regional bond that could unlock billions of dollars for the construction and preservation of affordable homes across 9 Bay Area counties at an unprecedented scale in the region.
With more than 30 new state legislators taking office in Sacramento, a $25 billion budget shortfall projected by the Governor, and the looming threat of recession, 2023 presents significant changes and challenges for those of us in the charitable sector working to support vulnerable Californians throughout the state.
The Funding Strategies to Accelerate Power-building Cohort is learning and collaboration community of practice that will help philanthropic grantmakers sharpen their power-building strategies by engaging in 501c(4) and complementary 501c(3) funding. A core premise is that these types of grantmaking strategies (which NCG calls “c4-aligned funding”) can accelerate movement building and systems-change goals, strengthen our democracy, and advance racial equity.
In 2020, we witnessed philanthropy make major commitments and promises to resource Black-led organizations and movements as part of a renewed reckoning with racial justice after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black lives. Historically, Black-led power-building efforts have been at the forefront of transformative change but have been consistently underfunded and under-resourced. The sudden surge in resources allocated to Black-led nonprofits and power-building organizations over the last four years highlights the urgent need to invest in the leadership and visionary ideas for dismantling systemic racism and advancing an inclusive, multiracial democracy. Now, the question remains whether the investments so far are truly sufficient to provide long-term support for Black power-building organizations and their vital work.
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 this three-part series, California Criminal Justice Funders Group (CCJFG) funder-members will come together to discuss and identify funding strategies that support alternatives to the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC), including investing in community-led models that address lasting alternatives to punishment and imprisonment. We will learn about concrete funding strategies, hear from movement leaders, highlight CCJFG members’ work, and share practical strategies for supporting work that reimagines different models of community safety and justice.