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This month, President and CEO Dwayne S. Marsh has officially taken the reins from Steve Barton and Phuong Quach, senior staff who’ve served as NCG’s interim leaders for the past six months. The three took turns answering questions about the moment in which we find ourselves and the possibilities ahead. As the interview was drawing to a close, Dwayne paused to check if we were going to address race explicitly. And so, signaling the new future into which we are stepping, we did.
For many philanthropic donors, examining the intersection of social impact and racial diversity of the organizations they fund has become important, particularly to ensure organizations reflect the communities they aim to serve. Unfortunately, efforts to collect this data have resulted in a dizzying array of requests, with different questions and categories, that only increases demands on already overburdened nonprofits. This data is often squirreled away in individual funder silos and not widely accessible, standardized or shared, hindering the sector’s ability to gain a clear understanding of the broader landscape.
California Criminal Justice Funders Group is honored to welcome our newest Steering Committee member: Sabina Gonzalez-Eraña, Senior Program Manager with The California Endowment. We are excited to learn from and alongside Sabina. Learn more about her below!
NCG is pleased to announce the operations team is growing! Deirdre Judge (they/them) joins as the new Operations Coordinator supporting the implementation of NCG's internal and external infrastructure. Deirdre has spent their entire career working against oppressive systems and believes that policies, and their operationalization, are what give teeth to liberatory theorization.
NCG member the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation announced yesterday that Emiko Ono has been named the new Program Director of its Performing Arts Program. Emiko has been a sharp and engaging member of NCG's Arts Loan Fund Steering Committee since 2011. Join us in congratulating her on the new role!
As we consider our roles, it is important to remember that justice is defined not by our own definitions but by the communities directly experiencing injustice. It is also important to keep in sight how our roles align with, support and uplift the existing work of community organizers who have long advocated for restorative and healing justice as common practice, rather than forms of justice defined by the same systems and institutions that uphold structural racism.
Trans leaders need the spaciousness–many of us understand to be provided by sufficient resourcing–to be able to dream even bigger. As funders, we must understand, now is not the time to center our individual agendas; we cannot focus on single program areas, issues, and strategies, or tepid expansion of portfolios. The Right continues to fund for the long haul, and progressive philanthropy needs to expand our funding and our imagination. If we are working toward equity, we must be steadfast in resourcing trans leaders committed to, and creating long-term strategies for, trans people to live with self-determination and full autonomy.