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NCG is excited to share that Victoria Rodarte (she/her) is joining the team as its first-ever Senior Democracy Fellow beginning March 27th. Victoria brings direct experience in mobilizing resources for a strong democracy, immigrant legal services, and interning for political campaigns
We recently lost a powerhouse in our field. Gwen Walden was the Senior Managing Director at Arabella Advisors' San Francisco office. She had a long history in our community and sector serving on the Boards of the East Bay Community Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, and the Breast Cancer Fund.
The Census is one of the cornerstones of our American democracy. Mandated by the United States Constitution, it is conducted every 10 years and is the largest peacetime effort of the federal government. Census data is used for a variety of purposes from allocation of billions of dollars of federal funding to political representation apportionment to enforcement of civil rights laws. When census information is not accurate, it threatens to muffle the voices of undercounted groups and regions, and undermine the basic political equality that is central to our democracy. Institutions across the country - including local and state governments, businesses, nonprofits and foundations - routinely rely on data from the census to allocate funding, define where services are delivered and promote economic development.
The fight for climate justice is at a critical crossroads. While California has positioned itself as a global leader in addressing the climate crisis, the impacts of climate change are accelerating—hitting the state’s most vulnerable communities the hardest. Decades of underinvestment have made it difficult for frontline communities to scale the bold solutions needed to meet this moment, deepening already stark economic, social, and health disparities. At the federal level, progress made under the Biden Administration is under threat, with efforts to roll back environmental protections, eliminate historic federal funding, and even criminalize organizations working toward climate resilience. Now more than ever, California, and particularly the philanthropic sector, must not only hold the line but push forward, ensuring that the path toward a Just Transition gains momentum rather than stalls.
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!
The 2024 election results revealed a far less progressive California than is often characterized. This regressive and dangerous political landscape raises many questions for state funders committed to investing in communities impacted by prisons, policing, and criminalization. How do we most effectively orient ourselves and our work in this context? What relationships do we need to nourish and build to sustain our collective efforts? What is the courageous stance for California funders now?
Many voices in philanthropy are speaking up, some for the first time, about the protests, the killings, and the structural racism behind them. We welcome all-comers and stand in our belief in Black, Indigenous, and communities of color as defenders of democratic ideals. We too are grieving and angry; structural and anti-Black racism are root causes of wealth, health, employment, and education disparities. The enforcement of racist policies is putting Black and Brown lives at the mercy of the pandemic and police brutality’s deadly toll.