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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.
The lunar new year of the tiger began on February 1, so it's still a new year which means we have an opportunity for a fresh start. Leaders and staff in organizations from different sectors use the phrase “racial equity” or “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and talk about it but sometimes there is a disconnect between talking and acting on what it means to operationalize racial equity.
How can corporate philanthropy be responsive to the demands of this moment? It's a question rooted in the very nature of a capitalist economic system, where corporations focus on maximizing returns exacerbates inequities. Into that mix, corporate foundations and champions of social responsibility mobilize their companies’ resources and talent to restore community balance and advance social good.
Philanthropy brings a special appetite for innovation and has the capacity for greater risk-taking – and those stances are needed at this moment to preserve affordable housing. When affordable housing is destroyed – through neglect and disinvestment, demolition, increased rents - people lose their homes, neighborhoods lose community, and the region becomes a more congested and less interesting place.
NCG's Racial Equity Action Institute centers racial equity with an intersectional framework that recognizes the ways race is shaped and informed by class, gender, sexuality, and ability. Learn more about the annual cohort and how to apply here.
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.
Rising sea levels due to climate change have put people, the natural and built environment at severe
risk not only on the California coast, but throughout the state. Flooding affects housing and
transportation infrastructure and rising groundwater releases buried toxics, with disproportionately
impacting low-income communities of color bearing the greatest burden. The price tag to mitigate
these dangers to community and economic wellbeing are staggering, with over $110 Billion projected
for the Bay Area alone.