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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Community Based Organizations (CBOs) have responded quickly and nimbly to ensure Black, Indigenous, and other people of color who have been most impacted have access to timely and accurate information in multiple languages, tests and vaccines, food, internet, and so much more. These organizations are essential partners, trusted by the people they serve, who have taken on public health work that often goes beyond their core missions and programming because their communities need it.
In the wake of recent violence in Half Moon Bay, Monterey Park, and Memphis I hope you are finding opportunities to collectively grieve and honor the lives of Asian, Latino, and Black community members tragically lost. At NCG we have been sitting with the heaviness of this grief. We extend empathy and solidarity to those who mourn the loss of loved ones and those supporting the injured to heal from these profoundly traumatic acts of violence.
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.
Since its founding, Akonadi Foundation has focused on supporting power building and organizing to advance racial justice in Oakland and around the state. In 2000, a year after Akonadi Foundation was launched, California voters approved Proposition 21, which targeted young people of color. Under Prop. 21, many 14-year-olds could be tried as adults rather than in juvenile court, and 16-year olds could be incarcerated in adult prisons. At Akonadi Foundation, we were inspired by the activism and efforts of youth advocates and youth-led groups against this racist ballot measure.
And as we celebrate Juneteenth on June 19, we know that autonomy and sovereignty are essential to building Black power.
What does 2022 have in store for public policy in California?
As we enter the third year of the COVID pandemic, relief and stimulus funds continue to flow from state and federal coffers. New redistricting lines are reshaping legislatures as lawmakers introduce bills that will impact the social sector.
This month, NCG's Collaborative Philanthropy Coordinator, Krystle Chipman, sat down with the Loan Underwriter of the Arts Loan Fund and Principal of Padma Consulting, Margaret Southerland. Margaret shared why she believes the Arts Loan Fund (ALF) can be a game changer for arts nonprofits in the region.