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Earlier this year, Angie Junck, director of the Human Rights program at the Heising-Simons Action Fund attended NCG’s Funding Strategies to Accelerate Power-building Cohort.
The Community of Practice helped connect like-minded funders who wanted to expand their toolbox to strengthen democracy. Below Angie shares how investing in (c)(4) funding can build power for marginalized communities especially during an election year.
November’s presidential election results will have pulled the United States back from the brink of authoritarianism. After we’ve taken a moment to celebrate our achievement and rejuvenate, there comes the challenge of plotting a course forward. Because there’s no going back to some imagined normalcy. Many consequences of Trump’s presidency – cult of strongman personality, capture and erosion of the courts and other democratic institutions, normalization of misogyny and white nationalism, consolidation of Christian Right power, mobilization of vigilantes, enrichment of oligarchs, rise of a media disinformation infrastructure – will not be so easily undone.
First, let’s get honest about the historical context we are operating in. Philanthropy exists as a result of capitalism and was formed through centuries of slavery, colonization, and displacement. The systems are designed to extract resources, privatize wealth, and centralize power and control of said resources. The systems are successfully doing exactly what they have been designed to do.
Together with Philanthropy California (a statewide alliance of Northern California Grantmakers, SoCal Grantmakers, and Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties), we’re championing a sustainable nonprofit sector by supporting the California Nonprofit Equity Initiative. This package of state bills will support and strengthen the larger nonprofit ecosystem. We’re proud to support this package of bills. Philanthropy has a critical responsibility to advocate for their individual grantees and the larger nonprofit ecosystem. We encourage you to learn more below and use your voice to bring more fairness and equity to government grant-making processes.
As 2023 comes to an end, we know that the stakes are high for our movement partners. With the ongoing reality of state violence, backlash from “tough-on-crime” political agendas, and reforms that would undo decades of organizing, California’s grassroots movements for liberation, justice, and safety are as crucial as ever. Now is the time for us to reflect on CCJFG’s contributions to the field of criminal justice philanthropy and recommit to our values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and trusting the leadership of people directly impacted by criminal-legal systems.
The recently finalized “public charge” rule forces families to choose between basic necessities, such as food, housing, and health care, and their future. NCG is proud to join 25 other California foundations in signing a letter urging the entire philanthropic community in California to join us in our recommitment to creating the inclusive California we know is possible, and to support advocacy and direct services organizations fighting to create safe and thriving communities across our state in the face of this new “public charge” rule. Read the letter, below.
We're thrilled to share that we are expanding NCG's capacity around climate and disaster resilience. Katie Oran (she/her) has joined NCG as its first-ever Climate and Disaster Resilience Fellow playing a central role in supporting the development of regional and statewide strategies. Katie brings experience in climate adaption, disaster response, land use planning, climate justice organizing, and wildfire mitigation.