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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.
This past week, Joe Brooks joined the ancestors, bringing to a close a powerful life and career whose impact extended deep into Bay Area philanthropy, and well beyond. Joe’s legacy in this field is vital and active through the dozens of leaders whose lives he touched in more than five decades of public service – including my own.
Data has proven to be a vital ingredient in furthering racial and economic equity in the Bay Area. However, not all local organizations have the capacity to leverage data-driven insights and tools to drive solutions forward and achieve equitable outcomes.
With the 2024 election upon us, we see the Valley made more vulnerable in a democracy hanging by a thread for the very same people that make the Valley a dynamic place. To give visibility to the multiracial richness and need for active civic engagement, the James B. McClatchy Foundation is ensuring the Central Valley is seen by fortifying the pillars of local journalism and democracy, particularly as we immerse ourselves "all in" during this election year.
I’ll be the first to acknowledge that I’ve arrived as NCG’s CEO on the shoulders of many others that came before me. Two of the strongest shoulders belong to my first professional mentor and a heavyweight in philanthropic circles, Joe Brooks. During my seventeen years as a work partner and friend at The San Francisco Foundation and then PolicyLink, I learned more from him than I could ever adequately describe. He had a habit of saying things that were increasingly profound the more you thought about them. One of those sayings was, “how much do you need to know to act?”, often dropped in a setting surrounded by other foundation colleagues where he was about to propose bold action to engage some of the Bay Area’s most vexing social challenges
NCG is pleased to share that our capacity to support donors and trustees is growing! Nicole Garzino (she/her) joins as the new Senior Manager for Donor & Trustee Programs. Nicole brings over twenty years of experience in nonprofit management, program creation, as well as strategic planning, and Board development.
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.