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When I started at Hirsch Philanthropy Partners, I had a few impressions. First, I was sensing a desire for big change in Bay Area philanthropy that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I was engaging in conversations about race, power and decision making, which were the kinds of conversations I was having previously in the nonprofit space. I also discovered that several Bay Area grantmakers were already doing grantmaking differently, bringing diverse communities closer to the center of their work and challenging power dynamics. It felt like a ripe time for change.
My partner and I recently engaged in the annual ritual that is paying U.S. income tax. Gather your documents, fill in the forms, look for deductions that never seem to be there, watch what you really make become clear…as we approached the finish line, I wondered – how can I reframe the act of paying taxes? Then I harkened to a recent moment where paying a tax had a completely different feel, one that not only felt necessary but made a small yet substantive step toward advancing racial equity. I refer of course to NCG’s participation in paying our region’s Indigenous land and honor taxes. We began that commitment as an organization in 2022 and trust me, it’s been both vital and fulfilling.
This is a governance moment. We can master governing for all people by bringing a racial equity consciousness to every aspect of how government does business. We have an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen our democracy by fully activating our multiracial population and building a nation where everyone participates, prospers, and reaches their full potential.
If you’re a funder who shares our vision of a racially equitable, just society, you belong at NCG.
This program is presented through a partnership between Philanthropy California and the
California Office of Emergency Services and is funded by the Listos California Grant Program.
Don’t be intimidated by program evaluation or logic models! They use specialized language, but
they are descriptions of very practical and down-to-earth realities about your program, such as
clearly describing what your program will do, counting how many people you served, or
listening to people describe how they were impacted by your program activities.
This program is presented through a partnership between Philanthropy California and the California Office of Emergency Services and is funded by the Listos California Grant Program.
To build your vision of a successful project that meets needs in the community, you need to understand how to connect resources (like your organization’s staff, volunteers, funding sources, and more) to program design (the plan for what a grant-funded project will do).
I’ll confess – the other day it was a bit hard to get out of bed and start the day. It was the middle of the week, a pile of Zoom meetings awaited, and the covers felt especially fresh and comfy.