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Philanthropy is full of paradoxes that hold us back. As we enter 2024, one of the most troubling philanthropic paradoxes is emerging across the field. Foundations tend to retreat when they are needed the most. Why? Because foundations are taught to value perpetuity above our collective humanity.
No matter where you start, success in life starts at home for all ages and all people. When we have safe, secure places to live – whether you rent or own – parents earn more, kids learn better, health and well-being improve, and our communities are strengthened. To build this future, we need to bring the Bay Area’s capacity for innovation and problem-solving to the challenge of preserving our pre-existing affordable housing. The constant loss of affordable units to the speculative market is accelerating the
displacement of working class and poor families - shedding our region of its diversity, vibrancy, and equity of opportunity.
Why does philanthropy change its focus and strategy so often, and on time frames that are unrealistic for minor victories let alone systemic change?
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.
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.
NCG's Foundations of Racial Equity (FRE) provides training for philanthropic practitioners to understand how anti-Black racism and white supremacy influence the field of the practice of philanthropy and provides opportunities for action in your organizations.
Anti-Black racism and white supremacy are embedded in philanthropy and in our institutions, often invisible to the majority of us, even as we work with intention towards equity and justice. As change agents within philanthropy, we are stretching to become our best selves, rise to the moment, and progress toward racial equity.