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As Californians, we know that our own well-being is tied to everyone else’s. California’s Immigrant Resilience Fund is making headlines demonstrating that we are standing together to make sure each and every one of us—native and newcomer—has resources to prevail through the outbreak. No one stands alone. We are one beloved community. Kathleen Kelly Janus, Senior Advisor to the Governor, and Daranee Petsod of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees joined NCG’s Emily Katz to explain how the fund came to be, some surprising new supporters, and what it means to have a ‘Si Se Puede’ moment (Yes, We Can!)
Trans leaders need the spaciousness–many of us understand to be provided by sufficient resourcing–to be able to dream even bigger. As funders, we must understand, now is not the time to center our individual agendas; we cannot focus on single program areas, issues, and strategies, or tepid expansion of portfolios. The Right continues to fund for the long haul, and progressive philanthropy needs to expand our funding and our imagination. If we are working toward equity, we must be steadfast in resourcing trans leaders committed to, and creating long-term strategies for, trans people to live with self-determination and full autonomy.
Northern California Grantmakers recognizes we are witnessing a key moment in the history between Palestine and Israel. The violence is not occurring in a vacuum and this moment requires us to deepen our analysis. The fear, heartbreak, and trauma surrounding this crisis is generational, deeply polarizing, and challenges finding a resolution. NCG is here to support philanthropy in finding its voice as we and many others in the sector are struggling to do so. The clearest immediate actions philanthropy can take are to learn, use its institutional voice to prevent further violence, and provide resources that support humanitarian aid.
Many voices in philanthropy are speaking up, some for the first time, about the protests, the killings, and the structural racism behind them. We welcome all-comers and stand in our belief in Black, Indigenous, and communities of color as defenders of democratic ideals. We too are grieving and angry; structural and anti-Black racism are root causes of wealth, health, employment, and education disparities. The enforcement of racist policies is putting Black and Brown lives at the mercy of the pandemic and police brutality’s deadly toll.
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.
Last year in July 2021, NCG hosted a conversation with trans women of color leaders and queer/trans funder advocates–including the Akonadi Foundation, Borealis Philanthropy, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Horizons Foundation, and Solidaire–to highlight trans leadership and dispel myths that BIPOC trans leaders and their organizations were being adequately resourced, even in the Bay Area.
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.