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Confronting and transforming the devastating harm of a planet in crisis along with the ongoing reckoning of persistent deep inequities stands as The Work of our time. Many of us feel a blend of overwhelm, unknowing, and grief - perhaps even guilt and anxiety - that may drive paralysis.
A two-part event series, the second of which will include in-person tour of flood affected communities in the Central Valley, including Tulare Lake. We strongly recommend funders attend both sessions, as in-person connections with communities and with other funders are critical at this time.
In Get It Right: 5 Shifts Philanthropy Must Make Toward an Equitable Region, we've highlighted 5 case studies from regional leaders who are already doing this work. Read about how The Castellano Family Foundation is making a blueprint for change.
California’s Central San Joaquin Valley is a vast region with 8 counties. It is home to rural, agricultural, poor and working-class communities of color and contains the majority of the state’s prisons. Despite its rich history of organizing and the undeniable impacts of the state’s investment in carceral infrastructure, the Central Valley is overlooked by philanthropy. This region receives the least amount of philanthropic resources for community organizing in the state.
In the aftermath of the study and catastrophic flooding following 13 consecutive atmospheric rivers across the San Joaquin Valley, an idea and partnership emerged. Read more below to hear about what worked, what didn’t, and where progress and investments are shifting in the Valley.
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
I grew up in a semi-segregated Richmond, Virginia at a time that its heritage as a part of the South was very strong. Realizing the aspirations of those who came before us and the promise of democratic freedoms is my life's work. In a three-decade career spanning nonprofit, government, and philanthropic service, I have never once felt lost for purpose. My life's experience, the gift of a legacy of public service of my family and mentors, and my determination to forge a future that remedies past injustices drive every decision I face.