Please join 黑料福利社 in celebrating the life of Dan Sudran, founder and former Director of , who sadly passed away from cancer on Monday, June 13. Dan is fondly remembered by us and all those who were fortunate to know him.

Dan had a special gift for inspiring curiosity in all he reached, and firmly believed kids were better off with聽their hands on scientific projects. Dan鈥檚 enthusiasm for science was contagious and he dedicated several decades of his life to inspiring both kids and adults to embrace science. Through his fascination and extraordinary depth of knowledge, he provided a space to foster creativity and develop interest in all types of projects, with a particular goal of making science education and exploration accessible to low income and disenfranchised youth.

In 1992, Dan founded Mission Science Workshop, which joined 黑料福利社 as a fiscally sponsored project in 2006. Dan鈥檚 passion for teaching science expanded beyond Mission Science workshop. He shared his knowledge with others in organizations around the world. Mission Science Workshop was so well received that Dan helped establish seven other Community Science Workshops (CSWs), part of the Global Alliance of Community Science Workshops and more than thirty project over his lifetime. One of the more recent CSWs is , also fiscally sponsored by 黑料福利社.

From the time Dan founded Mission Science Workshop, he inspired others with self-directed exploration of biology, anatomy, chemistry, geology, paleontology, and electronics.

Dan鈥檚 legacy lives on. Children and adults will continue to learn and be inspired by science because of the contributions he made throughout his life.

黑料福利社 donated to Mission Science Workshop in honor of and Dan and his work. If you would also like to make a contribution in honor of Dan, please donate to Mission Science Workshop, .

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After panelist introductions, the first question posed by the NNSF moderator, Sarah McCann, was, 鈥淐an you tell us about your organizations and how the work has evolved?鈥�

Shah began by acknowledging that 黑料福利社 started serving local projects in San Francisco and the Bay Area as part of the San Francisco Foundation, then talked about how they鈥檝e scaled their capacities and efficiencies to serve projects with a national presence and a few with an international footprint. She stated, 鈥渢he changes to our staffing and our technology and the types of projects that are in our portfolio really have to do with (that) breadth and diversity.鈥� She also explained that the project portfolio has shifted to include more professional services and advocacy organizations from direct service organizations, which now make up a minority of the portfolio.

Schreffler countered that CNDC was established by a group of individuals from foundations, so from an early date they had the support of the foundation community within Colorado. CNDC differs from 黑料福利社 in that they have chosen to maintain their geographic (Colorado-based) focus since their inception in 1999. However, over the past ten years, they have shifted their project portfolio to include an increasing number of projects from outside the Denver Metro area. The CNDC portfolio has also expanded to house more art-focused projects. Leszman chimed in that CNDC has, 鈥渆volved over time as far as the risk we鈥檙e willing to take.鈥� She also added that individual grant making has become an increasing part of their business model.

Another topic that McCann posed to the panelists was, 鈥淭ell us how your administrative staff supports your projects.鈥�

Roderick began by explaining that, except for a few large projects, the CI client services team has adopted a team-based approach to servicing projects once the projects have made it through an initial onboarding period. She also explained that with the team-based model 鈥渨e鈥檙e able to really focus on professional development skills with our team.鈥� Shah pointed out that projects have emphasized the importance of CI鈥檚 financial services year after year in our annual project survey. For that reason, each project is paired with a project accountant for the life of their sponsorship. Shah also pointed out that the team service model helps minimize the impact of staff turnover.

Leszman, having previously worked at CI, agrees that a team model is beneficial regarding turnover because (when someone leaves) 鈥渋t鈥檚 less work than having to reteach somebody about all of those individual pieces of their programmatic work.鈥� She also explained that CNDC鈥檚 programmatic team has implemented the practice of regular check-in calls. Leszman stated they are 鈥渢o really learn more about what鈥檚 going on.鈥� In other words, they鈥檙e a preventative measure; they help the programmatic team anticipate needed support ahead of time, which is helpful to their service model. Schreffler added, different from CI, most of the staff at CNDC are task specific. The individuals on their programmatic team are dedicated to a cohort of projects. She explained, 鈥渢hey (projects) can go to either their finance person or their programmatic person to get more individualized attention.鈥� Though, Schreffler acknowledges, that there is a downside to this individualized approach, which often confuses clients when one of their key staff contacts leaves.

The next questions McCann posed to the panelists were, 鈥淲hat role has technology played in your evolution? Where are you in your technology journey today and where are you going?鈥�

Both fiscal sponsors were quick to acknowledge that the pandemic has expedited the adoption of new technologies. Both organizations鈥� finance teams have adopted Intacct (a well-known accounting software). Using Intacct gives projects virtual access and greater visibility to their project financial statements. A desire for operational efficiency and systems security were mentioned as key drivers of recent technology enhancements for both organizations. An audience member asked, 鈥淗as the cost of the technology investments been absorbed internally or passed on to the projects?鈥� In both cases, the cost of technology investment has not caused the organizations to increase their projects鈥� fees. Also, 聽CI and CNDC have both eliminated their internal servers in favor of cloud-based systems.

Beyond that, Roderick jumped in to explain that CI has also adopted Salesforce which is currently 鈥渁 massive undertaking鈥�, Bill.com, donation platforms, tech management, and DocuSign. She said, 鈥�(We鈥檙e) really trying to figure out how we can silo that so we can see a more 360 view of the interactions we鈥檙e having with our projects to be able to track the cycle of a contact with us鈥here we can make sure that the right people are getting tapped in and tagged in appropriately, and we can respond.鈥� Shah offered an example of the digitization of waivers. She said, 鈥淲e do 1,000 waivers鈥o we鈥檝e integrated a waiver, on an online platform that is more friendly to communities of color.鈥� As far as the future is concerned, Roderick articulated CI鈥檚 desire to update the project portal, 鈥渟o our folks can get information.鈥� She summed up the desire for the future portal to be both more interactive and intuitive. Shah added that in the future state, a portion of Salesforce will be project facing.

For CNDC, Schreffler reminisced that when she began with the organization in 2013, they were still tracking everything in Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. They didn鈥檛 even have Office 365, so 鈥減eople couldn鈥檛 work in the same document at the same time.鈥� She recognizes that it also was not great from a security standpoint. Since then, CNDC has adopted Salesforce and then added onto their initial buildout. Like, CI, CNDC would like to establish a project-facing Salesforce interface. Their goal is to make this happen within the next three years. Lezsman chimed in that CNDC is searching for a payment platform with great customer service. She calls this a 鈥渦nicorn鈥� and questions if one exists. (Please contact her if you know of one!)

McCann concluded the discussion with the prompt, 鈥淎ny advice to stay productive and sane as we do this work?鈥�

Shah affirmed that maintaining a sense of humor is imperative. Roderick agreed that humor is important and offered that 鈥渨e are able to get some joy.鈥� She also added, 鈥渞eally remembering the work of the projects as well as focusing on that piece of it.鈥�

Leszman summed up her motivation in three terms: 鈥渃ontinued learning, fun, and impact.鈥� Schreffler agreed with all the responses and had nothing more to add.

For the sake of the length of this article, some audience questions and discussion points were not included. If you would like more detailed information about this 鈥淐OVID Discussion鈥�, you can access the transcript .

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黑料福利社 hosted our quarterly Mission Moments on Thursday, October 28, featuring three of our fiscally sponsored projects (FSPs): Bay Area Health Advisory Council (BACHAC), Pre-Health Dreamers, and Radical Monarchs. The unifying themes among the three FSPs are that they serve historically underserved communities and promoting equity, health, and mentorship. Additionally, each project told their impressive growth story and how their work is positively impacting more people as time goes on. During this Mission Moment, project鈥檚 Executive Directors responded to a standard set of questions about their work, and presented videos showcasing highlights of their community impact.

BACHAC

Presenter: Lisa Tealer, Executive Director

Mission & Impact
Mission: To increase awareness of health issues impacting African Americans and diverse communities; to advocate for increased health education and access to resources; and actively encourage accountability for health lifestyles.

Impact: BACHAC makes a positive impact through offering health education as a credible source, connecting those who need it most with health resources, partnering with a variety of health-focused organizations, and saving thousands of lives each year through connection to health services.

What brought you to 黑料福利社?
BACHAC was formerly sponsored by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF). When SVCF discontinued their fiscal sponsorship program they recommended 黑料福利社 and made the introduction to Heidi Hernandez Gatty. They were also impressed by 黑料福利社鈥� reputation as a fiscal sponsor and by the variety of services provided by 黑料福利社.

Why 黑料福利社 continues to be your fiscal sponsor
BACHAC attributes the value of fiscal sponsorship, specifically, infrastructure and on-going consultation as one reason they remain with 黑料福利社. Another reason is that they feel 黑料福利社鈥� staff contributes to their success because of advice given to them by their Client Services Manager, Jose Plascencia, and because of HR support, from Rula Adranly and Cathy Nelson, that helps them grow their organization.

Changes made due to COVID-19
BACHAC quickly moved to operating digitally with the onset of the pandemic. They purchased a Zoom subscription to hold virtual meetings and moved their health education online. They also transitioned an in-person event, 鈥淪oul Stroll for Health鈥� to be virtual, and supported several COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

Additional Information we鈥檇 like 黑料福利社 to Know
BACHAC surpassed their goal of helping 200 uninsured women receive mammogram. They鈥檝e also offered weekly COVID-19 testing since November 2020, with personal protective equipment (masks and gloves) giveaways and have influenced public health studies. Additionally, since May 2020, they鈥檝e hosted twenty 鈥淲ellness Where You Are鈥� sessions, educating their community on a variety of health-related topics.

Pre-Health Dreamers

Presenters: Yadi, Executive Director, and Angeles Amaraz, Network Training Manager

Mission & Impact
Pre-Health Dreamers supports undocumented pre-health students through a community of peers and allies, offering support, empowerment, advocacy skills, and professional development. They advocate for increased access to health careers and health care for the undocumented community through student-focused efforts, institutional change, and community engagement.

What brought you to 黑料福利社?
Pre-Health Dreamers selected 黑料福利社 as their fiscal sponsor based on thought partnership, professional Services, the benefit of communities in service to social change, and reliable, professional, and helpful staff

Why 黑料福利社 continues to be your fiscal sponsor
Pre-Health Dreamers sums up the reasons 黑料福利社 remains their fiscal sponsor in three words: trust, empowerment, and teamwork.

Changes made due to COVID-19
Pre-Health Dreamers responded to the immediate needs of students that were brought on by the pandemic. In addition, they cancelled all their in-person events, and instead pivoted to online gatherings for strengthening their community.

Additional Information we鈥檇 like 黑料福利社 to Know
Pre-Health Dreamers has had many recent successes. They raised over $12,000 during their first annual conference. They hired new staff members and promoted one current staff member. They made it possible for sixty students to complete the 2020-2021 peer engagement and enrichment program. And they made thousands of presentations to health industry professionals who welcome undocumented individuals.

They have also had community support in the form of collaborations, allyship, and sponsorship.

Radical Monarchs

Presenter: Marilyn Hollinquest, Executive Director

Mission & Impact
Mission: The Radical Monarchs create opportunities for young girls of color to form a fierce sisterhood, celebrate their identities, and contribute radically to their communities.

Impact: They teach the Radical Monarchs how to hold those in power accountable in ways that are accessible to adolescent girls. In addition to the civic engagement tool kit, we equip the girls with as they earn their badges; The Radical Monarchs also teach them how to advocate for themselves and for their communities.

What brought you to 黑料福利社?
The Radical Monarchs wanted a fiscal sponsor that had clear policies, procedures, and best practices to help support their FSPs. They chose fiscal sponsorship because they like the support they receive so their lean staff of five full-time employees can focus on their mission.

Changes made due to COVID-19
The Radical Monarchs paused programming for several weeks when the pandemic began, allowing their troop members to catch their bearings. In addition, they sent out 鈥減andemic joy kits鈥� to the girls and gave mutual aid to members鈥� families that were experiencing food insecurity.

Additional Information we鈥檇 like 黑料福利社 to Know
One recent success is that The Radical Monarchs secured funding that allowed them to grow their staff of three to five full-time employees. Another success is that The Radical Monarchs launched nationally in the Fall of 2021! There are now troops in: Richmond, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Denver, CO; South Bronx, NY; and Minneapolis, MN.

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Marsha鈥檚 fierce determination to defeat HIV/AIDS means she plays important roles in (GSO), (GNBPH), and (EBGTZ), three different projects sponsored by 黑料福利社 that call for action to ensure progress in the healthcare, especially for people of color.

In a time when COVID-19 monopolizes the headlines, it鈥檚 important to remember healthcare inequalities continue, especially when it comes to people of color struggling with HIV/AIDS. Exposing the treatment lapses that have existed for this same community when it comes to HIV/AIDS shows how these disparities have been perpetuated.

Marsha鈥檚 work to educate the greater public and healthcare providers has been validated by the work of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Health.

Since 1984, Dr. Fauci has been advising six presidents on HIV/AIDS. He鈥檚 seen how various populations have been treated over his tenure and recently indicated that he believes the coronavirus pandemic points to yet another sign of systemic racism against black people. During a press conference on April 14, 2020, Dr. Fauci stated: 鈥淚 see a similarity here because health disparities have always existed for the African American community. Here again with the crisis, how it鈥檚 shining a bright light on how unacceptable that is because, yet again, when you have a situation like the coronavirus, they are suffering disproportionately.鈥�

We asked Marsha a few questions about her involvement in HIV/AIDS advocacy and learned about her experiences over the last four decades, including the changes with HIV/AIDS, project successes and how she approaches fundraising challenges.

How did you come to be involved with HIV/AIDS causes?聽

I began my work in the field of HIV by accident. At the beginning of the epidemic, in 1981, I was living in New York City and working on homeless issues. During the early days of HIV, there were no answers and everyone was afraid of the disease. People who had been diagnosed with HIV were losing their jobs, they were being kicked out of their housing, they were losing their employment, were rejected by family and friends, and they were becoming homeless and entering the emergency housing system.

In 1981, I became the director of the New York City Mayor鈥檚 Office on Homelessness and Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Housing. By 1983 to 1984 we had to set up special housing programs for people living with HIV while establishing special wards and clinics for people who were sick. At the same time, we had to create safe spaces for people who might be at risk. This involved developing syringe exchange programs, hazardous waste/red bag disposal systems, and drop-in centers for sex workers and condom distribution programs.

People were dying within six months to 24 months of diagnosis. It was a very difficult time and an extremely difficult death for most.

What鈥檚 ONE thing you wish other people knew about HIV/AIDS?

The most important is: HIV is not over. 15 million more people need treatment, nearly 5000 people become infected every week and nearly 1 million people die from HIV every year.聽 Every day, men AND women become infected with HIV due to a lack of information about HIV. [That this still happens with all the knowledge out there] is amazing, really.

You鈥檙e passionate about your work to help people become more educated about HIV/AIDS鈥攃an you talk more about the experiences that led you in this area?

I was an active member of the Riverside Church in New York City during the 鈥�70s/鈥�80s/鈥�90s with a very active LGBT ministry beginning in the late 鈥�70s, so when HIV hit, Riverside Church opened its doors to people living with HIV. It joined with other churches in Harlem and opened an AIDS Ministry.

One of the people I worked closely with was a man named Jack. He told me in the first two years of the epidemic he lost 44 friends. I have never forgotten that. What must that have been like鈥攖o lose so many friends over such a short period of time?

I do this work for all of us who lost friends and family members to HIV. And I do this work to educate others so they do not have to live a life of worry, fear, stigma and health challenges.

What was the most exciting day your project(s) experienced in the last year? 聽

We participated in the press conference for AIDS 2020 last fall on September 30, 2019, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and Bay Area Mayors London Breed (San Francisco) and Libby Schaaf (Oakland). They were there in support of ALL of the HIV service agencies, health-related organizations, and people living with HIV in our greater Oakland community. Together, the four women announced and invited everyone to attend the conference, originally to be held this summer in both Oakland and San Francisco, with 20,000 of their HIV colleagues from across the globe.

How did you get involved with AIDS 2020?聽聽

I have been attending and participating in the International AIDS Conferences since 1998.聽 Congresswoman Barbara Lee has wanted to host an AIDS conference in Oakland and now that we have agreed to partner with SF to do such, this is the opportunity to support Barbara and showcase some of the great work underway in Oakland to meet with colleagues from across the globe to discuss the challenges as we seek to end HIV as a public health challenge by 2030.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, AIDS 2020 has shifted to be held virtually to help safeguard people鈥檚 health and the community in general. AIDS 2020 Virtual will still highlight the communities of our host cities, San Francisco and Oakland, exploring the tale of these two cities through science, innovation and activism, while celebrating the Bay Area鈥檚 dedication to health equity in its 鈥淓nding the HIV Epidemic鈥� initiatives. Please visit the for more information.

What partnerships have been key to your projects鈥� success?

All of the programs offered through GSO, GNBPH and EBGTZ are partnership programs. Early supporters of GSO were Kaiser Permanente, Flowers Heritage Foundation, Ramsell Corporation, Chevron, and Levi Strauss. Many Oakland-based faith communities and churches of ALL denominations joined Mayor Ron Dellums in support of GSO. Walgreens partnered with us to support the East Bay AIDS Walk.

Considering that 鈥淧eople believe HIV is no longer a crisis鈥� and that HIV continues to be a threat, what IS your most effective message when it comes to fundraising?

We are not done yet. We have achieved a great deal: between 15-20 million people are on treatment worldwide; the number of pills necessary to treat HIV has been reduced from 50 to one a day and prevention of HIV is absolutely possible by taking one pill a day. At the same time, 15 million more people need treatment, nearly 5000 people become infected every week and nearly 1 million people die from HIV every year. We need YOUR HELP to get to the end.聽 We know more now and we are doing more now. We just need to redouble our efforts so that no one goes without life-saving treatments and prevention resources.

How has fiscal sponsorship helped you achieve your goals?聽聽

GSO/GNBPH/EBGTZ could not/would not exist without the support and services of a fiscal sponsor.

What words of wisdom would you like to share with the 黑料福利社 community?聽

Stay true to your values.

The post Marsha Martin Wants You to Know 鈥撀燞IV is Not Over appeared first on 黑料福利社.

How do you define restorative justice?

Restorative justice is a way of life. A way of being. It鈥檚 an approach to community building and problem solving that doesn鈥檛 punish others for any harms that they鈥檝e caused, but instead seeks to make a broken bond whole, or a broken system whole, by addressing the wrongdoing and finding a resolution that involves all stakeholders and community members. The idea is that whenever there is harm, everyone in the community is harmed in some way. There isn鈥檛 only one victim of a crime, everyone in the community is harmed when a crime takes place because the bonds that hold community members together have been compromised.

It鈥檚 an ancient indigenous tradition that when something happens, there needs to be a collective response and not just finger pointing at the person who did something wrong. Typically as a restorative justice practice or process, all the people in the conflicted community gather together to sit in a circle around a calming center piece that may be a plant or a candle, and seek resolution through community building activities and communication. It is a humanizing approach where people see each other as equals and not as wrongdoers or as victims, because every human is capable of being either one. In our work, we have seen that this restorative approach yields more positive long term results.

What鈥檚 ONE thing you wish other people knew about your project and its cause?

As a systems change organization, we work beyond public schools and towards movement building in the community as a whole. People know us primarily for our work in schools; we have national recognition for restoring justice in Oakland schools. That鈥檚 one part of our work and we are shifting towards other systems, like the juvenile justice system. When Fania Davis founded the organization about 11 years ago, restorative justice, as a response to conflict and community building, was a new concept in Oakland. Over the years we worked with multiple schools and with the Oakland Unified School District to shift away from a punitive approach, towards a policy of restorative justice as the official disciplinary policy of the school district. We trained restorative justice practitioners and the schools budgeted $3,000,000 for restorative justice programs! We demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in suspensions and expulsions and an increase in GPA in the schools where we worked.

With this success pushing us onward, we鈥檙e bringing our expertise to the juvenile justice system. Our focus will be on ways to allow youth to see the harm they have caused, so that they can learn and grow. We work with multiple stakeholders: juvenile hall, juvenile court judges, elected officials, and the mayor鈥檚 office, etc. We鈥檙e working on multiple levels to change the system and introduce restorative practices and principles.

What compelling trends do you see in the restorative justice movement?

It鈥檚 growing dramatically! There are many funders and government agencies at the county level, state, and federal level who see these practices as critical and as worth investing in. Community foundations and corporate foundations approach us because they want to support this work not only in underrepresented and low income communities, but also for major corporations that want to resolve conflict among employees.

The National Association of Community and Restorative Justice just had its聽聽in June. It happens every two years, so the Association is just a bit older than RJOY. Fania Davis and I, the co-executive directors of RJOY, were the co-chairs of the conference. Held here in Oakland, which is seen as a national hub of restorative justice, the conference had the largest attendance ever with approximately 1,400 participants, which was over twice the number in attendance in 2015! In previous years we had $10,000 in funding and this year we had $150,000! We were also able to prioritize our theme, which was Moving Restorative Justice from the Margins to Center. Two of our passionate funders were interested in getting formerly incarcerated activists to the conference, so a part of our budget was flying in over 100 activists from all over the country to attend the conference and meet with leaders to discuss movement building in restorative justice. We also had attendees from the Chicago police department, who are practicing restorative justice in their city. And we flew in 80 youth from around the country and held a youth conference within the conference. Most of these are examples of new elements in the conference.

What do you hope your project will look like in 5 years?

We have four major goals and initiatives:

1. In harmony with our mission of systems change, we would love to end youth incarceration as we know it in Oakland. We need to teach our youth how to resolve conflict in a pro-social and healthy way instead of punishing them. This would mean a radical change in how our juvenile justice system operates and with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf interested in making Oakland a Restorative City, we are optimistic! There are about five cities worldwide that have become Restorative Cities and we are working with partners to move Oakland towards that goal. Our programs at RJOY are all aligned with this bigger goal.
2. We would like restorative justice to be infused throughout the city, to be common language and practice, and the first strategy that people turn to, in all of Oakland鈥檚 communities.
3. We are also focused on a re-entry program for incarcerated youth. Our program has a 25% recidivism rate vs. a 75% rate for programs that don鈥檛 incorporate restorative justice!
4. We are engaged in a mapping project that allows us to map the truth telling and racial healing that is happening across the nation following the conflicts with police and the rise in killing of unarmed black men across the nation. A lot of people are focused on punishing the police officers, but we are trying to lift up the examples of healing stories in a book, in narrative and photos, and identify solutions to harm.

Tell us about a business or nonprofit leader who inspires you.

I look to people who are close to me. I鈥檓 inspired by Dr. Fania Davis, the founder at RJOY. She is a civil rights attorney and the sister of political activist Angela Davis鈥揺ach sister is a thought leader and civil rights icon. And I look to the passion for social and racial justice among other contemporaries locally who were founders and leaders of the Black Panther party. I believe it鈥檚 important not to look up, but to look out, to my left and my right for inspiration. I find inspiration all around me, in everyday people who are passionate about equity building for the most marginalized among us.

What partnerships have been key to RJOY鈥檚 success?

Other restorative justice organizations locally like Impact Justice and Community Works West, CircleUp LLC, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and their Restore Oakland project, The Oakland Unified School District, The National Association of Community Restorative Justice, Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, which is seen as the restorative justice teaching and intellectual hub, many of our staff teach in their Summer Peacebuilding Institute. It鈥檚 a mix of nonprofits, for profits, and some city government.

We have a wonderful relationship with the City of Oakland and Mayor Libby Schaaf. Mayor Schaaf, in her first hundred days in office, sat in a circle with a hundred youth that we facilitated鈥搕en youth in ten different circles. She was passionate about going into juvenile hall and juvenile camp and low income neighborhoods and schools that were not high performing to hear from youth about what they felt she needed to focus on. She didn鈥檛 have cameras rolling, the media didn鈥檛 know about this, but it was because of her deep commitment to restorative practice and listening to the people who are most affected by trauma in their communities. She鈥檚 an ally.

And then there are our partnerships with funders. We are fortunate to have funding from a range of forward thinking and progressive foundation partners, both local and national. The Novo Foundation, The East Bay Community Foundation, the Akonadi Foundation, and many more who believe in our work, share our social justice vision, AND who are our thought partners.

What fundraising tactics do you recommend to the CI Community?

Authenticity and building relationships with individuals at foundations is key to success, along with finding funders who are the best match for your mission. It鈥檚 also important to do different kinds of fundraising, as I learned over 25 years as a development director. Individual donor cultivation creates linkages to foundation grants, donor advised funds, and to corporate foundations because some of your smaller level donors may have connections that lead to bigger relationships. At RJOY we鈥檝e had two ticketed donor cultivation events that we call garden parties. One was at Angela Davis鈥檚 home and we auctioned off lunch with her, as well as memorabilia. These were successful fundraisers, but also a way to make connections. We invited our community and corporate foundation project managers and they got to meet our youth and see our work. We鈥檝e also connected with celebrities like Danny Glover, who was a guest at a luncheon where he sat in circle with some of our formerly incarcerated youth and we auctioned off dinner with him at his home for about 10 people at $2,000 a plate. This summer we鈥檙e having an event with Alice Walker and guests will include foundation board members and formerly incarcerated people as well as city officials. These are fun events and they鈥檙e a way to elevate the thinking about nonprofit fundraising. The uncertainty of how the events will go can be scary, but it鈥檚 important to think not only about the amount of money raised, but about the connections that may yield future opportunities.

How has fiscal sponsorship helped you achieve your goals?

Fiscal sponsorship is an efficient way of delivering services to a pool of organizations. It鈥檚 ideal for us at our size and stage of development, and maybe longer! We love not having to worry about many operational challenges, like human resources and payroll and insurance, or being able to consult an attorney about language in sub-contractual agreements.

What words of wisdom would you like to share with the CI community?

Be authentic! Be authentic to your mission and keep reworking your mission if necessary. Over time nonprofits can become obsessed with their own survival and may need to revisit why they exist in the first place. At RJOY, we seek to equip the school system with a restorative justice approach, philosophy, and tools, so that the system develops an internal capacity for this approach and our services are no longer needed. Now the schools have their own budget and we are moving our focus to the juvenile justice system. Nonprofits should not be established to ensure that they continue, they should be established to effect community transformation. We have to believe that our goal is possible and truly be working towards it. If we do this, we are much more successful in fundraising because our passion for the mission is apparent.

Learn More:

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We spoke with event Co-Chair Elizabeth Lanyon about the year-long work that goes into a one day event, why we need the march more than ever during the current administration, inspiration she draws from Black Lives Matter, and how skills learned via 黑料福利社 can be useful both at work and at home!

What鈥檚 ONE thing you wish other people knew about your project and its cause?

That this is an all-year-round project! People often see the Dyke March as a one day thing, but it takes us the entire year to plan. In order to get the point where you can have the logistical conversations with your committee, you have to have done the relational work with them. We meet monthly for a Sunday afternoon fundraising party. And we encourage folks to get together outside of meetings too. This is a community-driven project that takes a lot of heart, trust, personal energy, and commitment. There鈥檚 a ton of work that goes into making that one day special!

And it鈥檚 not free! It costs close to $40,000. To rent and clean up the park is about $20,000, porta potties are $7,000. We tried to skimp on the cleanup fees before, but it wasn鈥檛 worth it as the park was left in bad shape. Also, we give stipends or honorariums to our artists, speakers, and performers, with help from the San Francisco Grants for the Arts. Our community of queer activists often don鈥檛 have access to mainstream opportunities, so being featured at the event is important and giving a stipend makes their contribution more official and valued.

You鈥檙e celebrating 25 years and a lot has changed in the past few years, what makes the Dyke march extra relevant this year?

One thing that has become very apparent in San Francisco is that we, as lesbians, have lost all of our spaces. There鈥檚 no place we can go and say: this is a lesbian bookstore, this is a lesbian neighborhood, this is a lesbian restaurant鈥� it just doesn鈥檛 exist anymore. That loss of physical space and identity is really, really hard and sad. For whatever reason, we鈥檝e been pushed out over and over again.

With this current administration, I see a direct disinvestment and lack of care for women. Something that unifies us as lesbians is that we鈥檙e women. As executive orders come down, there鈥檚 fear and discomfort in wondering if we鈥檒l still be safe. In past years I have never felt like my government would intentionally do harm to my community, but that鈥檚 changing. In San Francisco we鈥檙e great at protecting our people, but I worry that the protection is being chipped away. Other members of the lesbian community and I have experienced harassment in The Castro. To me this confirms that 1) we don鈥檛 have a space that we鈥檙e welcome in 2) the LGBT community may appear to be a part of the same rainbow, but there is division and some are looking primarily for their own benefit. I don鈥檛 go into The Castro anymore and I worry things will get worse as we have a chief executive who thinks it鈥檚 okay to treat people badly.

We NEED the Dyke March more than ever! We need to have a sense of safe community and to come together to show that we鈥檙e not going anywhere. We are huge part of what makes this city what it is.

On the flip side, what compelling positive signs do you see in the movement?

There鈥檚 a lot more cross-collaboration among organizations! For the last three years we鈥檝e had someone from the Trans March sit on our committee. This sort of partnership has been powerful because we can approach the City of San Francisco together as a bigger alliance to achieve our goals.

There鈥檚 also been a wider range of people getting involved. We recently had someone from The Castro Country Club approach us to get involved and to me that says a lot. It means we鈥檙e accessible and we鈥檙e meeting needs! We are bold, strong, smart, savvy organizers and people are noticing.

What partnerships have been key to your project鈥檚 success?

We don鈥檛 accept any corporate money, but we do accept donations from local businesses, like the Dolores Park Cafe and Bi-Rite, to name a few. Many of them have been supporting us for at least five years! In one example of partnership, this year Bi-Rite is going to have us come into their store and talk to shoppers on the day when a part of their proceeds go to the Dyke March.

Another aspect is that many of these businesses are on our march route, so they hand out products as we come by, or maybe they have a bubble machine going鈥� it becomes their celebration too! These partners are really invested in making our event happen and they represent the bigger picture of the lesbian community and its support network.

Describe how small, gradual action steps of your project have yielded big results.

I can think of three ways:

1. After many years of dedicated relationship-building, our interaction with city agencies like Rec and Park has become candid, productive, dynamic, and mutually beneficial. Agencies respect our organization skills and responsiveness.
2. Our infrastructure was loose when I started. We have implemented a committee structure with three co-chairs for programs, community engagement, and fundraising. They each build their own teams and operate independently, creating autonomy and sustainability. It took me the first two years to work on implementing a checklist of about 100 things, but now we have systems in place!
3. We have had a lot of success in fundraising. We have increased our grants, recouped grants we had lost, and bolstered individual giving. When you can raise $10,000 at an afternoon party in the Mission, it says a lot about our reputation and community interest.

My advice to other projects? Find your champions in the community! The successful party I described above was possible because of our champion, Lila Thirkield. Lila ran the legendary lesbian bar The Lexington Club for 20 years and she is now committed to our success.

Also, I recommend creative partnerships. We partner with KINGDOM, a drag king troupe. We did an opening event with them last year at a local college and a parent of one of the students gave $5,000! This sort of collaboration turns creative partners and champions into thought partners as well. These are the people that we go to when we have a challenge and need feedback.

Tell us about other causes that inspire you.

In terms of groups, I am in awe of the trans community and Black Lives Matter. The trans community has serious resilience and determination while under attack; they never back down. And Black Lives Matter does a phenomenal job of addressing intersecting identities and overarching disenfranchisement. We would love to get one of their speakers at the march this year.

How has fiscal sponsorship helped you achieve your goals?

Oh my gosh, it means we can actually do the work and not worry about all the backend stuff! Because I鈥檝e worked in nonprofits, I know how much work is involved. Also, you guys have this group of experts and smarty pants. I can come up with random weird questions and you have answers for us. You offer suggestions and ask how you can help. We know that CI is not just doing paperwork; you have our back and are invested in our growth. Having CI support also means that we can raise money from grants. And learning about financials and budgeting from CI has not only made that piece clear and organized for our project, it has helped in other areas of my life!

Anything else you would like to share with the community?

We鈥檙e not done fighting. We鈥檒l be around until our community is not at risk anymore.

We鈥檙e a resource, we鈥檙e here if you need us, and we鈥檙e really excited to celebrate 25 years!

Learn More:

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What鈥檚 ONE thing you wish other people knew about your project and its cause?

One thing we talk about internally is how transformative technology is, but that we haven鈥檛 fully grokked that as a society. Technology is shaped by our values and it鈥檚 important for all of us to have a stake in that conversation. While we may focus on startups and emergent technology, we have a broad community and we try to engage as many people as possible in the transformative power of technology. We see Startup Policy Las as a safe, nonpartisan forum to help encourage conversations that lead to inclusive policies in the quickly shifting technology landscape.

Tell us about the most exciting day or week your project has experienced in the last year.

We鈥檙e building up to it! Following the momentum of last year鈥檚 conversation-sparking event鈥撀�, we鈥檙e having our聽聽next month, from May 17-18. There will be over 20 sessions and we are expecting between 100-400 people.

We are excited, not only are because the GET Summit will be the largest event we鈥檝e done to date and not just because we are bringing in speakers from around the country, but because it鈥檚 something new in the space. The engagement and angle is unique in that it will be a broad conversation that engages a wide pool of potential participants, whereas others in the election technology space have been more focused in their subject matter areas.

Tell us about a business leader who inspires you.

Zach Berke with聽聽has created a great model of a balanced and aware mission-driven for-profit company. They ask themselves good questions and understand what it means to work with government.

Marc Andreessen of聽聽has spearheaded an innovative approach to engaging with policy makers.

And for larger companies, there鈥檚 still a lot to be done, but聽聽at Salesforce is taking an impactful leadership role.

What partnerships have been key to your project鈥檚 success?

We live, work, and play in the Twitter building, in a 鈥渢echnology innovation hub鈥� called聽. It is a supportive and engaging environment!

Other enriching partnerships include:聽鈥� 鈥渢he world鈥檚 first network for voters鈥�,听,听, and the University of Chicago internship program鈥� by the way for the CI network鈥檚 info, the internships are eligible to be paid by the fellowship for nonprofits!

How do you attract diverse groups to the industry?

We are connected with Black Founders, the Latino Startup Alliance, and Lesbians Who Tech, to name a few groups. We are committed to making connections, showcasing the work of these groups, and sharing information.

To give you a better idea of how we go about this, here is a blog post about a roundtable we hosted with the Small Business Association鈥撀�.

Describe how small, gradual action steps of your project have yielded big results.

Receiving a fellowship from UC Berkeley鈥檚 Center for Technology, Society, and Policy, set our work around drones in motion and has gradually led us to play a pivotal role in local decision making. Currently no city agency is allowed to use drones, but the City of San Francisco is starting to talk about how to introduce their use in city operations. We鈥檝e been involved in those conversations for nearly two years and we introduced the idea of running a beta program with a small number of agencies vs. a big one-size-fits all structure. Our testing concept represented a major rethink/shift in direction and an exciting opportunity to have a real impact with city agencies to craft policies to govern the operation of drones that could potentially be a model for other cities.

This example represents our approach鈥� creating the world that we want to have and not reacting to the one that we are afraid of! We embrace the process of building the legal and policy frameworks to open the door towards innovation by government, private industry, and civil society.

What do you hope your project will look like in 5 years?

Our goal is to keep building this safe forum to talk about technology and policy. We鈥檇 love to see a huge conference around technology and policy in San Francisco鈥� a sort of South by Southwest for tech policy!

We can envision the multi-focus areas: transportation, election technology, healthcare, energy. Our ideal is to be the mechanism to create those safe places for big conversations where there are positional differences that aren鈥檛 partisan. A forum where subject matter experts, elected officials, government officials, private industries, nonprofit, civil society, get together under the umbrella that we provide. Our GET Summit is a first step to building this bigger vision!

Describe your biggest fundraising challenge. What are your tactics for overcoming this challenge?

It鈥檚 ironic, but our nonpartisanship is a strength in general, but it becomes a challenge for fundraising. Creating a nonpartisan identity puts us in a neutral status, whereas funders want us to kind of 鈥減ick a side鈥� so that they know what they鈥檙e backing. The fact that we don鈥檛 do advocacy work takes us out of consideration for many foundations grants. To get around it, and our GET Summit is a good example, is to strive for big, high-exposure events that allow us to look to corporate donors in a way that benefits both of our strategic objectives.

How has fiscal sponsorship helped you achieve your goals?

It鈥檚 really nice, and I say this with love, to know that a professional team is taking care of the entire backend for us. Everyone at CI is supportive and attentive. Our specialist is incredibly responsive, flexible, and helpful and all I can say is THANK YOU!

I know that if I am uncertain about something, about whether something is possible, I can talk to CI and they will help solve problems. That doesn鈥檛 mean that everything is possible, but most of the time we find a solution that works. It鈥檚 a positive, constructive relationship.

We love being a part of the CI community and are happy to offer our help to anyone in the network!

Connect with Startup Policy Lab in social media!

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We spoke with Founder and Executive Director Jos茅 Gonz谩lez about his passion for expanding the narrative on who enjoys the outdoors. We ended up learning about their powerhouse social media community, a White House movie screening, the particular importance of this unique safe space during tense political times.

What鈥檚 ONE thing you wish other people knew about your project and its cause?

Our focus is on the Latino identity from an equity perspective, but we include everyone in our outdoor activities if they are interested. All are welcome!

Tell us about the most exciting day or week your project has experienced in the last year.

Every outing is exciting because there is usually an opportunity to introduce a family or a kid to open space for the first time, and they are with others who are equally excited.

Last year the White House invited us to screen our film during National Hispanic Heritage month! This was a tremendous opportunity to elevate our voice and showcase our work and our people; viewers could see what our volunteers are doing on screen.

聽about the visit,听聽the White House discussion, and see聽聽of the trip.

Describe how small, gradual action steps of your project have yielded big results.

The birth of Latino Outdoors represented gradual steps that yielded big results! When people saw our name, many said 鈥榶es! I鈥檝e been looking for you鈥� or 鈥榯his resonates with me.鈥�

Getting on Instagram was a powerful visual representation. The result was that many of our volunteers and leaders came through Instagram because they saw themselves reflected in the images we shared!

Another example is the gradual transformation where participants in our programs have such an impactful experience, that they become leaders. This empowerment process is proof of concept for us!

What are some of your social media success stories?

A mom commented on Instagram that the outdoors aren鈥檛 for her because of snakes and bees, etc. Later, after going on an outing, she posted a picture with a comment, to paraphrase: 鈥淏ecause my kid loves nature, I鈥檓 getting to appreciate it too!鈥� Thanks to the experience we facilitated, her perception changed.

We see significant positive feedback on Facebook when we are involved in campaigns about national monuments, for example, or how to change the narrative of what inclusivity means in the outdoor movement. Members of our online community express that they feel validated and empowered. It鈥檚 wonderful to have created a safe online forum where those conversations happen.

What do you hope your project will look like in 5 years?

I want Latino Outdoors to be a platform that amplifies what people are doing locally. In 5 years, I want us to be the go-to resource for other communities and organizations who see the value in a more diverse outdoor movement!

I started as an individual on social media connecting with others鈥搃ncluding one key person who asked what they could do. When I asked 鈥淲hat would you like to do?鈥� the ball got rolling and the momentum grew. I transitioned to an organizational leadership role鈥� coordinating people, leveraging funding, and optimizing fiscal sponsorship. With more organizational backbone and a more comprehensive strategy, we will be well positioned to achieve our goals.

How does Latino Outdoors partner with outdoor companies?

Partners like REI and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) understand that they need to be more inclusive in how they connect with a diverse consumer base, or how they train the next generation of outdoor professionals. We act as a cultural intermediary, making genuine connections between our community and partner organizations.

For example, if NOLS has scholarships, we want them to be accessible to our community, so we work with NOLS to help them improve diversity by enhancing opportunities for our people. And with REI, we help their brand be more diverse and their well known brand helps us to gain recognition. They play a small sponsorship role as well.

Describe your biggest fundraising challenge. What are your tactics for overcoming this challenge?

When you are a small and new organization, it is challenging to compete for funding with organizations that have been building capacity for decades. We don鈥檛 have a long-standing infrastructure and a foundation may question whether we can handle a large grant. On the one hand, they might like us because we support Latinos, but they might not see the value in community work, so they give funds to a larger organization.

This makes me think of a great post on Nonprofit with Balls 鈥溾��

To overcome this challenge, we are slowly building relationships with community organizations where we can help them in the work that they do and they in turn can help connect us to broader funding sources. We want to focus on our niche and get to the point where grants work for us, and we spend less time working for grants!

How has fiscal sponsorship helped you achieve your goals?

CI is the car that gets us where we want to go. Most of us dreamers with passionate ideas get excited and push forward and then we realize that to get to our destination, we need insurance, we need to know the traffic rules, we need the right kind of gas鈥� that鈥檚 what fiscal sponsorship does. CI has expertise and capacity that come with years of experience that we don鈥檛 have yet. And operational matters are not where we want to invest our time anyway; we want to keep growing and activating our ideas!

Is there anything we can share about your activities this year?

We are doing our strategic planning this month and I look forward to better aligning our communication and social media efforts to reflect what we are doing.

Otherwise, we have some really great outings planned in 2017! Many of our regional teams have found their footing after a year of growing and learning.

The outings have even more importance now that our community is under duress and stress with this current political climate. Donating to Latino Outdoors is an opportunity to support community resilience combined with environmental rights, at a time when both are needed more than ever!

Visit Latino Outdoors on聽听补苍诲听.

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What鈥檚 ONE thing you wish other people knew about your project and its cause?

Debora: There is fear in the dementia caregiving journey and frequently people become isolated and wait for a crisis before asking for help. Providing a social service may seem like an extra when compared to medical interventions, but it is crucial for people to interact with the world鈥� this is true for both the person who may have a diagnosis and the caregiver. Beyond the community aspect, we provide connections to local services, such as daycare programs when a caregiver needs a break. We鈥檙e very well connected to the next step in the continuum of care.

Tell us about a nonprofit or business leader who inspires you.

Patricia: We admire the work of an agency in San Francisco called Tender Rose. They specialize in providing assistance and intervention for people who live with dementia at home at an advanced stage. They have developed tools and alliances that help de-escalate potential crises. We operate at the beginning of the journey, where people first discover they have challenges. Tender Rose does terrific work operating at the other end of the spectrum.

What partnerships have been key to your project鈥檚 success?

Patricia: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, including The de Young and The Legion of Honor, provide free tickets and special tours for our people. The de Young has an Artful Discoveries program geared for people with dementia. This allows our people to participate in their programs and attendees of their programs to learn about the Memory Care Caf茅. We also partner with the Crossroads Caf茅, a training school of the Delancey Street Foundation, for our 鈥渇riendship luncheon鈥� events. We are a nonprofit supporting another nonprofit!

We organized a 鈥渇riendship luncheon鈥� at McNears Beach Park in San Rafael last year where around 20 Memory Care Caf茅 participants mingled with others from another memory care community called Windchime of Marin. Activities included walking, admiring nature, and eating together.

Debora: Our biggest financial supporter is Dignity Health. One of their chief executives used to come to our caf茅 with her husband. He has moved on to a community, but she remains dedicated and supports us every year. We are enormously grateful!

Describe how small, gradual action steps of your project have yielded big results.

Debora: Small steps and experimentation, such as improving our web SEO, have been essential for our marketing success. When I joined Patricia in this work, we tried unsuccessful marketing techniques, like putting fliers around the city and giving talks. We were frustrated, but we kept going. We started asking other elder care services how they market. At an Alzheimer鈥檚 Association roundtable we learned their best practice of marketing at diagnostic memory centers. That worked for us too! Now there are even centers that聽prescribe聽our services to people.

What compelling trends do you see related to your project and cause?

Patricia: Conversations about aging at home are increasing. Many people do not have the financial ability or desire to move into a community. Another trend is that entire families are getting involved with our services and seeking the warmth of community. Also the way that people talk about dementia is shifting and softening; it is becoming less of a negative, as baby boomers grow more aware.

Debora: There are over 200 memory care caf茅s across the country, so the movement is growing. Each one is different because they are mostly volunteer run and grassroots. The concept is in its infancy, but it鈥檚 taking off!

What do you hope your project will look like in 5 years?

Patricia: We are hoping for growth and a larger network. We are starting to get close to capacity in some of our meetings, so we are wondering how can we can be creative and offer alternative support for people if we reach capacity in ongoing groups. We are looking also at the possibility of a Memory Care Caf茅 in the South Bay.

Describe your biggest fundraising challenge. What are your tactics for overcoming this challenge?

Debora: We are funded by a handful of large and medium private and corporate donors, so we would be vulnerable if anything changed. We are looking for a more sustainable mechanism, like the possibility of partnering with another senior organization in San Francisco. In the meantime, we are happy to provide two free lunches monthly to our groups and to pay for bocce ball courts once a month!

Patricia: We would like to find one or two new board members to bolster our giving through annual gifts. There are also generous donors among our participants. It鈥檚 proof of success for us to receive support from people who remember when we asked for membership fees and have decided to make donations instead, now that we no longer have fees.

How has fiscal sponsorship helped you achieve your goals?

Debora: The help with accounting and taxes, legal advice, and nonprofit expertise is invaluable. 黑料福利社 saves us time and gives us peace of mind to focus on our events.

Patricia: When you鈥檙e working at a small nonprofit and working from home, like we each do, it can be lonely, so it is great to be a part of the 黑料福利社 community鈥� both from a social aspect with events like the holiday party and knowing that we receive so much support from CI!

Is there a major milestone coming up for Memory Care Caf茅?

This April will mark our 4-year anniversary!

Learn more about聽茅

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