W e e m p o w e r c h a n g e - m a k e r s , l i k e
y o u , t o m a x i m i z e y o u r c h a r i t a b l e
i m p a c t w i t h p e r s o n a l , m e a n i n g f u l
g i v i n g s t r a t e g i e s
GIVING MANAGEMENT
W e d e v i s e , c r e a t e , a n d m a n a g e t h e
m o s t s u i t a b l e g i v i n g s t r u c t u r e f o r y o u r
p h i l a n t h r o p i c g o a l s , f r o m g r a n t s t o
s c h o l a r s h i p s t o e n d o w m e n t s
ENGAGING COMMUNITY
W i t h O u t p o u r , y o u g e t s o m u c h m o r e
t h a n a d v i s i n g – y o u g e t a t e a m w h o
w o r k s w i t h c o m m u n i t i e s t o e n s u r e
y o u r f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t i s t r a n s l a t e d
S E R V I C E S W E O F F E R www outpourca org
i n t o m e a n i n g f u l c h a n g e .
Los Angeles
Welcome to The Giving List Los Angeles , 2025/26
We are the City of Angels. If ever there was any doubt of just what our city was made of, witness how the best of Los Angeles came together in the aftermath of two devastating fires this year and the deployment of National Guard troops in our beloved city.
After wind-whipped fires raged through our neighborhoods, hundreds of our brothers and sisters opened their hearts and their pocketbooks and formed a human chain of kindness from one end of the Rose Bowl to the other to make sure those affected had everything they needed, from diapers to water to pet supplies to tents to food to comfort.
When ICE agents began raids in June of this year throughout our city, targeting many of the most at-risk among us, mutual aid networks across L.A. sprung into action to support our immigrant communities.
I am a born and raised Angeleno. I have watched this city grow from a sleepy town of orange groves where I used to ride the ponies and bumper cars where the Beverly Center now stands (yes, I am that old) to the sprawling, diverse, Cedars-Sinai-on-every-corner metropolis that Los Angeles is now.
And here’s what I know: we are a city that has a passionate and unrelenting commitment to each other and to our most vulnerable citizens. We look after each other in good times and bad.
We are the City of Angels.
At the cornerstone of this commitment is an ecosystem of grassroot nonprofit and philanthropic organizations doing vital work that is nothing short of extraordinary. The unrelenting dedication of these organizations, their staff, our local foundations, and the Los Angeles donor community who make their work possible have been a lesson in caring, commitment, and community.
Los Angeles continues to face challenges in the days and months ahead. Challenges that pose threats to our
most unprotected populations. We continue, now more than ever, to need the safety nets provided by our local nonprofits. It is the women and men of these very nonprofits who stand between a healthy and safe path forward and an abyss none of us want to consider. These nonprofits also partner with our local government to create innovative solutions to the most challenging social problems and for that we are also most grateful.
The Giving List was created to highlight the work that many of these local nonprofits are doing so donors can better understand and appreciate the critical services they provide.
We hope you will take the time to read through this book which, by the way, is recyclable, and if so inclined, support the organizations who are, if you ask us, Angels.
Vicki Horwits, Executive Editor
The Giving List
Be a Part of The Giving List
Are you interested in having your nonprofit appear in The Giving List? We are, too! We understand that there are thousands and thousands of vital nonprofits doing critical work in the community. While we rely on our years of work in the philanthropic community along with consultation with leaders in the philanthropic sector to select organizations to appear in our program, there are bound to be some very worthy organizations we will invariably miss.
Your nonprofit organization can apply directly to be in The Giving List by scanning the QR code below. It will direct you to an online form to fill out the required information. Once you’ve completed the form, you will immediately land on our radar for consideration in the next available Giving List book. Please note, we do independent vetting before extending invitations to nonprofits to appear in The Giving List.
Giving Back
We launched The Giving List to help the nonprofit organizations featured in this book spend less time fundraising and more time doing the critical work demanded of them.
Confronting the myriad and mounting challenges facing communities, the nation, and globe requires the ingenuity and dedication exhibited by the nonprofits that fill our pages. We have assembled their stories with the hope that you will see their value and invest in them.
A large proportion of the nonprofits we feature are smaller and more grassroots. This means that while they may have the ideas and leadership to forge change, they don’t necessarily have the diversified revenue streams to reach their fullest impact. We are hoping you will change that by donating and helping them secure the predictable, unrestricted revenue they need to focus on what’s most important: the work. With you, we have the chance to invest in organizations with the potential to take on some of our most pressing challenges.
Please join us by supporting your local nonprofits on the front lines of justice, whether that be fighting racism; using the arts to change culture; helping children, youth, and families in need; or striving to preserve our environment.
We will all be better for it.
How to DAF?
An increasingly popular and efficient tool to manage your giving is a donoradvised fund, or DAF.
A DAF is like a charitable banking account, managed by a community foundation or by some of the world’s largest investment banking firms, where you can make a donation today and direct grants to worthy nonprofits later.
A key advantage with a DAF is that it allows you, the donor, to take a tax deduction in the year you donate money or complex assets, while not compelling you to distribute the money immediately. This can mean time to make more thoughtful decisions about how you want to direct your charitable contributions.
Many financial institutions and community foundations have low to zero start-up fees, making it possible for donors at any level to DAF.
How To Read This Book
The Giving List was created to make it easier for you to navigate the dizzying array of worthwhile causes and nonprofit organizations. To that end, we have distributed The Giving List to people like you: individual donors, staff within the region’s small and large private foundations, and to philanthropic advisors, wealth managers, and estate planners.
As you dive into this book, we want to point out some of its unique features, and of The Giving List program as a whole.
Ongoing Support
Our partnerships with the nonprofits in these pages do not end with the printing of this book. Each profile will live on TheGivingList.com through 2026, where we will be updating each profile once a month so that you can continue to track the important ongoing work of each and every Giving List organization.
We hope that you will use the website as a guide not only for yourselves, but as an easy way to share the work of our partners – whether they be nonprofits, community foundations, or funder affinity groups – with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Staying Connected
We are building a community of people who care deeply about philanthropy and understand the vital role it plays in our world, and we want you to join.
Since launching January of 2022, our bi-weekly newsletter, The Giving List Newsletter, has become a venue for updates from our nonprofit partners and stories from the frontlines of philanthropy.
We would love for you to join The Giving List Newsletter ; please visit www.TheGivingList.com and follow the prompts.
You can also join our newsletter...
... by waving your phone’s camera over this QR code.
Contents
Editorial:
The Fire This Time – A year of devastating disasters in Los Angeles saw the very fabric of the city tested to its ultimate limits. What arose to help Angelenos through their darkest days was the kind and compassionate hand of philanthropy. On its own and in partnership with the government, philanthropy, both organized and grassroots, leaned into its speed and flexibility to help L.A. rise up . . . P. 18
Conversations:
Grace Fisher – An artist, musician, and philanthropist making inclusion a part of everyday life. She’s built a whimsical clubhouse that beckons all .
28 Advocacy
Conversations:
P. 24
Tracy McCartney – Fighting the good fight for true, independent journalism at a time of unprecedented political pressure on the First Amendment . . . P. 30
Brady: United Against Gun Violence
On a mission to free America from gun violence . P. 36
Children’s Law Center of CA
Provides legal representation for children and youth impacted by abuse and neglect, advocating for reunification, permanence, education, health, and wellness, while pushing for child welfare system reform .
P. 38
The Valley of Change
Empowers, inspires, educates, and uplifts Black lives by providing educational programming and health resources that foster well-being
and liberation. Works to address racial and socioeconomic inequalities through awareness, outreach, and advocacy within underserved and marginalized communities, while welcoming individuals from all backgrounds to join in fostering equality and justice
42
For the Animals
Conversations:
P. 40
Amanda Sattler – Sustaining the sustainers. Helping philanthropists stay healthy, engaged, and feeling cared for so they, in turn, can care for others P. 44
Much Love Animal Rescue
Rescues abused, neglected, and homeless animals in Los Angeles and places them in loving homes. Operated entirely by volunteers since 1999, it has placed more than 3,500 animals into permanent homes
National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
Founded in 1996, this organization strengthens disaster response in America by rescuing and recruiting dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters . . P. 50
52
For the Children
Conversations:
Patsy Mangas & Dayna Price – Working with NFL quarterback Caleb Williams to prevent bullying. Together they are empowering the underdog
Westside Los Angeles
Ronald McDonald House
Provides comfort, care, and support to hospitalized children and their families in Southern California
P. 58
60 Education
Conversations:
therapeutic, residential, and vocational services, along with research, professional training, outreach, and advocacy
76 For the Environment
Conversations:
Amy Weaver – Bringing fairness to global humanitarian work. Stepping up to do more . . P. 78
Megafire Action
P. 62
Dr. Bairey Merz & Margery Tabankin – Helping drive awareness and research into women’s heart health, and inspiring life-saving changes to how women’s heart disease is treated
J3 Foundation
Provides children in under-resourced communities with the foundation for lifelong reading success by building strong study habits, reading skills, and self-confidence
P. 66
Minds Matter Southern California
Helps students unleash their talent and potential, nurturing them to become leaders and future college graduates who inspire the next generation
P. 68
PUENTE Learning Center
Builds bridges to learning and opportunity in Boyle Heights and beyond, enriching neighborhoods through education .
P. 70
Student Lunchbox
Fights food insecurity among college students by redirecting food waste to those in need P. 72
The Help Group
Believes that dignity, hope, opportunity, and love are the birthrights of all. Transforms lives by recognizing and cultivating the gifts of those with special needs related to autism, learning differences, ADHD, developmental delays, and emotional challenges. Programs include educational,
Dedicated to ending the megafire crisis . . . . P. 82
ClientEarth
Uses the power of law to drive systemic change that protects the planet, working across borders and sectors to enforce protections, advise policymakers, and train legal professionals . . . . . . P. 84
86
Family Well-Being
Survivor Justice Center
Secures justice for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault while empowering them to create their own futures P. 88
Avalon-Carver Community Center
Cares for the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of individuals and families through education, outreach, and empowerment .
P. 90
92
Fostering Care
Ready to Succeed
Empowers foster and first-generation college students to graduate, launch successful careers, and reach their full potential
Creative Solutions for Kids & Families
P. 94
Empowers children and families on journeys of discovery, blending creativity and problem-solving to inspire innovation and purposeful living
P. 96
106 Community Resilience
Conversations:
Jamiah Hargins – Helping communities create independence from grocery systems through local urban farming. Building pride and jobs in the neighborhood P. 108
Hunger Action LA
Works to end hunger and encourage healthy eating through community outreach
Direct Relief
98 Homelessness
Editorial:
The Rising Tide of Volunteerism – How volunteering can make an impact far beyond the nonprofits and those the nonprofits work with – it cascades through communities, family generations, social circles, and psychological barriers
P. 100
Safe Parking LA
Provides safe overnight parking for individuals living in vehicles in Los Angeles County, helping them stabilize and transition into housing
112
A humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, working to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay
116
For the Arts
Conversations:
Dr. Aaron Celestian – Taking simple crystals and turning them into bold solutions for community health, environmental cleanup, and climate technology
California Poets in the Schools
Empowers a multicultural network of Poet-Teachers who bring the benefits of poetry to youth across the state, while offering professional development, peer learning, and funding opportunities to strengthen their practice
P. 124
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Inspires responsibility for the natural world while
addressing the impacts of climate and habitat change. Also works to represent the diversity of Los Angeles County, fostering inclusivity through dialogue that transcends political, cultural, and social boundaries
P. 126
826LA
Unlocks and cultivates the creative power of writing for students ages 6 to 18. Offers after-school tutoring, workshops, in-school programs, field trips, college access support, and English language learning assistance, all designed to strengthen students’ confidence and ability to express themselves
Neighborhood Music School
Inspires minds and enriches the community through music education
132 Youth Development
Conversations:
Gail Schenbaum – From Hollywood producer to philanthropist. Teen drivers are lucky to have this angel watching out for them
Para Los Niños
Los Angeles
Partners with children, youth, and families through integrated education, wellness, support, and advocacy to address barriers and create pathways to success
P. 138
Spirit Awakening Foundation
Founded by Akuyoe Graham, this program equips underserved youth with tools of meditation, self-reflection, creative writing, mentorship, and leadership training to stand against racism, inequality, and injustice, while helping them build character and self-esteem
. . P. 140 that accelerate personal development through paid internships
P. 142
Step Up
Nonprofit by Category Index
To learn more about joining The Giving List Community, please contact: vicki@thegivinglist.com
CEO & Founder Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net
President & Founder Tim Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net
Contributors: Zachary Bernstein, Joe Donnelly, Grace Fisher, Steven Libowitz, Gary Marks, Brian Rinker, Dan Schifrin, Holden Slattery, Jeff Wing
the giving list is published by: Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC. Corporate Offices located at: 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108 For inquiries: phone (805) 565-1860 email tim@thegivinglist.com
The Fire This Time
By Dan Schifrin
Rebecca Solnit’s landmark 2009 book
A Paradise Built in Hell evokes the communities of purpose that emerge during disaster, organic partnerships that form between neighbors and strangers that foreground the human need – and bias toward – working together. “The very concept of society rests on the idea of networks of affinity and affection,” Solnit writes about disasters like the 1906 and 1989 San Francisco area earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 New Orleans, and New York’s 9/11. In an age of increasing natural disasters, she argues, we would be wise to learn from our natural orientation toward partnership, no matter the counternarrative of fear and divisiveness that others wish to activate.
This year feels like it has been one catastrophe after another, for Los Angeles and beyond. The January fires in Eaton Canyon and Pacific Palisades constituted one kind of disaster, after which the region experienced a federal assault on immigrant communities, as well as the unfolding of unprecedented national cuts to the safety net. Add this to an uncertain economic climate, and a growing divide within philanthropy about how or when to sunset foundation endowments, and one can easily imagine foundation and civic leadership experiencing strategic vertigo.
But in almost every conversation with civic leaders and philanthropists about this moment in time, despite a vision of darkening clouds, one word dominates the discussion: Partnership. More specifically, the ways that philanthropy and government – the private and public –can and must work together to drive change.
One focus for these collaborations in Los Angeles is the Center for Strategic Partnerships (CSP), a 10-yearold venture co-housed within both SoCal Grantmakers, a community of philanthropists and grantmakers working together to solve regional problems, and L.A. County’s Chief Executive Office.
The Center’s goal, explained Executive Director Kate Anderson, is to “help bring County and philanthropic leaders together to co-design innovative ways public sys-
In almost every conversation with civic leaders and philanthropists about this moment in time, despite a vision of darkening clouds, one word dominates the discussion: Partnership.
tems can better serve County residents. More flexible private dollars often make an initial pilot project possible. Once the approach is proven effective, County funding can take it to scale.”
Underneath this goal is a belief that civic leaders often have the intention, but not always the flexibility, to try new things.
“We’ve met so many phenomenal County leaders who want to do the best work possible, and to make these big systems work,” said Rochelle Alley, a CSP consultant who works closely with the County on child and family well-being programs. “But there are so many structural limitations put on them. It’s a breath of fresh air to support folks when they can’t get evaluation or training funding, since philanthropy can plug that hole.”
Civic leaders and program managers, in turn, are hungry for these opportunities, especially at this moment of crisis.
Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief deputy director of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, discussed these kinds of partnerships on a recent webinar co-sponsored
by CSP and Ascend, a program of the Aspen Institute. Despite what he described as a “funding cliff” for so many critical programs, he was optimistic about “the role of philanthropy in helping us innovate and break down silos and barriers, even within our own organization.”
Along with supporting a culture of innovation, Dr. Mahajan added, philanthropic support can help public agencies do the research, data collection, and storytelling that will make the case for future funding.
Kristina Meza, executive director for Poverty Alleviation within L.A. County’s executive office, shared an example of how the County’s deep knowledge of community needs, along with philanthropy’s appetite for innovation, can create unexpected opportunities. In this case, supporting county residents who are owed money by the government, but who lack access to tax preparation tools.
“We knew that we needed to do better in L.A. County to get folks connected to free tax preparation services, and to get access to those tax credits,” Meza explained. With a little under $700,000 of funding from the W.M. Keck Foundation, and in collaboration with a number of community-based partners, “we saw over $9.5 million
back in tax credits for those that were directly impacted by this outreach work.”
On the funder side, the opportunity to scale impact is one advantage of partnering with public agencies. Nani Oesterle, program officer with the Early Childhood Development portfolio at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, spoke to their collaboration with the County’s Poverty Alleviation Initiative. Programs like their tax-prep support are “opportunities for philanthropy to come in and seed efforts that are going to take hold within a larger system, and hopefully live on beyond our grant, because then it becomes institutionalized within those entities.”
Pointing to the Future
The region’s response to the January fires exemplifies two ends of the public-private partnership spectrum –speed and flexibility on one hand, and long-term coordination on the other.
Lily Bui, who coordinates Climate and Disaster Preparedness and Resilience for SoCal Grantmakers, explained how during moments of crisis the organization
Eaton Fire victims get their essential daily items at the YMCA distribution center at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. (Photo by SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Live News)
orients itself toward inclusiveness and flexibility. At those times, “we want to remove barriers for entry for collaboration” by opening their networks to new and diverse funders as a “learning space.”
By leading skillfully, she added, funders and their network can create “a culture of collaboration instead of duplication.” In the long run, she explained, “it’s this kind of coordination that pays off. It’s our collective power that can make or break the rebuild.”
Shawn Landres, senior fellow at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, pointed to one especially successful post-fire collaboration: the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund.
Spearheaded by the J. Paul Getty Trust, in collaboration with numerous foundations and major museums (including Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Hammer Museum), the Fund quickly raised and distributed more than $15
By leading skillfully, Lily Bui added, funders and their network can create “a culture of collaboration instead of duplication… It’s this kind of coordination that pays off. It’s our collective power that can make or break the rebuild.”
million to 1,700 artists and arts workers. The network worked “brilliantly,” according to Landres, in part because no one institutional ego or priority dominated.
As Chair Emeritus of the Los Angeles County Quality & Productivity Commission, which oversees the nation’s oldest and largest local government innovation fund, Landres hopes to see this approach continue to take root as the region prepares for future catastrophes, as well as gears up for major events like soccer’s 2026 FIFA World
Cup and 2028 Olympics.
As a public-private partnership in and of itself, LACMA’s success as a regional culture center points to the strength and flexibility of this hybrid model. Another example is the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM), with locations at Exposition Park and the La Brea Tar Pits.
Naomi Nakagama Kurata, a museum trustee focused on strategic priorities and board governance, sees the
museum as a microcosm of Los Angeles, a kaleidoscopic partnership of communities that represents the city’s past, and point to its future.
Kurata explained that with private and public partnership, along with joint funding and assets, the Museum can more flexibly serve the needs of the larger community, from supporting schools with programs post-fire, to creating a new pavilion like the NHM Commons, which opened in 2024 as a free space where the distinctions
between public and private start to fade.
Although Angelenos sometimes forget, Kurata said, much of L.A. County’s infrastructure over the past 150 years was built on public-private partnerships. And as world-class NHM research and exhibitions from Dinosaur Hall to Becoming Los Angeles to the Tar Pits imply, our ancient relationship to the land is the oldest public-private partnership, “putting the wildfires in the largest historical perspective.”
L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective, 1981. Artist: Barbara Carrasco
Conversations: Grace Fisher
as told to The Giving List Staff
Meet the Artist
As a teenager raised in Santa Barbara, Grace Fisher was an active student and classicallytrained multi-instrumentalist who excelled at playing piano, cello, and guitar. She dreamt of a future in music performance, but that dream was cut short by a sudden polio-like illness that left her forever paralyzed from the neck down at the age of 17. As devastating as the diagnosis was, this life-altering event did not stop her from fostering a community from the arts and becoming a celebrated artist herself.
She also established the Grace Fisher Foundation, a nonprofit that continues Fisher’s deep commitment to the arts. The foundation provides an arts outlet for people with both physical and intellectual disabilities. At the center of it all is the inclusive Arts Clubhouse, a hub currently housed within La Cumbre Plaza shopping mall that offers free arts classes, performances, and events with programming nearly every day of the week.
You can see Fisher’s own artwork displayed at the Clubhouse and throughout this Giving List book.
The Giving List: You’re contributing artwork for The Giving List book this year. How did you get started as a visual artist?
Grace Fisher: Art was something I really got into shortly after my disability. They introduced me to that when I was in rehab at Craig Hospital. It’s all with a paintbrush attached to a stick that I hold in my mouth. Once I learned, I just got really into it. I wasn’t into art before my disability, so it was a new learning experience and something that I could do despite all my other physical limitations. My style’s evolved. I really like using vivid colors, thick paint application, and experimenting with color and texture. I later took a painting class at City College and that was really helpful, but I’m mostly self-taught, I learn by experience and through making mistakes.
TGL: Your foundation includes a Clubhouse devoted to the arts and you have all these people coming together to
make art. Do you think that communal experience is informing the art that you make?
GF: I think so. The space is a beautiful, inspired place for creativity. The arts were really instrumental to my recovery and my state of mind. I was 17 at the time. That was 10 years ago and we didn’t have a physical facility then, but that was always my ultimate dream. We did community programs and that type of thing before getting our physical space a couple years ago. Now, the Clubhouse brings everyone together all the time.
TGL: Music performance was also a big part of your life. How do you keep music in your life today?
GF: I knew music would always be with me. I studied classical piano, cello, and later guitar. I was active with
music performance, but after I lost my physical abilities, I still had that passion in my heart. It’s just in a different form now. But I also graduated from UCSB with a music composition major and I’ve written pieces for the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and collaborated with the State Street Ballet Academy. Collaborating with others is so much fun. You wouldn’t be able to do all this in a place other than somewhere like Santa Barbara. It’s a really amazing arts community.
TGL: What prompted you to create your nonprofit, to give back to the community in this specific way?
GF: Music and art gave me a sense of purpose and joy, and after my paralysis, I realized how powerful creativity is in helping people heal, connect, and thrive. I’ve been blessed in my own life with many opportunities in the arts and feel like I have the privilege to be able to now offer similar opportunities to others facing similar challenges. Everyone – whether they have a disability or not – faces challenges
and hardships. But when we gather in an inclusive creative environment, we see our shared humanity, our similarities, and the joy of simply making art side by side.
TGL: In general, how successful do you feel philanthropy is in breaking down barriers for those with disabilities?
GF: Nonprofits that intentionally weave accessibility into their missions play a huge role in shaping a culture that sees inclusion not as an afterthought, but as essential. Disability is something everyone will encounter at some point – whether in their own life or through a loved one. The more exposure we all have to inclusive environments, the more natural it becomes to value difference and belonging.
TGL: What is the role of philanthropy in helping foster community for those with disabilities and fostering understanding, integration, and empowerment?
GF: Philanthropy and nonprofits can help plant the seeds. By supporting programs and spaces that are inclusive, funders are not just helping individuals with disabilities – they are strengthening the whole community. It’s about empowerment, understanding, and ensuring that everyone has the chance to participate fully in life.
TGL: What do you imagine people might not realize about people living with disabilities?
GF: Isolation is a huge problem. It’s a problem for everyone, but especially for people with disabilities. Covid made it worse. There’s a stigma attached to having a disability. After my incident, some of my friends were hesitant to invite me to things. They thought I was still sick and my situation was so severe. They didn’t feel I was capable of doing what they were doing. They’d say, ‘Let’s go visit Gracie,’ but I don’t want people to visit me – I’ve
Music and art gave me a sense of purpose and joy, and after my paralysis, I realized how powerful creativity is in helping people heal, connect, and thrive.
grown to hate the word visit – I want to hang out with them and do what they’re doing.
It becomes a thing where, I mean, I have my nurse, my friend, that helps me out, but a lot of times I’ll have her and my parents that help me, but I get sucked into a hole if I’m not careful.
TGL: Where do you see your foundation in five years? What does success look like?
GF: I hope to someday own a building so we can leave a legacy here in Santa Barbara. Perhaps expand our model into other communities. However, true success would be when spaces like ours are no longer the exception but the norm – where people of all abilities can walk into a classroom, studio, or theater and feel welcome.
Advocacy
“When the world is silent even one voice becomes powerful.”
– Malala Yousafzai
Conversations: Tracy McCartney
as told to Joe Donnelly
The Good Flight
Red Canary takes first place for best photo essay and best environmental reporting (and third for best online magazine) at the 2024 Press Club awards. Left to right: editor Joe Donnelly, publisher Tracy McCartney, first place winner Aaron Gilbreath and board member Jesse Carmichael.
Ibelieve it was in April of 2020 when the journalist and filmmaker Sam Slovick introduced me to Tracy McCartney, a woman on the verge of undertaking a second act, looking to make a positive impact on the world. Shortly into our first conversation, I was aware that Tracy was a force to be reckoned with, someone whose almost blind faith in the ability to do good felt undergirded by a steely resolve. I liked that combina-
tion and agreed to start something.
In short order, we’d set off on the somewhat quixotic quest to fashion an old-school, sense-making, longform journalistic enterprise in a media landscape algorithmically designed to punish nuance and flatted discourse. Tracy and I agreed to focus primarily on pressing environmental concerns while also addressing social justice issues that demanded attention. We also agreed to
approach our mission as, forgive the cliché, happy warriors.
Red Canary magazine has been an underdog from the jump, an award-winning project that’s heavy on passion and light on resources, but a project to which Tracy McCartney has given the lion’s share of both. Five years in, the magazine is at a critical juncture as it tries to gain a foothold in the world of independent nonprofit journalism. Given the state of media and the questions of sustainable journalism, it felt like a good time to have a conversation with the publisher of Red Canary , who has never told me, the editor, to do anything but strive for the highest journalistic standards.
Joe Donnelly: We launched Red Canary magazine in the fall of 2020. That was a pretty intense time. We were in the middle of the worst of Covid, the Black Lives Matter movement. I was involved in the Santa Barbara Social Justice Initiative, all this stuff was going on and, somehow, we managed to launch this new and different journalistic enterprise.
Tracy McCartney: Pretty remarkable and now it’s more important than ever.
JD: Why?
TM: Well, I think now, we’re not just reporting on our mission – environmental and social justice – but we’re fighting for a future where journalism remains a pillar of truth. Accountability and democracy. I really feel that’s true, and I feel the longform journalism that we’re doing is very powerful, and we’re expanding now into audio and podcast. And I think that’s going to touch a whole new audience.
JD: Of course, I agree with you about how important journalism is, particularly at this time, and yet there isn’t any great model for journalism, profit or nonprofit. For-profit journalism is almost an oxymoron.
TM: Correct. Yeah.
JD: And nonprofit journalism, as you well know, is very difficult. Could you speak to that? What made you decide to try and go the nonprofit route with this project?
TM: Well, I really look at it and when you look at structuring a nonprofit over a for-profit, the nonprofit model really protects editorial
independence. So, it protects against shareholder and advertiser pressure, and especially in the environment that we’re in right now with all the misinformation and disinformation, this structure actually safeguards editorial independence, access to philanthropic funding, and building public trust.
There’s such a lack of trust amongst the public for the for-profit structure right now and this [nonprofit structure] can ensure long-term sustainability. So, there’s a number of reasons why we lean toward nonprofit over for-profit. Most of it has to do with community and public trust and protecting our editorial independence.
JD: Well, I love the public trust and editorial independence aspect of that. I’m wondering if it’s proving any more efficacious in terms of a revenue model to do nonprofit journalism versus for-profit. I don’t think either of them are showing that they have figured out the revenue puzzle yet. Or am I mistaken there?
TM: No, I don’t think you’re mistaken at all. But I do see that especially with the nonprofit organizations that I’ve been in touch with, there are a number that are starting to form partnerships and come together. And I’m seeing a lot more actual syndication too, under an umbrella.
JD: And is that something that you’re looking into, or that you see as a potential?
TM: Absolutely. And we just recently were accepted in the Institute for Nonprofit News. There are 500 independent news organizations in that group and all of us are talking about it.
JD: What are the collaborative potentials that you see there? Is it sharing costs, or sharing resources or content even?
TM: Yes. Sharing resources, sharing content, and obviously expanding exposure, being able to broaden and amplify your reach.
JD: You came from a background in advertising, and I believe marketing and branding consulting, for consumer brands…
TM: Both business-to-business and consumer.
JD: Tell me about that world, and the transition you’ve made from that world to a more, I don’t know if we could quite call Red Canary magazine a philanthropy, but as far as your personal bottom line, it certainly has been.
TM: Right, it has been for me. I’ve invested a good portion
of my portfolio into the magazine, and that’s really indicative of how much I believe in what we’re doing, and how much I believe in what you’re actually doing, Joe.
JD: Well, thank you, but what’s the main difference between working in that world and now in the realm of nonprofit and philanthropy?
TM: I think there are a number of things. I think working in the corporate world – I did a lot of work for 3M and also Weyer-
haeuser and a number of hospitals, that kind of thing – and now our mission, as it were, is focused on environmental and social justice.
In the corporate world, you’re definitely focused on making a profit. We are not focused on making a profit. In regard to our mission, we’re focused on trying to fund our stories, to be able to reach the greatest group and make significant change in the world as it relates to our editorial concerns.
JD: Did you just grow tired of the corporate world, and feel like you were being alienated from your values in some way?
TM: No, not at all. Essentially, I was in retirement and then everything was hitting the fan in 2020 and before, 2019, when we first started thinking about this. And I just couldn’t take it. And a lot of what I did in advertising was pro bono work. I worked on SIDS campaigns (sudden infant death syndrome) and various other things as well. So, I’ve always been aligned with creating awareness around certain issues. I really looked at what my gifts were, what my skills were, and who I was connected with.
JD: You had been in leadership positions on nonprofit boards before and knew the terrain a little bit.
TM: I knew the terrain a little bit. I knew what we were up against and I knew it was going to be tough.
JD: Could you elaborate?
TM: Typically, fundraising is extremely tough, as you know, for nonprofits, especially nonprofit independent news publications. So, it is very difficult. It usually does take a few years to really get it off the ground. And as we did it, I feel like I did it a little bit backward, because I had the funds to
be able to build it and go ahead, rather than focusing on generating major grants and gifts. So now we’re focused on generating those major grants and gifts. That’s the primary focus, to be able to cover our budget.
JD: You wanted to show proof of concept
TM: Absolutely. And we did, and we’ve won 16 awards over the past almost five years. We won six first place awards, and four honorable mentions with the L.A. Press Club, one first place award with the Society of Professional Journalists, one honorable mention from the Society of Environmental Journalists. One honorable mention just this year with the Webbies and three website awards for Davey, Anthem, and C2A.
Our first year out of the gate we won best online news organization from the Southern California Press Association. I think we’re working our tails off and we continue to win awards. We continue to make a difference.
The awards are significant in terms of proving concept. That and the difference that we’ve made in terms of changing policy with some of our stories, and some of the differences in raising awareness for the various communities. And basically, I think the awards are very helpful in terms of just securing awareness and proving the concept. I think once we secure the funding, we’re going to be on great footing.
JD: You mentioned making some significant changes. I think of the story we did about the man languishing in prison for decades for something they didn’t do, who was released soon after our piece. Are there other things that come to mind?
TM: Yes, raising awareness around all of the struggles faced by people in the Navajo Nation, and all of the toxicity that’s created by the oil and gas companies. We’ve raised awareness around the homeless situation in Los Angeles, and new efforts that are happening in terms of assisting the homeless, a shift in perspective, I think, too, in regard to that.
There’s the “Diesel Death Zone” story, and
“There are more and more foundations that are also coming together as a collective, and funding various initiatives because of the state of our nation in terms of politics and in terms of the news. Major funders are coming together to form pools, national pools and regional pools to support independent news nonprofits.”
the “Return of a Fabled Lake”… we’ve raised awareness around many issues and stories that really aren’t dug into in a deep way.
JD: How does that work translate to or help either initiate or amplify what various other nonprofit organizations or philanthropies might be doing that dovetails with the work we’re doing?
TM: I think we’re an amplifier. We’re not an advocate. So, we continue to maintain our independence, an independent newsroom. We’re not an advocacy group. Our role is to investigate, document, and sometimes that amplifies the work of the frontline organizations. We’ve done that with numerous organizations around Southern California in terms of the work they’re doing. I’m thinking now of the story we did on food sovereignty and urban farming, for instance.
JD: What is your sense of the effectiveness of nonprofits and philanthropic organizations in addressing the types of issues that Red Canary concerns itself with, largely environmental issues and social justice issues? It seems like we want them to do a lot, especially in the face of cuts in public funds that used to go to these needs.
TM: I think there’s a number of those organizations that are effective. The Annenberg Family Foundation is effective. The Knight Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, all of these foundations are effective. LA2050 is incredible. So, I think, yeah, I do. I think they’re
incredible organizations and they’re doing good work, and we’re all moving in the same direction.
JD: How do you see the future for Red Canary?
TM: I was recently at a conference in June, actually, and met with a number of the news organizations with the Institute for Nonprofit News. And I was weirdly comforted by meeting up with those individuals because I realized we’re all in the same boat, and nobody’s wanting to quit. Everybody’s going to fight to secure the funding that’s necessary, and everyone’s willing to help each other. So, this community of independent news organizations across the nation is really powerful.
We’ve also made major headway in that we’ve got about 10 grant applications out there, and we have a handful of philanthropic, major gift foundations that we’ve been working with, and have been nurturing a relationship with for the last couple of years.
JD: That fiercely defended independence is a double-edged sword. It’s the goose that lays the golden egg of journalism. But it also can be something of a barrier for getting financial support, because people tend to want something for the financial support.
TM: The major foundations get it. They all understand. And there are more and more foundations that are also coming together as a collective, and funding various initiatives because of the state of our nation in terms of politics and in terms of the news. Major funders are coming together to form pools, national pools and regional pools to support independent news nonprofits.
JD: Well, let’s hope that trickles down, because you have certainly put skin in the game. If it all went away tomorrow, would you be happy with the choices you made to put so much of your own time, money and effort into this project, this experiment that is Red Canary?
TM: The answer to that would be absolutely yes. But I’m not planning on giving up anytime soon.
Red Canary publisher, Tracy McCartney.
We Are Not Powerless
Gun violence. The phrase has become almost blandly ubiquitous in American culture. But to those who have experienced the piercing loss of a loved one to gunfire, to those whose kids’ “active shooter drills” at school have become a familiar part of the curriculum – gun violence is a maddening public health catastrophe that must be contained. On that front, the nonprofit Brady: United Against Gun Violence is a pugnacious, singleminded force for good.
“Brady’s mission statement is to Free America from Gun Violence,” says Julie Hill, director of engagement for Brady United. “As mission statements go, it’s very succinct.” Brady United’s inaugural legislative success – 1993’s hard-fought Brady Bill – established both the first national instant background check system and the five-day waiting period. At this writing, the landmark legislation has shut down nearly 4.9 million prohibited gun transactions.
Today, Brady United is engaged on every legislative and cultural front that bears on the gun control issue, working tirelessly to change the gun laws, the industry, and the culture. It’s worth remembering that Jim and Sarah Brady (who passed in 2014 and 2015, respectively) were themselves gun owners. “A lot of legacy gun owners view gun safety as an essential part of gun ownership,” says Liz Dunning, Brady United’s chief development and engagement officer. “Some of what we’re seeking to accomplish is returning gun ownership to a posture of gun safety and responsibility.”
In that spirit, Brady United is indefatigable – and innovative. With Brady’s help, in 2021 the Los Angeles City Council enacted an ordinance that prohibits the possession of untraceable ghost guns and the parts used to assemble them. At the government procurement level, Brady leverages ordinary market pressures
Pellie Anderson, a gun safety advocate, former prosecutor and District Attorney, and mom, has been a Brady volunteer and donor since 2019, and is currently a member of the Northern California Regional Leadership Council. Pellie’s experience as a prosecutor inspired her commitment to gun violence prevention, especially as it pertains to domestic violence and suicide prevention. She appreciates that “Brady really values what people can bring to the table from their community and career.” We are so grateful for Pellie’s dedication to our mission to free America from gun violence.
to incent government agencies’ thorough vetting of vendors when sourcing weapons. Brady has even gone Hollywood – partnering with writers, producers, and studio execs to model responsible gun ownership onscreen. And to date, Brady’s safe home gun storage PSA, End Family Fire, has served 3.6 billion views. Liz Dunning describes the fuel that drives Brady’s successes.
“Eighty percent of our annual revenue comes from individuals, and half of that comes from individuals giving a thousand dollars or less. We know – every day – that we are accountable to a broad swath of people who believe in our mission.” Her colleague Julie Hill concurs.
“We have the wide reach and can go deep enough into the issue to truly tackle these problems. Gifts at any and all levels go a long way to freeing America from gun violence, to keeping us all safe.”
Support Brady to End Gun Violence
Guns are the #1 killer of kids in America. This reality drives Brady: United Against Gun Violence in their tireless work to change the laws, change the industry, and change the culture of guns in the U.S. Show Gun Safety and End Family Fire media campaigns are proving successful in inspiring national behavior changes for safe gun storage and safety.
ALL gifts to Brady help to free America from gun violence. Your investment will work to reduce suicide, school shootings, and domestic violence in our nation. Join them and give today!
President Kris Brown and VP Liz Dunning at the Supreme Court
Brady leader and Parkland survivor Aalayah Eastmond
Former Foster Youth Are Reshaping Legal Advocacy in Los Angeles
In a conference room at the Children’s Law Center of California (CLC), Diva arrives early, notebook in hand. Just months ago, the 24-year-old mother and student hesitated to join CLC’s Youth Advisory Council, doubting whether she could balance another commitment. Today, she volunteers for every initiative, her transformation emblematic of something larger unfolding at the nation’s largest children’s legal services organization.
“When she first joined, it took a little more time with her to get through even the hiring process,” recalls Quan Petteway, CLC’s youth engagement coordinator and herself a former foster youth. “She’s been thriving. She’s actually been the first to volunteer for things.”
The Youth Advisory Council, launched in April 2025 after years of planning, represents a reimagining of how legal services should work. Born during CLC’s 2022 strategic planning surveys of over a thousand former clients, many expressing bewilderment
about why they never heard from their attorneys after case closure – the council places lived experience at the center of institutional decision-making.
“The conventional wisdom has been that when a case closes, families don’t want anything to do with the court system anymore,” explains Leslie Starr Heimov, CLC’s executive director for the last 20 years. “We heard from a lot of youth that said, ‘How come no one ever called me again after my case closed? I still needed support.’”
The council’s nine members, aged 18 to 26, aren’t merely advisors – they’re paid hourly as contractors, their expertise valued tangibly. They review suicide screening tools, identifying triggers that well-meaning professionals miss. They inform state legislation, with one member recently testifying in Sacramento on a bill clarifying that legal representation for young adults must be client-directed. They conduct reproductive health surveys in courthouses, insisting on warm hando s from attorneys rather than
cold approaches from strangers. This is decision making by and for the foster youth who most feel the e ects of the care system.
“The youth have had no ‘say so’ in it,” Petteway notes of traditional policymaking. “My goal is to make sure that they have ‘say so,’ that we are making sure this is geared towards them.”
Beyond policy work, the council addresses the absence of community. Members join for intensely personal reasons – one seeks to prevent sibling separation, another to ensure foster youth know college is possible and free. Their monthly meetings and biweekly committee work build something rarely a orded to foster youth: sustained connection.
For CLC, the Youth Advisory Council is also a vital way to maintain what Heimov calls a “continuous feedback loop,” so foster youth are empowered by understanding their rights, by helping to reshape policy and by lifting up their voices to advocate for a better system for all.
Your Support Makes Youth Voices Heard and Change Possible
The Youth Advisory Council costs just $200,000 annually to operate – covering the youth engagement coordinator position, hourly compensation for nine council members, transportation, and meeting expenses. Your gift ensures former foster youth continue shaping the very systems meant to serve them. Whether funding a council member’s testimony at the state capitol, supporting community wellness events, or enabling youth-led training for attorneys, your donation transforms lived experience into systemic change, creating the responsive, youthcentered advocacy these young people deserved all along.
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Children’s Law Center of California (CLC) provides legal representation for children and youth impacted by abuse and neglect. We advocate for our clients by supporting families; fighting for reunification, permanence, educational opportunity, health, and mental health wellness; and empowering and strengthening children, families, and their communities. Our informed approach to advocacy makes us a powerful voice in local, statewide, and national child welfare system reform.
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"T
he youth have had no ‘say so’ - my goal is to make sure that they have ‘say so,’ that we are making sure this is geared towards them."
– Quan Petteway Youth Engagement Coordinator
Children’s Law Center of California
www.clccal.org
(323)980-1700
Contact: Stephanie Talavera
American Business Bank
Béis
Benjy Grinberg and Ellen Goldberg
The Change Reaction
California Community Foundation
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Dara and Conan Barker
Matt Groening
The Hummingbird Fund
In-N-Out Burger Foundation
Neal Kaufman, MD, MPH LA2050
Communications and Development Manager (323) 980-1538 talaveras@clccal.org
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The Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles
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Pritzker Foster Care Initiative
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Samuel and Helene Soref Foundation
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Whittier Trust
The Many Ways to Give...
By Check: Children’s Law Center of California 101 Centre Plaza Drive Monterey Park, CA 91754
By Credit Card: www.clccal.org
The Corner That Became a Movement
The Valley of Change's work is guided by key pillars that drive their mission to empower, uplift, and support Black lives and underserved communities. These pillars form the foundation of their approach to education, wellness, racial justice, and inclusivity.
Every day for over five years, Latora Green has taken her position at the northwest corner of Sepulveda and Ventura boulevards in Sherman Oaks. What began as a solitary act of defiance – a woman with raised fists responding to George Floyd’s murder – has evolved into something far more complex and enduring than a protest. It has become a nerve center for community transformation.
“I came out here when it happened to George Floyd, but I didn’t stop,” Green explains, her voice carrying the weight of 1,800 consecutive days spent on this corner. “It’s bigger than that. It keeps happening, and we’re saying ‘enough is enough.’ We need to take care of us and build community.”
The transformation began organically. Passersby stopped to listen, to join, to ask how they could help. Green, a human resources professional laid o during the pandemic, recognized something profound was happening. People weren’t just angry – they were hungry for meaningful action. Within one month, what started as The Valley of Change protest had become The Valley of Change nonprofit, with Green trading her corporate career for the uncertain path of community organizing.
Beyond the Signs
While the corner remains Green’s base, the real work happens in shelters, schools, community centers, and encampments
across Los Angeles. Green has built a threepillared organization focusing on Financial Literacy and Career Pathways, Holistic Wellness, and Mutual Aid and Community Building that reaches far beyond Sherman Oaks into Watts, Compton, Hollywood, Pacoima, and beyond.
In local shelters operated in L.A., Green conducts financial literacy classes where participants learn budgeting, credit building, and job readiness. One participant, Sandra Jones, raised her credit score from the low 400s to the mid-550s over six months. “We were able to help her go on Wells Fargo and see her credit score increase every single month by 10 to 15 points,” Green notes with pride. Jones, who had been living in a shelter, now has the financial foundation to secure permanent housing as well as the tools and confidence, and is empowered to do amazing things with new beginnings.
The Valley of Change’s impact has been vast. Green and her army of more than 750 volunteers have distributed over 80,000 meals and assembled and distributed more than 20,000 hygiene kits through schools like Marymount and hospitals like UCLA. And soon to be deployed is a mobile shower unit, built by yet another volunteer. But Green measures success di erently. “It’s about the connection that we give,” she says. “We want the community connection. We want them to have trust in us.”
Green adds, “We want people to come together,” describing how her corner has become a gathering place for people seeking tangible ways to address systemic inequality. In an era when many protests fade, The Valley of Change has endured by transforming righteous anger into sustained community care.
Clients conducting a mock interview during a Career Pathway workshop.
Community cleanup by amazing volunteers.
The Valley of Change’s mission is to empower, inspire, educate, and uplift Black lives by providing educational programming and health resources that foster overall well-being and liberation. They are committed to addressing racial and socioeconomic inequalities through visual awareness, outreach, and advocacy within underserved and marginalized communities.
Their commitment to inclusivity means that while they center on Black folks, they welcome individuals from all backgrounds to join them in fostering equality and justice.
Shelter From the Storm
The Valley of Change is fostering community change and resilience through education, health resources, and mutual aid. Your donations, in any amount, help support their empowering, uplifting programs that focus on ending economic inequality.
• $15,000 allows the Valley of Change to provide their Financial Literacy & Career Pathways Program in four shelters for a year.
• $35,000 allows the Financial Literacy & Career Pathways Program to be in eight shelters for one year.
• $100,000 would allow the Financial Literacy & Career Pathways Program to be available in 20 shelters for one year.
Latora Green
Conversations: Amanda Sattler
as told to Brian Rinker
A Deep Dive into Preventing Nonprofit Burnout
Amanda Sattler has spent more than 20 years in philanthropy, leading fundraising teams and raising resources for nonprofits across Los Angeles. She’s guided organizations through both financial crises and periods of rapid growth, experiences that shaped her understanding of how scarcity and abundance can strain leaders. Having gone through burnout herself, she turned that personal experience into an academic focus, pursuing doctoral research in philanthropic leadership on how and why nonprofit staff burn out, and what it takes to prevent it.
Alongside her academic work, Sattler continues to give back through volunteer roles with Educating Students Together, Covenant House California, Fostering Youth Independence, Serve LA, and her church’s women’s ministry. Amanda describes her current volunteering as a source of joy and healing, allowing her to give back as a board member, donor, and volunteer without the pressures of organizational leadership.
In this conversation for The Giving List, Sattler reflects on her journey, the lessons she’s learned, and what it means to sustain both missions and the people who carry them out.
Brian Rinker: What first drew you to volunteer work, and how has it shaped your path in philanthropy?
Amanda Sattler: I grew up in a home where my parents were very generous. My dad actually ran the first AIDS clinic in Los Angeles, so supporting communities has always been part of my story. But the turning point came when I was a junior at USC. I was “voluntold” to do a service-learning project and ended up mentoring kids at a neighborhood school. I realized those kids didn’t have enough books or even toilet paper in the bathrooms. The only difference between me and them was resources and our system of support. That lit a fire in me. I switched majors and knew I wanted to dedicate my career to helping.
BR: You started in program work but became a fundraiser. How did that shift happen?
AS: Out of school, I was managing volunteers, and I kept bumping into barriers. There weren’t enough financial resources to expand programs. One day I was told, “We don’t have capacity to write that grant.” So I figured it out, wrote my first grant, and the program got funded. That’s when I realized the programs that get funded get implemented. A fundraiser was born. At first, I thought fundraising was “the dark side.” But I discovered I could drive positive change by being that bridge between donors and the work.
BR: You’ve spoken openly about burnout. What were your experiences with it?
AS: The first time was during the 2008 financial crisis. I worked at an organization heavily funded by corporations, and half our budget disappeared overnight. Suddenly, I was fundraising for payroll just to keep the lights on. The pressure was intense. Later, I experienced
“Too often we only focus on beneficiaries or donors and forget to put our own oxygen masks on. If we care for the people inside our organizations, they’ll be better equipped to care for those we serve.”
burnout in a season of growth. Our organization was expanding rapidly to meet the needs of young people experiencing homelessness, but I couldn’t staff my team fast enough. I’ve lived both scarcity and abundance, and both can lead to burnout.
BR: How is burnout different from just being stressed or overwhelmed?
AS: The World Health Organization defines burnout as chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed. Chronic being the key word. It usually lasts a year or more. Fundraisers are especially prone to it because they care deeply and are highly motivated. But the role is often misunderstood. You’re standing in the intersection between people who have resources and those who need them. It’s isolating, it’s emotionally heavy, and you’re constantly re-educating everyone about what you do. For those of us who love it, it’s a privilege, but it’s also exhausting.
BR: What did your research uncover about supporting fundraisers and nonprofit leaders?
AS: One finding is that community of support – especially outside the building – is critical. Fundraisers often feel like they’re on an island, and having peers who “get it” makes a huge difference. Another key point is that more than 80 percent of fundraising is about engaging hearts and minds, not asking. Authenticity matters most. And being authentic, present, and continuously bridging gaps between diverse stakeholders is emotional labor. Burnout lessens when people feel supported, when they don’t have to carry the weight alone, and when they have support from a peer community that understands the joy and the challenge of this beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking work.
BR: You’ve said the word “philanthropy” literally means love of humanity. How does that shape your view of the sector today?
AS: Yes, from the Greek it means love of humanity. In the U.S., we often define it as voluntary action for the public good. Both are true, but we sometimes lose sight of the love of humanity part. Stewardship, at its root, is about caring for resources that aren’t ours, but we’ve redefined to the action of thanking and caring for donors, but what about the people inside the organizations, fueling and implementing the mission? Too often we only focus on beneficiaries and forget to put our own oxygen masks on. If we care for the people inside our organizations, they’ll be better equipped to care for those we serve.
BR: You’ve seen fundraising evolve through tough times and growth. Why is it more critical than ever now?
AS: Need is increasing. Some government grants and resources have been eliminated or reduced, which pushes nonprofits to seek more private support and that then creates more competition. That makes relationship-based fundraising essential. It’s about retaining the donors you have. It costs five times more to acquire a new donor than to keep one. When fundraising is done well, it’s not about constant asks. It’s about relationships and authentic connection.
BR: What can boards and volunteers do to help fundraise?
AS: First, demystify fundraising. It’s not just asking people for money. Making the ask is less than 15 percent of the process. Sharing your passion, posting on social media, thanking donors – those are all forms of fundraising. Second, don’t underestimate small gifts. Some of the largest organizations in this country are built on people giving $5 or $10 a month. Third, remember the return on investment. Big galas and events often eat up half of what’s raised. Long-term relationships with donors bring greater impact.
BR: How has your doctoral research changed your perspective on burnout?
AS: It’s been both affirming and surprising. What stood out was how much fundraisers love their work. They feel called to it. Many who burn out don’t leave philanthropy entirely. They just serve differently, maybe through consulting or part-time grant writing. That passion is still out there. The challenge is sustaining it and building a talent pipeline for the next generation.
BR: What advice would you give executive directors who want to better support fundraising staff?
AS: Don’t fall into the trap of thinking fundraising only belongs to one person. Everyone – staff, board, volunteers – can share stories, say thank you, and make donors feel valued. That shared responsibility lightens the load and makes the work more sustainable.
BR: You stepped back from full-time staff work and now volunteer with several organizations. What has that meant for you personally?
AS: Honestly, it’s been one of the main things that helped me heal from burnout. As a board member, do-
nor, and volunteer, I try to be the kind of supporter I loved when I was on staff – encouraging, affirming, and helpful without piling on advice. I ask leaders how they’re doing, what they need, and then I try to meet that need.
For example, I love volunteering with Educating Students Together. The founders saw the need for young people to have access to higher education, because the cost of college is so expensive. With just a handful of staff and a team of volunteers, last year they helped about 80 young people – most of whom are in foster care or from low-income backgrounds – secure over $8 million in scholarships. What I love is that you can walk alongside a student in really practical ways: help them with an essay, coach them for an exam, or make sure they have a suitcase to move into college. My heart has always been drawn to young people who deserve better. It’s been pure joy to give back without carrying the weight of the whole organization.
Much Love for All Dogs
During the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, the Much Love team rapidly upscaled their operations to rescue more than 15 dogs from local shelters. Volunteer Carli Jo Cabrera spent a late night in the ER with Bentley, a puppy displaced during the fire chaos, who became a Much Love dog and was soon adopted.
Twenty-six years ago, Nikki Ferraro found herself in a parking lot outside a Santa Monica surf shop, holding handmade posters, trying to find a home for a stray dog.
“We just really didn’t know what to do with them back then,” Ferraro recalls.
“The shelters weren’t set up as great as now, they were smaller.” What began as an impromptu adoption event has evolved into Much Love Animal Rescue, a grassroots organization that has placed upwards of 5,000 animals in loving homes since 1999.
The operation remains defiantly analog in spirit, even as it has grown sophisticated in reach. There is no gleaming facility, no corporate headquarters – just a network of steadfast volunteers working 24 hours a day. “Nobody says it’s a weekend, I can’t do this,” explains Board Member Karen Gaspin. “There are 2am phone calls,” adds Board Member and 18-year Much Love vet-
We never say no to seniors who are regularly dumped at shelters. We pulled Boo, who was in terrible shape with a serious heart condition and was given just three weeks to live. With the right medication and the dedication of our hospice volunteer, Marci, Boo is thriving three months later. Because of Much Love’s e orts and medical intervention, she will live out her life with endless love and dignity.
eran, Jude Epstein. “Every year we are doing better and more work.”
Their nimbleness proved invaluable during the recent Palisades and Altadena fires. While larger organizations struggled with logistics, Much Love pivoted instantly. Within two weeks, they had rescued 15 dogs displaced by the crisis, their all-volunteer foster network expanding to accommodate the emergency.
The organization’s specialty lies in the cases others might avoid – the medical complexities, the senior dogs, the animals with stories written in scars. “We’re suckers for the medical cases and the seniors,” Ferraro admits. “Some of the best dogs we’ve ever gotten had some major medical issues that we’ve rescued, and you just fix ‘em up and they become somebody’s best friend.” She describes pulling a pit bull from a two-foot chain, hairless and hobbling, requiring thousands in veterinary care for a broken hip, mange, and tumor removal. He became her beloved
companion. “We don’t take a dog by what they look like,” Gaspin emphasizes. Their annual medical budget approaches $125,000. The calls arrive constantly – more than 10 each day – from overwhelmed shelters, from strangers who’ve found dogs wandering with makeshift collars. “We get a call. We have a medical dog that they’re going to euthanize. Could you guys take it?” Ferraro explains. The financial pressure is relentless: “We literally have to go out and say, we need $10,000 in the next week” when emergency cases arise.
The mathematics are unforgiving: every rescue requires immediate placement in foster care or costly boarding, every medical case demands upfront payment, every success story builds toward the next emergency. Yet the organization persists through pure volunteer energy, embodying the kind of grassroots activism that feels increasingly rare in an institutionalized world.
Much Love Animal Rescue exists to rescue abused, neglected and homeless animals from the streets and shelters of Los Angeles and place them in loving homes. Much Love is a 100% nonprofit organization run by dedicated volunteers who o er their time and resources to house, train, transport and care for these animals. Since its inception in 1999, Much Love has placed over 5,000 animals into loving homes.
A Low-Cost/HighImpact Way to Save Stray Animals
Love Animal Rescue operates mostly on individual donations, with some matching corporate funds, and a few small grants.
• $1,000 – Rescue one healthy dog, including a wellness check-up, two rounds of vaccines, spay/neuter.
• $3,500 – Rescue a dog and provide two months of bootcamp training.
• $5,000 – Rescue one dog with significant surgical needs.
• $10,000 – Rescue pending euthanasia dogs and those with life-threatening illnesses.
• $15,000 – Rescue a pregnant dog, including all medical needs through pregnancy and puppy adoption.
Much Love also urgently needs foster families to provide temporary homes, especially for large dogs and senior animals. Your contribution – whether monetary or as a foster volunteer – directly saves lives for L.A.’s most vulnerable animal population.
“Fire Dog” Smokey was also rescued in January 2025. Animal shelters quickly became overcrowded as homes were destroyed and evacuated, and many emergency shelters could not take pets. Much Love sprang into action and pulled as many dogs as we could accommodate. All of them needed medical attention.
“Whether we are responding to a large-scale emergency or it is just an average day in L.A., the Much Love team is constantly working to rescue animals and find them loving forever homes,” says Volunteer and Board Member Karen Gaspin.
“It is a full-time job for our all-volunteer group.”
Elayne Boosler
Chris Hogan Foundation
Lawrence and Sandra Post
Sean and Jen Korduner
“I Could Not Ask for a Better Partner”
In the rolling hills outside Santa Paula, California, a stirring ceremony is afoot. Four young first responders from Oklahoma Task Force One and their canine partners will be formally paired today – effectively for life. Each in his turn, the soft-spoken young men in uniform tell their stories, the small outdoor amphitheater ringing with birdsong. As they speak, their four-legged partners in rescue gaze on them with the unfiltered love for which dogs are known.
These young Oklahomans are signing on 30 years after the Oklahoma City bombing that essentially launched the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation’s mission. The stakes remain high. These paired teams will not be searching for the dead, but for the living. CEO Rhett Mauck offers a benediction. “To these handlers, we say thank you for your dedication to your canine partners – and for the journey that lies ahead.”
In 1996 a woman named Wilma Melville launched the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF), having been stunned the prior year at the shortfall of handlers and rescue dogs desperately seeking survivors in the smoldering rubble of the blasted Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
“OverFrom rescued to rescuer: Disaster search dogs are trained to find the strongest scent
get odor,
These years later, evolving SDF training is arduous and exacting, the expansive training compound an outdoor menagerie of collapsed buildings and crushed cars. SDF’s canine candidates arrive already familiar with the rescue theme – SDF’s dogs are themselves rescues from shelters. However they fare in SDF’s training and mission, they will find homes. SDF’s Lifetime Care
the years, the Search Dog Foundation has forged numerous partnerships with canine disaster search teams that proudly serve the Los Angeles area. We deeply appreciate the presence of these remarkable canines in our ranks, standing as a steadfast resource we can rely on when summoned to action by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and California Task Force 2.
“Our task force holds the distinction of being one of only two in the nation with the capacity to deploy internationally, and the indispensable role played by our search dogs cannot be overstated. In the face of earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides, or the daunting challenge of locating missing persons, these exceptionally trained canines form the bedrock of our search missions. Whether the need arises close to home or on foreign soil, these four-legged heroes ensure that our operations are successful.
“It is of utmost importance to highlight the unwavering support provided by the Search Dog Foundation, which generously supplies these canines as invaluable assets to our department and task force. This unwavering commitment ensures that we are perpetually ready and equipped to serve our community whenever the call for assistance rings out. Together, we stand united, ready to bring aid and hope in times of crisis.”
–Gregory Short Battalion Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department and Program Manager, California Task Force 2/USA-2
Commitment guarantees it.
The bond between dog and handler is mission critical. “It’s about connection over compliance,” explains Denise Sanders, senior director of communications and search team operations. “It’s about making sure they’re connected with their handler, that they are doing the work together. In a large-scale disaster,” says Sanders, “there’s so much ground to cover. So to be able to trust that dog to say, we can move on, this area is clear; that’s everything.”
From Maui to Los Angeles to Texas to Turkey, through fires, floods, and quakes, SDF’s work never pauses. From the day of a dog’s arrival on campus, SDF spends approximately $75,000 to train a search dog and handler over 10 to 12 months – professional, certified training that comes at no cost to the emergency departments nationwide who are SDF’s beneficiaries. “We’re 100% funded by private donations,” Sanders says. “We don’t accept government funding, only individual and foundation donations.” And though the nature of disaster itself is dynamic, SDF teams are on the case.
“They leave here,” Sanders says, “prepared for all scenarios, ready for anything. These teams have that relationship in place where it needs to be.”
source of their tar-
barking to alert their handler that a missing person is buried beneath the surface of the rubble.
Sponsor the Canine Heroes
The frequency and strength of recent disasters are stark reminders that they can strike at the heart of any community. In the search for victims, a search dog’s remarkable nose and hard-earned skills mean the difference between days versus minutes, lost versus found, uncertainty versus hope. The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) works diligently to ensure canine search teams across America can deploy at a moment’s notice when needed, which includes preparing the next generation of canine heroes.
From the day they arrive on campus to the day they are paired with first responders, SDF spends approximately $75,000 to train a search dog over 10 to 12 months.
SDF is raising $975,000 to train the next search dog graduates. Donors at $20,000 and above can become sponsors of a search dog in training, receiving updates on their progress and milestones throughout their career. Sponsor one or even a pack of canine heroes to be Part of the Search!
Search dogs and their handlers train together weekly to stay ready in case of deployment. The Search Dog Foundation campus contains disaster training props that help prepare them for any disaster scenario they may face on deployment.
The mission of the Search Dog Foundation is to strengthen disaster response in America by rescuing and recruiting dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
George Leis, Chair, Executive Vice President & Market President, CalPrivate Bank
Richard Butt, Vice-Chair, Retired EVP, Executive Creative Director, VMLY&R
Chicago Bears Quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is best known for his athletic feats on the gridiron, but at 23 years old, he’s wasted no time platforming his fame for the betterment of children with his nonprofit, Caleb Cares, an organization devoted to improved mental wellness, youth empowerment, and bullying prevention.
Behind the scenes, Caleb Cares is run by a core staff including Executive Director Patsy Mangas and Director of Community Outreach Dayna Price – who also happens to be Caleb’s mother. Though each of them arrived at their philanthropic pursuits through different paths, they’ve come together in an effort to bring Williams’ values to the young people who need them. Mangas and Price talked to The Giving List about their work and how nonprofits can attract donors even without a celebrity spokesperson.
Zachary Bernstein: People take varied paths on the road to becoming philanthropists and you two illustrate that perfectly. How did you each come to take part in the world of nonprofits?
Dayna Price: My background was in early childhood education. I owned a daycare center for 16 years. We had to close its doors when Covid hit, but even after Covid was receding and we opened back up, daycare just never got back to what it was, so I closed the business. Around then, Caleb was trying to figure out what kind of nonprofit he wanted to build, a tossup between working with children, or with adults. He chose working with children and created Caleb Cares. I kind of fell into it, working from what I already knew. I didn’t necessarily know what to expect because I had never worked with a nonprofit before, but I’m still able to work with children, which has always been a passion of mine.
Patsy Mangas: Before joining Caleb Cares, I founded a nonprofit called She Rocks The World – a movement ded-
icated to empowering teenage girls at a critical moment. I witnessed firsthand how social media was reshaping our girls’ sense of self-worth, and not for the better. This was the dawn of the social media era, when a girl’s confidence could rise or fall based on the number of likes on her Facebook or Instagram post. TikTok didn’t even exist yet!
When Covid hit, I stepped away, and that’s when Caleb’s dad reached out. He asked if I’d help with Caleb Cares as a volunteer and I told him, “Absolutely! Let me share every mistake I made so you don’t have to make them, too.” What began as simply wanting to help has blossomed into my full-time calling. Now I lead the dayto-day operations, programming, and events.
We make an incredible team! For me, philanthropy has
Patsy Mangas, Director of Caleb Cares, welcomes over 800 Chicago students.
always been about one thing: lifting people up and creating real, transformative change. And I’ve always gravitated toward kids – there’s something magical about them. They just want to be loved. They haven’t been hardened by the world yet. They’re pure potential.
ZB: You just said that Caleb had to choose between working with children and adults. It seems like there was a third option to just be an NFL star and not have a nonprofit at all. Why did Caleb feel the need to start a nonprofit in the first place?
DP: We talked about different ways to give back. He actually worked in my daycare center as a junior assistant. He felt strongly about wanting to help children that had been bullied. He saw it growing up and he didn’t like it. He didn’t feel like there were enough resources out there to help kids who are dealing with bullies, so he wanted bully prevention to be part of the program. The mental health part of Caleb Cares came later as we began to see a lot of people struggling during Covid.
It was a change for everybody, but he wanted to do this when he realized that he had a platform. He was often asked what he’d want to do outside of football. Caleb Cares was the natural thing.
PM: I remember Caleb saying he was inspired by his mom and dad who were always helping others. When he was younger, he didn’t always understand why. He said, “Why do you have to help everybody?” But he grew, and the sentiment just sunk into him. Now, giving has become part of his own mission.
ZB: Every nonprofit organization has to find their own way to attract donors. And maybe you have a leg up because Caleb is a celebrity, but what advice would you have for other nonprofits trying to attract their own donors and specifically, people who not only want to give money but also share their values?
DP: I would just say that what I’m learning as far as raising money goes, is that there are companies who actually have to give. So, if you can partner with some good companies focused on the same issues and challenges that you are, that can be a big part of your operation. It meshes even better when your core values align.
PM: People have to be passionate about what they’re doing. I think we can say that about – Caleb, Dayna, Carl, and myself – we’re very, very passionate about what we do and about inspiring children and lifting them up and sending them the message of belief… belief in themselves. The true gold is watching the kids’ faces when they walk into Soldier
Field, the Bears stadium, for the first time. When they see Caleb out on the field living his dream. They just might be inspired to live their dream. We work to broaden the lens through which kids see the world and when we host over 600 kids a season, we just broaden their world.
We’re fortunate enough that Caleb is a high character person. He’s smart, compassionate, and of course, a really good football player. But I would say to other nonprofits – I think a lot of them are founded and guided through passion, but often you’re faced with a lot of different turning points and they tend to move away from the reason they started their organization. I know when I founded my nonprofit, before I joined Caleb Cares, there were many different people coming at me wanting to do different things. You just have to stay true to why you’re doing it. Stick to what your mission is.
You’ve heard this before, but you’ll have to give a lot more noes than you do yeses. With that being said, we’ve been really open to partnering with people and that’s worked for us. I think it’s so important to partner with other foundations and organizations. You can impact more children.
ZB: What’s the hardest part about running a nonprofit like yours? What gets in the way of you achieving your goals?
PM: Funding. It’s just a continuous loop that you have to keep going through. It’s about cultivating relationships and building trust within a community to show them that you’re going to do what you say you’re going to do. Then, showing the impact of what you’re doing. You have to provide the data. There are some really interesting data and trends. But the fun stuff for us is working with the kids.
DP: I’d agree. That’s the hardest part, because it’s easy to show up. But sometimes, if you don’t necessarily have the funding to give all that you want to give, you might not be able to hit all those data points you were hoping to hit.
ZB: For Dayna, I imagine there’s some sort of unimaginable pride in your son, but for each of you, what’s the most gratifying part about running a nonprofit?
DP: It is pretty surreal. But what’s great for me is that I’m able to still stay within my craft. That’s one thing.
“When he was younger, he didn’t always understand why. He said, ‘Why do you have to help everybody?’
But he grew, and the sentiment just sunk into him. Now, giving has become part of his own mission.”
Caleb Williams and a young Bears fan
Caleb Williams surrounded by his parents, Dayna Price and Carl Williams
Also, you don’t really realize what people don’t have until you begin working at some of the places that we have gone to. The organizations and the institutions that we’re working with really help to make a positive impact.
PM: And it’s all because of your son.
DP: It’s all because my son has a platform. I remember when he actually was getting ready to go to the draft and they asked me how I felt at that moment. It was surreal then, and it’s still surreal that I’m actually here and being able to share my son not just with a community, but nationally and internationally.
PM: For me – hands down – seeing the kids’ faces when they walk into Soldier Field, or when they win the Caleb Cares Hero Award. Or when Caleb visits their schools, it’s like a shot of adrenaline. I said to him once, “Caleb, how cool is it that just by walking into an auditorium you completely lift people up.” He doesn’t invite the press, he just went and surprised three different schools and the kids were so inspired and happy.
So many of these kids come from traumatic, impoverished backgrounds. We give them hope and belief and we let them know we see them. Caleb through wins and losses remains the same high character person who the kids want to emulate.
ZB: What would you say to people who want to be donors and find their organizations to give their money to. People who maybe haven’t donated in a big way, but want to. How do they find their people?
DP: If they have money and they want to give money, they just need to figure out what their passion is, something that they love, and do their research. Make sure the organizations they find are reputable. How long have they been around? We would love to be that organization.
PM: And just because they have a social media account, doesn’t mean they’re actually running a nonprofit. There are a lot of frauds out there, so beware, but there are even more effective nonprofits who do amazing work.
DP: It shouldn’t be difficult to find the right place that’s right for you. A search on Google could come up with a whole list of great nonprofits. They’re out there. And they’re waiting to hear from you.
Caring for Families So They Can Care for Their Children
When young Perla Lara required ongoing care at UCLA Children’s Hospital, her family spent weeks in hotels and Airbnbs just to remain close to her. It was an expensive and unsustainable arrangement that placed a heavy financial burden on them. By the time they walked through the doors of the Westside L.A. Ronald McDonald House (WLA House), they were physically and emotionally exhausted, but the WLA House changed everything.
“Having a home near the hospital has lifted a tremendous weight from our shoulders and made this journey so much easier,” shares Perla’s mother, Priscilla. Instead of an expensive and isolating hotel room, the Lara family found a welcoming place just steps from UCLA Children’s Hospital – a comfortable bedroom, a stocked kitchen, a laundry room down the hall, and play spaces for siblings – all at no cost to them.
Executive Director Kelly Herman describes the WLA House as “a home away from home” for families navigating life’s most di cult moments. “The quality of life changes the instant a family arrives at a Ronald McDonald House,” she explains. “They find peace, comfort, and the strength to keep going.”
That transformation is possible thanks to an extraordinary range of services. Families have access to restful private guestrooms, fully equipped kitchens, laundry facilities, and business centers – every detail designed with care. Parents can prepare meals, continue working remotely to maintain stability, and, equally important, find connection with other families walking the same path.
Emotional well-being is also a priority. Through the Family Support Services program, licensed therapists provide weekly counseling sessions, available both by appointment and on a drop-in basis. These services continue even after families return home, supporting them as they transition to caring for a child post-hospitalization. For siblings, volunteers provide tutoring, art activities, and companionship, bringing a sense of normalcy during an otherwise uncertain time.
Every aspect of the WLA House is designed to ease the heavy burdens families face when a child is hospitalized. Located within walking distance of UCLA Children’s Hospital, it ensures parents remain close to their child’s bedside. Today, the House is serving 11 families on a temporary single floor, with a future goal to expand to 33 rooms – making it possible to welcome up to 800 families each year from UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, and St. John’s hospitals.
At its heart, the WLA House – like all Ronald McDonald Houses – is about dignity, comfort, and togetherness. As Priscilla Lara reflects: “Not having to worry about where we’ll sleep has allowed me to focus on what matters most: Perla’s health and our family.”
"W
e donate to the Westside Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House because we believe every child needs to have their parents and family with them during their medical journey. We know our contribution will provide a home away from home to families, while o ering hope and support during di cult times."
– Nicole Mendez Executive Director, Mendez National Institute of Transplantation Foundation
Perla Lara and her mother, Priscilla, at the Westside Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, receiving treatment at nearby UCLA Children's Hospital
Your Gift Can Impact Children for Years to Come
The Westside Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House is ready to grow. With permits in hand, the only step remaining before construction begins is securing a transformational naming gift of $20 million. This investment will unlock the entire project and expand vital services – fresh meals, therapy support, safe housing, and a community of care – to hundreds more families facing medical crises.
The timing could not be more extraordinary. In 2028, Los Angeles will host the Olympic Games, with UCLA serving as the Olympic Village. Located just steps away, the WLA House will be prominently visible in aerial broadcasts viewed by millions around the world. A donor’s naming gift will not only transform lives for generations of families, but also be uniquely tied to a once-in-a-generation moment of global visibility.
To provide comfort, care, and support to children and families in Southern California.
The Many Ways to Give...
Los Angeles
McDonald House rmhcsc.org/westsidelosangeles (818) 851-2625
The Vega family with Executive Director, Kelly Herman
Future penthouse rooftop - outdoor deck for the Westside Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House
Future exterior of the Westside Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House
Education
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
– Nelson Mandela
Conversations: Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz and Margery Tabankin
as told to The Giving List Staff
Driving Life-Saving Philanthropy to Women’s Heart Health
Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, MACC, FAHA, FESC is a cardiology rock star. She holds the Women’s Guild Endowed Chair in Women’s Health and is the director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center, the Linda Joy Pollin Women’s Heart Health Program, and the Preventive Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute, where she is also a Professor of Medicine. In addition, she is an internationally recognized pioneer and leader in cardiovascular research, advocacy, and education. Dr. Bairey Merz has been at the forefront of many women’s heart health research initiatives and has been educating women on how to recognize female-pattern heart disease symptoms.
Dr. Bairey Merz is also working to correct the gender inequalities in clinical research studies, as well as breaking the glass ceiling and advancing more women in academic medicine. For her steadfast advocacy in promoting and mentoring women cardiologists in their medical careers, Dr. Bairey Merz has been awarded the prestigious Bernadine Healy Leadership in Women’s Cardiovascular Disease Award by the American College of Cardiology in 2016.
Margery Tabankin is a public service luminary with a career that spans 50 years. Her experiences range from leadership roles in government, to philanthropy, to nonprofit organizations, to politics and public policy. Whether as advocate, activist, policy analyst, organizer, or documentary film producer, equality, and justice have been the consistent throughline of her work.
Past clients include Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath, and the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee, among others.
She currently serves as a consultant to Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, providing strategic advice to the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center and, at the national level, the Women’s Heart Alliance.
The Giving List had a chance to talk with both Dr. Bairey Merz and Ms. Tabankin about philanthropy’s role in helping drive innovation and life-saving solutions in medicine.
Here’s what they had to say:
The Giving List: Philanthropy helps drive innovation in medicine. But there is a big gap between where federal funding often goes in terms of research and what is actually needed based on the statistics of what people are truly suffering from. So, for example, in 2050, it’s projected that more than 61% of American women will suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease but only 4% of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget is allocated to women’s heart disease. How does this gap underscore the need for philanthropic support?
Dr. Bairey Merz: This has always been true for women, particularly in women’s heart disease, because it has historically been dominated by research in men, for men and by men. Without the ability to get seed money – to test innovative strategies, designs, and trials – we never would have known about the sex differences in cardiovascular disease. And when we did investigate some of these differences via philanthropic funding, it opened up more extramural funding from the NIH. Philanthropy is even more important right now because of the chaos and challenges at the NIH. This is a time to step up, so we don’t lose ground. When I first started working with Barbra Streisand, we saw that we were 50 years behind in understanding sex differences in heart disease. We’ve made up 15-plus years (maybe getting close to 20) – that leaves 30 years we still need to catch up to ensure that 51% of the population receives care as good as the care men receive today.
TGL: As you mentioned, philanthropy played a big role in discovering that women’s heart disease is different from men’s. Can you talk to us about your discoveries and what led to the creation of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center?
Dr. Bairey Merz: I trained at Cedars-Sinai as a cardiologist specifically to get exposure to research, because I was always very curious and easily bored (which is a good trait for research!). When I was a cardiology fellow working on research projects – and maybe I noticed this because I was one of very few female cardiologists – I kept seeing outliers in the data, and they were almost always women. I thought, “That’s interesting… maybe women’s hearts are different.” So I started cultivating that as a line of investigation… The point is, I got interested in sex differences. As an investigator, I needed funding to do impactful clinical research in humans. It’s very expensive and highly regulated – safety is the top concern. I had been doing this research and publishing our findings. In medicine, we expect about a 10-year lag between publishing something and seeing it deployed in practice. Part of that is that physicians are inherently conservative – they won’t try something new until safety is 100% proven. And also, some of the old-timers don’t want to change their ways. After 10 years, I didn’t see anyone implementing what my team had described.
So I said, Okay, I’ll start treating patients. I opened a clinic and dedicated two days a week to see patients –basically to show that you can do this. That led to Bar-
“Philanthropy is even more important right now because of the chaos and challenges at the NIH. This is a time to step up, so we don’t lose ground.”
bra Streisand saying, “I agree, this is really important.” She didn’t directly fund clinical care, importantly she supported building the infrastructure of our Center to do the research and educate patients and physicians… And having Barbra’s name attached gave us recognition, which has been incredibly helpful.
TGL: You both are deeply involved in not just the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center but also the national Women’s Heart Alliance. Tell us about the genesis of that alliance and what their efforts are focused on now in terms of women’s heart health.
Ms. Tabankin: As for how the Women’s Heart Alliance began: Ron Perelman noticed Barbra’s interest in women’s heart health. She had already funded an early research grant and then a major gift to Cedars-Sinai to establish the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center. Ron had funded a women’s heart program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell (led by a great cardiologist, Dr. Holly Andersen). During a visit, he asked Barbra, “How do we get this to the next level?” She agreed it needed to go further, and together they came up with the idea of a national initiative called the Women’s Heart Alliance. Both Barbra (and Cedars-Sinai) and Ron provided seed money to start it. For many years Cedars funded it, but when hospitals had to tighten budgets, that
support ended. We’re now replacing it with private gifts from visionary women who understand that philanthropy’s role is to spotlight an issue – bringing in more public funding through advocacy and research, and building understanding among women themselves. Unlike breast cancer – which gets a lot of attention because it involves women’s breasts – most women don’t even tell people they have heart problems.
We have made some progress: fewer women are dying of heart disease now than when we started (it was one in three, and now it’s one in four). That makes us feel good. We’ve also had some success with Congress – for example, getting the Department of Defense to create a line item for women’s heart health. (The DoD was the first to fund breast cancer research when the NIH wouldn’t, by pointing out how many women are in the military.)
Dr. Bairey Merz: One of my senior investigators has a saying – “investigate, educate, advocate, legislate.” …The Women’s Heart Alliance covers the “advocate” and “legislate” parts. If you don’t do those, if you only do investi-
gation (which is what I do, and it’s critically important), then here we are almost 20 years later and still a majority of cardiologists – mostly male – don’t think women’s heart disease is very important. We can wait for the new generation I’m training (and they are much better about a lot of things), but meanwhile millions of women continue to be undiagnosed, underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed.
TGL: How can we help donors (as well as women in general) understand the importance of the issues and prioritize their role in helping drive philanthropic dollars to research for women’s heart health (especially as the federal government is cutting back research funding)?
Ms. Tabankin: A group of wonderful cardiologists and activists felt that the only thing that would drive further progress – and attract seed funding for research and the advocacy needed for policy changes – was public education. Unfortunately, this issue is still hiding under a rock. Most people don’t talk about it. A lot of people who die of “natural causes” or have heart problems don’t even
From the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center (left to right): Ana Iribarren, MD; C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD; Martha Gulati, MD, MPH; and Janet Wei, MD.
“Here we are almost 20 years later and still a majority of cardiologists – mostly male – don’t think women’s heart disease is very important… Meanwhile millions of women continue to be undiagnosed, underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed.”
understand their situation. So we’ve really focused on public-information messaging: get your heart checked, understand the symptoms, understand the problems of misdiagnosis… A younger generation is coming up –more women cardiologists are emerging – but the “poohbahs” on all the grant committees (at the American Heart Association and in government) still don’t give this epidemic the attention it deserves.
I can’t count how many stories we’ve heard of women who went to the emergency room – which is a big step, because many women would just lie down or “take a nap” instead – but were viewed as a little hysterical. They were given an Ativan or a Xanax, put on Prilosec, and told to go home and rest. Unfortunately, in cases we know of, they died within the next week of a heart attack at home, at night. Some women were actually saved because they got to the hospital in time, but it’s a nightmare. So a lot of awareness needs to happen.
TGL: How does the funding you’ve received translate into tangible impact for women?
Ms. Tabankin: I cannot tell you how many people have
come to Noel – or invited her – to help start similar programs in other hospitals, in the United States and around the world. She’s gone to Israel, to Australia, to Sweden… Plus she’s always traveling around the U.S., doing grand rounds and meeting with cardiology teams about how to do this. I would say we still have the leading, state-ofthe-art diagnostic, clinical care, research, and education program here in L.A. And we happen to be lucky that we’re in a hospital rated the best in the West and very high nationally in cardiology. Barbra is thrilled. It’s not easy in philanthropy to actually see the full impact of your work in a 20-year span, but she has seen it. She often tells me, “It’s the best gift I’ve ever made. It’s the best grant I’ve ever made.” She just kvells (bursts with pride).
TGL: Before you go – what’s one piece of advice you would give people to help them avoid getting cardiovascular disease in the first place?
Dr. Bairey Merz: It’s not just one thing – it’s living and breathing heart-healthy. But probably the best one is: get your heart checked. That’s the Women’s Heart Alliance’s primary message, and it comes with clear action steps. I’d add that if women feel you’re being patronized, get another opinion.
TGL: Thank you. And Ms. Tabankin, One final question for you. I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up the Barbra Streisand Foundation’s generosity on so many fronts (including women’s health and rights). Without opening the floodgates, is there anything you can share about the Foundation’s upcoming philanthropic goals?
Ms. Tabankin: The Foundation has been dedicated to the same set of values since it started: women’s equality, environmental safety, a peaceful world, and democratic values. Unfortunately, even though it began in 1987, all those issues still need attention. At this stage, her philanthropy is focused on continuing to support the people who have been toiling in the vineyards for years – people she truly believes in. There are also new initiatives to meet current challenges, and her staff is always on top of those. Whether it’s voting rights or freedom of speech, those causes are very dear to her heart.
Empowering Children Through Literacy
In the bustling corridors of Foster Elementary in Compton, kids are experiencing an extraordinary transformation. Students who once struggled with basic reading skills are now devouring books with newfound confidence, growing an astounding 1.3 grade levels in reading ability. This transformation isn’t magic – it’s the result of the J3 Foundation’s innovative approach to interrupting the school-toprison pipeline through literacy.
The statistics paint a sobering picture: only 25% of 4th graders in Los Angeles are reading at grade level, with even lower percentages for Black and Latino students. Children who don’t read proficiently by this critical year are four times more likely to drop
“S
out of high school. J3 Foundation exists to change that trajectory. Their three-pronged approach meets students where the crisis is sharpest: in-school, small-group literacy intervention grounded in the science of reading; after-school Cozy Reading Clubs that transform practice into joy and confidence; and a curated library collection of more than 8,000 books reflecting students’ own lives while opening doors to new worlds. Together, these elements create not just stronger readers but students who believe reading belongs to them.
J3 changes the trajectory of these readers by creating welcoming spaces filled with books, mindfulness checkins, and even therapy dogs who listen
without judgment. J3’s programs make reading a celebration. A student’s J3 experience builds confidence alongside skills supporting them in becoming stronger readers and better learners.
The program’s transformative power is embodied in Daniella. Daniella joined J3 Foundation’s Cozy Reading Club in fourth grade, as a quiet, hesitant student who didn’t see herself as a reader. But in J3’s warm, restorative space, she felt safe and supported, and through reading exciting stories curated with her interests in mind, Daniella’s confidence and skills blossomed. Her reluctance and frustration melted away. By the end of 4th grade Daniella was reading at grade level. “She actually started enjoying the Harry Potter series,” Ms. Lopez, Daniella’s fourth grade teacher, shares. “She got so excited when she received new books. She started reading independently – and was proud of it.” This year, in seventh grade, Daniella has been placed in her school’s eighth-grade reading group.
Daniella’s success is one of many. Each year, more than 1,000 J3 students discover that reading can be a source of joy. Nearly 80% say it’s their favorite part of the day, and parents see the di erence at home as once-reluctant readers become eager to pick up a book. One mother shared, “My son used to not want to read. He now LOVES reading!”
J3 Foundation knows when children learn to read, they don’t just decode words – they rewrite their futures. J3 Foundation is breaking cycles and supporting dreams, one reader at a time.
upporting early literacy isn’t just about teaching children to read—it’s about sparking curiosity, building confidence, and laying the foundation for lifelong learning. J3 not only provides high-quality, evidencebased literacy programs but also nurtures a genuine joy for reading and discovery. Because literacy opens endless possibilities, J3’s holistic approach ensures more students have the chance to see their worlds expand.”
– Alyssa Santino President of Programs & Operations, Joseph Drown Foundation
"The small group model J3 uses works so well. You really see students make incredible growth." - 4th grade teacher, Laurel Elementary, Compton Unified School District
J3 equips 4th grade students in underresourced communities with the reading skills, habits, and confidence they need to thrive academically and beyond.
“
Help Unlock a Lifetime of Success in School & Life
Currently operating in Compton and Glendale unified school districts, budget cuts have created ongoing challenges in under-resourced districts, making philanthropic support crucial.
Your donation can empower children through literacy: $1,500 provides a full year of reading intervention for one student, $30,000 funds an entire school site, and $100,000 enables expansion across Los Angeles County.
Every dollar helps open a door to joy, confidence, a love of reading – a life transformed.
Every Child Deserves a Chance to Thrive
• 75% of LA’s 4th graders are not reading at grade level.
• those students are 4x more likely to drop out of high school. J3 exists to change that
• 100% of principals say J3 improved reading skills
At J3, reading growth is about more than just skills. As Daniella’s 4th grade teacher shared, “Her joy for reading grew alongside her skills - a transformation her family, her teachers, and Daniella herself could feel.”
It’s more than just skills that are built in J3’s program, it’s confidence, love of reading, and a belief in an empowered future. One J3 Parent raves: “Excellent program! Rare to find a program that helps so much with a clear connection between the work done and improvement in my child.”
KEY SUPPORTERS
BOARD
Joe Blackstone, President
Jamie Mohn, Secretary
Rick Barry, Treasurer
Roger Howard
Sherry McKuin
DONORS
Picerne Family Foundation
Joseph Drown Foundation
Wyatt Family Foundation
Crail–Johnson Foundation
Allied Universal
The Book Foundation
Brenda F. Anderson
Franklin and Patricia Hulsey
Glaser Weil
Greenway Supply Co.
Je rey and Nicole Westheimer
Kathryn Keim and Virgil Stinnett
Know Where You Are, Inc.
Martin and Akieva Jacobs
Prem and Mary Ann Akkaraju
Philip and Yasmin Harvey
The Many Ways to Give...
J3 Foundation
www.j3foundationla.org
(310) 472-0405
Contact: Sarina Sande Executive Director 310-472-0405 sarina@j3foundationla.org
By Check: J3 Foundation 11693 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 404 Los Angeles, CA 90049 Memo: The Giving List
By DAF or Stock Transfer: Tax ID# 35-2781785
By Credit Card: www.j3foundationla.org/donate
Where Potential Meets Opportunity
Every Saturday during the school year, high school students gather in South Los Angeles for a sixth day of school. They’re not just studying – they’re building futures. For 15 years, Minds Matter Southern California has walked beside these students, helping them turn their dream of college into reality.
The day begins with a Connections® circle, part of Minds Matter’s socialemotional learning (SEL) program. In these circles, students build trust, share experiences, and strengthen essential life skills through intentional conversation. From there, they dive into rigorous academics and spend the afternoon with mentors guiding them through college prep, writing workshops, and life-skills development.
Minds Matter serves low-income students from across Los Angeles, many of whom will be the first in their families to attend college. These students bring resilience, drive, and untapped potential –and Minds Matter provides the structure and support to help them thrive. In Los Angeles public schools, one college counselor is often responsible for hundreds of students, leaving ambitious low-income teens without the support and guidance needed for acceptance to top colleges.
Melisa Santizo, a 2016 Minds Matter alum, Harvard graduate, and Gates Scholar, knows the power of this support firsthand. Inspired by the mentors who helped shape her journey, she now volunteers as an SEL facilitator and leads the sophomore writing and critical thinking program. And she’s not alone – many alumni return to volunteer, expanding opportunities for students who share their backgrounds and aspirations.
Founded in 2010 to close the opportunity gap, Minds Matter Southern California was built on a simple but radical idea: education should be the great equalizer. “It shouldn’t be a have and a have-not,” says President Tina Admans. The program connects lowincome, high-achieving students with the people, preparation, and possibilities
Minds Matter’s graduates attend some of the nation’s most selective colleges chosen for academic excellence, personal fit, and transformative opportunity. Each student earns admission, financial aid, and scholarships to schools where they’ll thrive, thanks to years of mentorship and academic rigor.
to succeed in college – and beyond. Students are matched with mentors who commit to a three-year journey. Tutors, writing coaches, and SEL facilitators form what many students call a second family. And the support doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Minds Matter sends students to summer programs at colleges and universities across the country – from Stanford to Syracuse – where they experience campus life, explore academic passions, and begin to see themselves as collegebound scholars. For low-income, firstgeneration students, these immersive experiences are often life-changing.
The results are extraordinary. 100%
"Wof Minds Matter graduates have been accepted into four-year colleges, with 82% attending Top 50 universities. The program boasts a 99% retention rate, and the class of 2025 alone earned over $2.25 million in scholarships and financial aid. Even more impressive: 98% of alumni have graduated or are on track to graduate, most within four years.
Now, Minds Matter is expanding its commitment to a seven-year journey –supporting students through graduation and into their careers. It’s a bold evolution of a proven model, ensuring these bright young minds don’t just get to college – they thrive, lead, and transform the world around them.
e didn’t just support Minds Matter, we became part of it. From mentoring students to seeing friends lead with heart, we witnessed a community that shows up for young people in powerful, personal ways. The outcomes speak for themselves, but it was the approach, the volunteers, and the belief that zip code should never limit potential that inspired us to champion Minds Matter Southern California within Leonard Green."
– Joshua Farran and Jacob Tupler Principal (Josh) and Vice President (Jacob), Leonard Green and Partners / Both are also Minds Matter SoCal Board Members
Invest in Students’ Futures
Your gift to Minds Matter Southern California unlocks opportunity for high-achieving, low-income students from Los Angeles, many the first in their families to attend college. $3,500 sends a student to a transformative summer program at a leading college or university. $6,000 supports one student for a full year. $150,000 expands Minds Matter’s seven-year model to reach over 70 college students. You’re not just funding books or test prep – you’re investing in belonging, belief, and bold possibility. From healthy lunches to application fees, your support covers it all. Join the incredible community that helps students rise, thrive, and lead. Their future starts with you.
Melisa Santizo works with sophomore students on writing and critical thinking – core skills that help Minds Matter scholars not only get into college, but thrive once they’re there. Academic preparation is more than coursework; it’s confidence, clarity, and the power to navigate what comes next.
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Khoudia, a Minds Matter graduate, QuestBridge Scholar, and first-year student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is turning ambition into action – studying business and shaping a future her family once only dreamed of.
Minds Matter connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world.
KEY SUPPORTERS
BMO
Carol and James Collins Foundation
Crail Johnson Foundation
Dwight Stuart Foundation
Hawk Ridge Capital Management
Hilton Foundation
Jon Christian
Joshua Farran
Leanne Huebner
Leonard Green & Partners
Minds Matter
Southern California www.mindsmattersocal.org
Porter Ranch, CA 91326
Contact: Tina Admans President (818) 854-4756
tina@mindsmattersocal.org
Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation
NBCUniversal
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
PwC
Ralph M Parsons Foundation
Ravi Patna
Sabina Lippman
Shay Family Foundation
The Capital Group
By DAF or Stock Transfer: Tax ID# 27-2984343 By Credit Card: www.mindsmattersocal.org The Many Ways to Give...
Adult Education: A Catalyst for Change
Briana, 33 and a Latina mother of four in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, recently completed free adult education classes at PUENTE Learning Center. Having long dreamed of getting her high school diploma, she is proud to show her children that – with determination and the right support –you can achieve anything.
This year, after several years of study, Briana proudly earned her diploma. Along the way, she received a $1,000 scholarship from PUENTE that helped ease the financial pressures that many adult students face. Now, Briana is getting enrolled at a local professional school to become a hospital assistant.
“I’m so grateful to PUENTE and their counselors and sta for all their help,” Briana says, “and I just can’t wait to complete my schooling.”
Adult education has become PUENTE Learning Center’s largest program, enrolling 775 students just last year. The Boyle Heights-based
nonprofit o ers a robust package of English language classes, high school coursework, and workforce readiness.
“It’s really a special intervention – doing adult education – because the students don’t have to be here,” says Matt Wells, PUENTE Learning Center’s vice president of advancement. “They’re choosing to go back and improve their lives.”
Founded in 1985 with a focus on multi-generational education, PUENTE originally o ered a tutoring program for elementary school children and ESL classes for adults – often the parents or grandparents of the kids. Four decades later, PUENTE Learning Center has evolved into an aspirational bridge to education for over 2,000 people every year. The organization operates a preschool program, a Los Angeles Unified School Districtauthorized charter elementary school, and a 10-year college and career readiness program, in addition to their adult programs. All housed in a recently
upgraded 50,000-square-foot facility. And PUENTE’s reach extends beyond education. Because, as Wells notes, 84 percent of PUENTE Learning Center’s students qualify as low-income, they see a substantial need for services outside of the classroom. Through PUENTE’s community services, students can access free food, health screenings, counseling, and “know your rights” presentations for immigrants.
Recent immigration raids and racial profiling have caused heightened fear and anxiety for families in the community. Youth summer camps saw drops in attendance. Jerome Greening, the nonprofit’s chief executive o cer, says PUENTE has put measures in place to keep families updated, informed, and safe.
In these turbulent times, PUENTE Learning Center is working harder than ever to help families overcome challenges, continue their education, and build brighter futures across generations.
Briana giving a speech to fellow classmates about her educational journey at PUENTE’s end of the year celebration for adult students.
We are PUENTE: People United to Enrich the Neighborhood Through Education. Building bridges to learning and opportunity in Boyle Heights and beyond.
Reshape Futures by
Supporting Adult Education
PUENTE Learning Center’s adult classes lift up socioeconomically disadvantaged adult students like Briana with scholarships and other supportive services. The program has a favorable learning atmosphere, with higher retention rates compared with adult school sites district-wide.
A donation of just $2,500 covers program costs, including scholarships to help an adult student with basic needs – so they can stay on track to improve their job prospects or develop language and academic skills, says Matt Wells, PUENTE Learning Center’s vice president of advancement. The total amount of funding needed to power the program through 2026 is $400,000.
“We already provide our students many ancillary services like food distribution, vaccinations, and access to all these resources,” Wells says. “The scholarships are another needed intervention we o er to remove barriers to learning and achievement.”
PUENTE Learning Center
www.puente.org
501 South Boyle Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Contact: Matt Wells Vice President of Advancement (323) 780-5312 matt@puente.org
BCM Foundation
Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation
Chris and Melody Malachowsky
Helen and Will Webster Foundation
Johnny Carson Foundation
Los Angeles Lakers Youth Fund
The Orinoco Foundation
Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
The Ahmanson Foundation
The Riordan Foundation
Rose Hills Foundation
Snell & Wilmer
Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation
UnidosUS
U.S. Bank Foundation
USC – Good Neighbors Program
The Giving List
Briana attended free adult education classes at PUENTE Learning Center and is now a High School Diploma graduate. Teachers and sta at PUENTE provided Briana with resources, motivation, and support to achieve her goal.
Fighting College Hunger
When we think of hunger in America, college students rarely come to mind. Yet behind the facade of campus life lies a sobering reality: one in three college students nationwide faces food insecurity, struggling to balance tuition costs with basic necessities like groceries.
Enter Student LunchBox, a groundbreaking organization founded by Karlen Nurijanyan in 2020, that’s revolutionizing how we address this overlooked crisis. What started as one student’s personal challenging college experience has grown into a lifeline for thousands of students across 17 college campuses.
“I experienced poverty and hunger while attending college,” Nurijanyan explains, reflecting on the inspiration behind his organization. This firsthand understanding of student struggles became the driving force behind an inspiring initiative that launched just as the pandemic began, quickly gaining momentum when students needed support most.
In under two years, Student LunchBox had established partnerships with eight campuses, starting with Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Northridge. Today, the organization serves as a comprehensive basic needs agency, operating through three distinct models: partnering with established food pantries, setting up new pantries on campuses lacking capacity, and organizing farmers markets that bring fresh produce and groceries directly to students.
Student LunchBox’s impact extends far beyond addressing immediate hunger by addressing students’ full spectrum of basic needs. The organization receives 20,000 pounds of nutritious food weekly from various agencies and businesses across Los Angeles. In addition to food, the organization distributes essential non-food items, including toiletries, hygiene products, and clothing. “The ultimate goal is to support students’ physical and mental health, enabling them to graduate and build a better future,” Nurijanyan emphasizes.
This holistic approach to student support has yielded remarkable results.
Last year alone, Student LunchBox served 44,000 unique students and 154,000 returning students. Even with slightly decreased numbers this year –approximately 3,000 unique and 5,0008,000 returning students monthly – the organization continues supporting over 100,000 students annually.
Perhaps most impressive is Student LunchBox’s lean operational model. With an annual budget of just $180,000, Nurijanyan operates what can only be described as a one-person powerhouse, supported by two full-time volunteers, two full-time interns, and 60-80 student helpers across campuses. This efficient structure ensures that donor dollars translate directly into student support, maximizing every contribution’s impact.
The organization’s commitment to destigmatizing food assistance sets it apart from traditional approaches. By establishing a visible presence on campuses and following students throughout their academic journey, Student LunchBox creates an environment where seeking help feels natural rather than shameful.
Student LunchBox hosts a mobile market on the California State University Long Beach campus, where colorful canopies line the walkway and hundreds of students queue beneath the spring sun, filling tote bags with fresh produce and essential goods.
Donations That Have Maximum Impact
Supporting Student LunchBox means investing in the future leaders, innovators, and changemakers currently pursuing higher education despite financial hardships. These students – often juggling jobs, studies, and family responsibilities – represent untapped potential that proper nutrition and support can unlock.
$150,000 in donations means feeding over 100,000 students for the year. When you donate to Student LunchBox, you’re not just feeding students; you’re removing barriers to graduation, supporting mental health, and investing in dreams that might otherwise be derailed by basic survival needs. In a world where college costs continue rising while student resources remain stretched thin, organizations like Student LunchBox provide essential bridges between struggle and success.
Student LunchBox has proven that with modest resources and innovative approaches, we can make transformative differences in students’ lives – one meal, one campus, one graduate at a time.
“
Student LunchBox, established in 2020, empowers college excellence through comprehensive basic needs support. Using innovative resource recovery initiatives, SLB addresses food insecurity and hunger by providing nutritious meals and essential supplies to economically disadvantaged college students across Los Angeles County, enabling them to focus on their education and reach their full academic potential.
By Check: Student LunchBox, Inc 10401 Venice Blvd., Ste. 462 Los Angeles, CA 90034
By DAF or Stock Transfer: Tax ID# 85w-2482031
By Credit Card: https://www.studentlunchbox.org/give
At the Student LunchBox mobile market, a student beams while selecting a watermelon, surrounded by vibrant peppers and fresh produce as others explore the bounty.
Every Student Can Unlock Limitless Possibilities
Ateenager named Liam stands center stage in his school auditorium, feeling nervous in his Tin Man costume. For him, this moment is more than acting in a school play. Only a year ago, Liam dreaded school so much he had stopped attending, even feeling suicidal. Since enrolling at a Help Group school, he has finally found his footing. Liam discovered a love of theater and even won a class election. “This is the first time he’s ever been excited about going to school,” his mother says. “He has dreams now.”
Liam’s journey is one of many shaped by The Help Group, a nonprofit that has long opened doors for young people with autism, learning di erences, mental health challenges, and more. The organization operates six “global doors” – a connected network of programs and services that support individuals across the lifespan. These include its nine specialized schools, comprehensive therapy and support services, vocational training for job skills and placement, residential homes and services, lifelong learning opportunities for families and professionals, and a wide array of enrichment programming.
Across all its o erings, The Help Group is committed to meeting the full spectrum of needs for children and teens facing developmental and emotional challenges. These services go far beyond academics, o ering critical support for emotional well-being, social development, and future independence. Sustaining these programs, from intensive therapeutic support to arts
“Tand inclusive athletics, ensures that every student receives the comprehensive care they deserve.
“We believe every child deserves the opportunity to thrive,” shares Dr. Susan Berman, president and CEO. “Whether it’s in the classroom, through therapeutic support, or creative expression, our programs create pathways for growth, belonging, and lasting impact.” Without The Help Group, many families would struggle to access the integrated support their children need. Closing the funding gap is vital to continue delivering these life-changing services to those who rely on them most.
While funding resources remain limited, the demand has surged: in Los Angeles County, nearly 1 in 8 students requires special education and 1 in 3 struggles with mental health. These challenges often overlap in under-resourced communities, fueling inequality. By taking a whole-person approach (addressing education, therapy, life skills, and social growth together), The Help Group o ers a powerful model of hope and possibility. It now reaches over 25,000 young people and families each year, serving as a vital safety net. “True progress comes when we treat the whole child,” Berman says, explaining that Liam only began to thrive once his academic, emotional, social, and developmental needs were addressed.
Now, Liam delivers his lines with confidence and basks in applause. He isn’t defined by his diagnosis; he’s simply
a teenager who has found where he belongs. The Help Group was created for moments like this, in the belief that with the right support, everyone can find a brighter tomorrow.
he Help Group is more than an organization – it’s a community rooted in compassion, dedication, and the belief that every individual deserves the opportunity to thrive. The sta , the families, the children – they are the heartbeat of everything we do. Every year we reach over 25,000 people, but the impact isn’t just measured in numbers but in lives changed. The resilience, the breakthroughs, the moments of joy – those are what make The Help Group truly special.”
– Howard Tenenbaum President, Keyes Motors; Board Chairman, The Help Group
An Invitation to Help
The programs that helped Liam rediscover joy and purpose are part of a much larger network of care that touches thousands of lives each year. But these services, spanning education, mental health, job readiness, and more, depend on the generosity of donors. By giving to The Help Group, you ensure that those with special needs and mental health challenges have access to the full range of support they need to build confidence, resilience, and a brighter future.
Founded in 1941, The Help Group is a Los Angeles-based consortium of nonprofi ts that has supported individuals and families across the lifespan for more than 80 years. They serve both neurodivergent and neurotypical children, teens, and adults with autism, learning di erences, ADHD, developmental delays, behavioral challenges, and emotional struggles.
The Help Group’s mission is to help individuals and families build resilience, create hope, and unlock their limitless potential.
Guided by expertise and a deep respect for every person’s journey, they have developed a connected network of programs that meet people where they are – academically, emotionally, socially, and developmentally – providing compassionate, personalized support.
The Many Ways to Give...
The Help Group thehelpgroup.org (818) 781-0360
Contact: Marc Brent Senior Vice President of External A airs (617) 416-4624 mbrent@thehelpgroup.org By Check: The
By Credit Card: https://www.thehelpgroup.org/ donatenow/
For the Environment
“The environment is no one’s property to destroy; it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect.”
– Margaret Mead
Conversations: Amy Weaver
as told to Steven Libowitz
Putting Purpose to Work
As Direct Relief’s new CEO, Amy Weaver leads a global humanitarian organization with deep roots in Montecito, where it was founded in 1948. Today, Direct Relief delivers nearly $2 billion annually in medical aid and financial assistance to people facing poverty and disasters worldwide. Praised for running with the efficiency of a leading corporation, the nonprofit consistently ranks among the nation’s top five charities in the United States, according to Forbes. With Weaver taking over the reins in May 2025, Direct Relief is now being run by someone with significant experience in the corporate world.
A Washington State native, Weaver began her career following in her family’s footsteps in the legal profession, working in private practice then as an attorney for a pair of Fortune 500 companies (Expedia, Univar) before rising to chief legal officer at cloud-based software giant Salesforce. She then made the unprecedented move to president and chief financial officer, the first such tran-
sition in a Fortune 500 company, and a top one at that, as Salesforce sits barely outside the Top 100 and is one of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies, having replaced Exxon Mobil in the index in 2020.
Weaver helped guide Salesforce through a period of tremendous growth and transformation to where it posts revenues just shy of $40 billion per year. Now, she’s reached another landmark, as likely the first Fortune 500 CFO to transition from the corporate C-suite to head a humanitarian nonprofit.
Steven Libowitz: How did you decide to move from the corporate world of Silicon Valley into running a humanitarian nonprofit? What made you want to make that leap?
Amy Weaver: From the outside it may look like a sharp jump, but for me it feels like a very natural next step. Service has always been woven into my life. My parents were both constant volunteers, and some of my earliest memories are of tagging along on community
projects or civic campaigns. That example shaped me. At Salesforce, one of the things that most attracted me was their policy of giving every employee seven days of paid volunteer time each year. I took full advantage of that. My most meaningful connection was with Habitat for Humanity International, where I served on the board for four years and joined builds in Poland, Kenya, Puerto Rico, and across the U.S. My whole family became part of it. So when the opportunity came to devote myself full time to humanitarian work, it didn’t feel like a leap – it felt like a continuation of what has mattered most to me.
SL: How does the early installation of justice and fairness coming from a family of lawyers who gave back still show up in your philosophy?
AW: For me, it’s less about the word “justice,” which can sound abstract, and more about basic fairness. I saw that clearly last summer in Uganda, spending time in pediatric oncology wards. The contrast in cancer outcomes between the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa is devastating. There’s no way to explain to a child why one receives medicine and another doesn’t – even a five-year-old would recognize the unfairness. Walking through those wards, what kept going through my mind was simple: we can do better, and we must. That sense of fairness, of ensuring people have access to the same chance at health
and life, is at the heart of Direct Relief’s mission.
SL: What is an example of an early experience as an adult giving or receiving support that made a big difference in your life or career?
AW: Early in my career, I hit a stretch when nothing at work was going right and my perspective turned pretty negative. At the same time, I started volunteering once a week at our local food bank. It completely reframed how I saw things. The sense of community – donors, volunteers, families who came in for food – reminded me of what really matters. And every week I walked out feeling lighter, as if my own problems had been put back into proportion. That experience taught me that volunteering isn’t only about what you give; it’s about what you gain. My family and I have received so much from service –perspective, gratitude, and connection. In many ways, we’re the beneficiaries.
SL: Salesforce is known as a very philanthropically involved organization. Can you share what that looked like from your perspective?
AW: Their charitable model is amazing. Right from when it was founded,
they set up the Salesforce Foundation, with the commitment that 1% of the equity, 1% of the product and 1% of employee time would always go to charitable causes. It wasn’t worth much at the time, but as of now, more than three-quarters of a billion dollars has been given away, and employee volunteer time recently passed the 10 million hour mark. They still allow nonprofits to use their product for up to 10 users completely free, and then beyond that at a discounted rate. Almost 70,000 nonprofits are running on their platform at this point… It’s also very influential to attracting talent because most people care about giving back. As an executive there, I always encouraged my teams to step up and complete those volunteer hours every year.
SL: How do you think other companies can model something similar, making philanthropy part of the culture?
AW: Start as early as possible. You can start small, but you have to start. It’s extremely challenging to reset the organization once you’re already established and public. Salesforce built it into the DNA from Day 1, so it was able to scale as it grew. But on the other hand, it’s never too late. You may not be able to come up with a new financial model, but can immediately implement three or four days a year of volunteer time off. You can look for ways that you can use your product to enhance nonprofits, which costs you almost nothing. There are models that can work with every single organization.
SL: As someone who led at the highest level of a corporation, been involved in nonprofit boards, and now runs one of the largest nonprofits in the humanitarian sector, how has your perspective on philanthropy evolved over time? Or perhaps, what can nonprofits learn from the corporate world?
AW: I’ve found the learning goes both ways. Some of the best practices I brought into Salesforce came from my time with Habitat for Humanity. And in turn, the corporate world taught me a lot about the power of transparency – proxy statements, SEC filings, investor reports – all of which force accountability and fuel improvement. Nonprofits don’t always have the same forced discipline, but I think they should. At the end of the day, whether in business or in humanitarian work, the fundamentals are the same: strategic focus, financial responsibility, operational excellence, innovation, and above all, trust. What changes is the purpose. Here, those same skills are deployed in service of people who are sick, displaced, or left behind. That’s what makes it both motivating and humbling. I often walk through our warehouse, passing the pallets of medicines and supplies bound for clinics around the world. I touch them as a reminder: every shipment represents lives depending on us. That’s a responsibility I carry with both honor and urgency.
SL: What is the role of philanthropy in building community?
“Going out of your way to support someone else is truly the definition of a community. You’re coming together because you believe that there’s something better and that people acting together can build something that is better than you can do individually.”
or if they’re not, then like Direct Relief they’re in a position to step up and do more. In either case, what they need is funding. So if people have been holding back, if they’re waiting for the right time to make a commitment, to make a gift, to really try to make a difference, the time is now.
The recent changes have been a tsunami going through the development world. I believe if you are in a position to do more – like we are at Direct Relief – you really have an obligation to do so. This is the moment. It’s the moment for donors, it’s the moment for nonprofits. It’s the moment for everyone to really step up.
SL: Before joining Direct Relief, how did you choose which nonprofits or causes to support?
AW: I would love to say that they’re always very well thought out decisions. But often it was something that just caught my eye and touched my heart. But in general, my husband and I always look at where we can make the most impact – whether it’s helping a small handful of people in a substantial way that will change their lives, or something that is going to have a much broader and wider impact on more people by leveraging expertise and context.
AW: Going out of your way to support someone else is truly the definition of a community. You’re coming together because you believe that there’s something better and that people acting together can build something that is better than you can do individually. It also breaks down barriers. We live in a very divisive society right now, and yet you can find people who come together around common goals when it comes to philanthropy. The more things we can look to that bring people together towards a single goal, the better off we’re going to be.
SL: Speaking of divisive times, there’s been a massive cutback in governmental support, especially internationally. Do you see that as an opportunity or even responsibility for private philanthropists to step up to try to fill that void?
AW: Let’s put it this way: if people have been waiting to know when they could have the most influence with their donation, the answer is now. Organizations are either facing incredible cuts, whether it’s from a lack of government support or other factors with the economy,
Either way, I think about something I heard as a student at Wellesley from William Saltonstall who told us that the most important advice he could give us about philanthropy was to always give to a general fund or unrestricted donations. He said, whoever you’re giving it to, they know better than you where it’s needed.
SL: Any final thoughts on wealth, philanthropy, and giving back?
AW: I believe the saddest thing anyone could say at the end of their life is that they wasted their potential. The opposite is to be able to say: I used what I had –my gifts, my resources, my time – to make my family, my community, and the world better. That’s the legacy I hope for. It’s not enough to do your job well; you have to ask yourself, did I do all I could with what I was given? That’s the measure I want to hold myself and Direct Relief to.
Fighting to End the Era of Megafires
When the 2018 Woolsey Fire ripped through the Santa Monica Mountains, then-state Senate sta er Matt Weiner watched flames burn with unprecedented ferocity, “unlike anything we’d ever seen,” and he quickly realized California’s wildfire crisis was overwhelming the systems built for a di erent era. Rather than accept megafires as fate, Weiner became convinced, “it doesn’t need to be this way.”
In 2022, he founded Megafire Action in Los Angeles along with George Whitesides, now a U.S. Congressman representing parts of L.A. County, who shared Weiner’s conviction that wildfires are solvable. Megafire Action’s perspective is refreshingly optimistic. “Unlike other climate disasters, we actually have agency… this is solvable,” Weiner says. Wildfires, he explains, are “a problem of our own making,” the result of decades of mismanagement and climate change. “The bad news is we’re causing this,” he adds. “The good news is we have the tools – and the responsibility – to fix it.”
Instead of fighting fires directly, Megafire Action and Megafire Institute are about prevention, targeting the conditions that fuel wildfires. They understand that policy change is a critical lever and push for smarter forest management – like prescribed burns –promoting fire-resilient communities, accelerating high-tech fire detection and suppression like satellites, drones, and prescribed fire robots. “There’s a wide range of areas where technology can help,” Weiner notes. It is an approach designed to avert the next mega-blaze before it starts.
From the outset, Megafire Action saw itself as an ally to veteran firefighters
and land managers, a behind-the-scenes “force multiplier.” Weiner sees Megafire Action as complementing both first responders and policymakers advancing wildfire policy solutions. “We will work with anyone to get it done,” he says. This pragmatic, bipartisan, coalition-building style has opened doors in Washington and Sacramento.
Already, Megafire Action’s advocacy has yielded results. The group helped secure a $2 billion federal investment in wildfire resilience and has been instrumental in pushing the Fix Our Forests Act through Congress. Now the nonprofit is focused on ensuring the U.S. Senate passes the Fix Our Forests Act, as well as working in Sacramento – having recently launched a California chapter – to make a ordable wildfire insurance more available for homeowners and to hold utilities accountable, issues at the top of Angelenos’ minds.
For firefighters, such changes cannot come soon enough. “We cannot keep putting communities in this untenable position,” warns Megafire Action’s Advisor to the Board Kelly Martin. Every fire season is “putting firefighters in an increasingly impossible and dangerous position,” exactly the scenario this team is working to prevent by fixing root problems and rallying resources.
Neil Chapman, Wildland Fire Captain for the City of Flagsta Fire Department; Matt Weiner, CEO and founder of Megafire Action; and Chief Dan Munsey, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District.
Felicia Fire, Ventura, California (photo by R. Navarro (2024), Ventura County Fire Department )
You Can Help Prevent Fires
For Angelenos, this is a chance to change the trajectory of the wildfire crisis. Megafire Institute 501(c)(3) needs $275,000 to capitalize on opportunities for change in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. in 2026. Funding Megafire Institute will drive urgent California fire prevention solutions. Your donation will power science-based policy recommendations to ensure solutions are grounded in evidence and e ectively address systemic policy reform in Sacramento to boost wildfire insurance a ordability, expand fire-resilient communities statewide, and help build resilient landscapes. The impact: safer homes and communities from Malibu to Pasadena, healthier forests and wildlands, and fewer firefighters in harm’s way. The time to act is now.
End the megafire crisis. “
The Many Ways to Give...
Check:
Kayla Calkins Director of Strategic
Megafire Action Advisor to the Board Kelly Martin with Bryan Lowe and Paul Hefner representing the White Bird Volunteer Fire Department, joined the Palisades Fire fight as part of a Strike Team of engines.
Megafire Action's California Director Eric Horne tours the Palisades burn scar. The Palisades Fire directly impacted Eric's mother.
Megafire Action CEO and Founder Matt Weiner and California U.S. Senator Adam Schi in Washington, D.C. testifying before the Senate Agriculture Committee
Taking a Stand Against Environmentally Destructive Corporations
California’s hidden menace. When oil and gas wells are abandoned without proper cleanup, these so-called “zombie wells” can leak dangerous toxins into the air and drinking water, while continuing to emit climate-warming gases into the atmosphere.
Drive through Inglewood, past the largest urban oil field in the United States, and you’ll see them everywhere: skeletal metal structures punctuating neighborhoods like industrial tombstones. Most passersby assume these are active wells, extracting fossil fuels from beneath California’s subdivisions, shopping centers, and family neighborhoods. They would be wrong. Many are what Danielle Lackey calls “zombie wells” – abandoned, unplugged, leaking toxins and poisoning communities’ drinking water.
Lackey, the executive director of ClientEarth USA, doesn’t fit the typical environmentalist mold. She’s a business lawyer who has found her calling in corporate boardrooms rather than protest lines. “We’re not environmental lawyers,” she explains. “We’re lawyers fighting for the environment.” It’s a distinction that matters more than semantics suggest.
The zombie wells represent a masterclass in corporate malfeasance. Fossil fuel companies extract profits for decades, then sell the aging wells to other entities that are destined to go bankrupt, leaving taxpayers and communities holding the bill for the cleanup. “They extract all the profit,
then they leave taxpayers and local communities to bear the brunt,” Lackey says.
Consequently, there are now roughly 3.7 million abandoned wells across the nation and over two million of them are still unplugged. Each well costs an average of $100,000 to properly clean up and prevent pollution, which totals hundreds of billions of dollars in cleanup costs that major corporations have o oaded onto taxpayers.
Even more staggering are the human costs. The wells pose significant risks from greenhouse gases that contribute to devastating climate change and extreme weather to even graver health risks – contaminated air and drinking water, degraded ecosystems, all disproportionately a ecting vulnerable communities.
Where traditional environmental groups play defense against regulatory rollbacks, ClientEarth has chosen o ense. ClientEarth’s strategy is to level the playing field by taking these corporations to court, with the goal to ensure that every company becomes a good environmental citizen.
Their zombie wells case attacks the bankruptcy schemes that allow this environmental destruction. The strategy
is surgical: create legal precedents that other attorneys can replicate. Already, for-profit law firms are approaching ClientEarth, asking how to bring similar cases.
This approach resonates beyond environmental circles because it taps into something universally understood: fairness. “Corporate greed is something that everyone takes issue with,” Lackey observes. Their plainti s aren’t environmental warriors but homeowners who bought property near wells, expecting companies to honor their cleanup obligations.
ClientEarth is using their unique expertise to hold corporations accountable for their devastating impact on our planet. They’re fighting for all of us to ensure a future with clean air, clean water, and a safe climate for everyone.
"I knew I wanted to hitch my wagon to the most impactful environmental organization I could find – and ClientEarth’s unique e orts made me feel confident that they were that group. I like that they are keeping corporations honest, playing by the rules they set out for themselves."
– Wendie Malick Donor
Join the Fight for a Livable Planet
Your support can fund the legal precedents that will hold corporations accountable for environmental damage. A $100,000 gift supports the scoping of a new case launch. A $50,000 gift supports a fellowship for a law school graduate, providing a learning experience for the next generation of lawyers protecting the planet. $25,000 could fund discovery research exposing corporate schemes. Even $5,000 helps build the war chest needed to take on billiondollar defendants. When ClientEarth wins, they create pathways for hundreds of similar cases – transforming single victories into systemic change that makes environmental responsibility profitable and environmental destruction expensive.
Danielle Lackey, ClientEarth's executive director. Prior to joining ClientEarth, Danielle served as the chief legal o cer of an industry-leading technology company. Previously, she practiced as a white-collar litigator at a world-class law firm. Oil and gas companies have abandoned 3.7
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ClientEarth is an environmental action group with a unique approach: they hold corporations directly accountable in the court of law and the court of public opinion.
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KEY SUPPORTERS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Alexander Reid
Clate Korsant
Cory Edelman
Frances Beinecke
Gabrielle Bacon
Hassan Elmasry
Hunter McIntosh
Jonathan Kaufelt
Nik Mittal
Phil Harvey
FRIENDS OF CLIENTEARTH:
Barbara Williams
David Johnson
Judi Weisbart
Patagonia
Schmidt Family Foundation
Scottie Thompson
The Many Ways to Give...
ClientEarth
www.clientearth.us (310) 361-7006
Contact: Allie Butkiewicz Director of Major Gifts (310) 361-7006
abutkiewicz@clientearth.org By
million oil and gas wells across the US as the wells began to run dry. However, the majority of them – 2.1 million – have not been plugged.
Family Well-Being
“The family is not an important thing, it’s everything.”
– Michael J. Fox
Helping Empower Survivors of Abuse To Create Thriving Lives
Ana, a mother of two from Mexico, answered a job posting to be a childcare provider in the United States. She arrived with the hopes of providing a better life for her and her children. But the family that employed her forced her to work long hours with no pay. Her nightmare only worsened when one of the family members began sexually abusing her. Frightened and isolated, Ana found help and agency at Survivor Justice Center.
The Los Angeles-based organization provided Ana with legal advocacy and crucial support services to keep her safe. They helped her obtain a visa, a work permit, housing services, and mental health counseling. And, equally paramount for Ana, they helped legally bring her two daughters to the U.S. to reunite with her. Most of this was possible due to the attorney who, free of charge to Ana, was with her in court, meaning she was no longer alone.
“The Justice Center really came to my rescue,” Ana says. “I was able to find legal work and reunite with my two daughters.”
Survivor Justice Center, formerly known as the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, has been providing legal advocacy to low-income and primarily immigrant and Latino populations in Los Angeles since its founding in 1971. In the late 1990s it began providing life-saving direct services for survivors.
Their client-centered service model is trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and collaborative. Survivor Justice Center’s legal team represents survivors throughout the entirety of their cases, which can sometimes last over 30 years. The organization conducts a full legal and holistic needs assessment when clients first arrive, to determine what kind of representation and services will best help, from legal to basic needs to emotional wellness. The team serving each survivor includes an attorney, a legal advocate, and a social work intern. Their deeply compassionate and comprehensive services range
from helping clients get domestic violence restraining orders, to making informed child custody plans, to understanding immigrant rights to resource navigation and more.
“They often come to us afraid and alone,” says Marissa Marasigan, Survivor Justice Center’s director of development.
“And we get to arm them with a full legal team that has the expertise and the connections to transform their lives.”
Survivor Justice Center reports that in 2024 alone they helped 1,092 survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human tra cking. They secured 100 work permits for immigrant survivors, issued 99 restraining orders to protect survivors of domestic violence, protected 179 children through favorable family law orders, and connected 30 families at risk of homelessness to housing resources.
“We’ve seen an increasing need every year for the past five years and we’ve been able to serve more thanks to our donors and supporters,” says Marasigan.
"We have been supporting the team at Survivor Justice Center for several years, grateful for all the impact they have on the survivors they serve who are in unimaginable circumstances."
– Paul Haaga and Heather Sturt Haaga, Donors
Access to Justice for More Survivors
Survivor Justice Center fights to protect the rights of abuse survivors, who need legal representation and wraparound services, and immigrant survivors, who must navigate changing immigration status and deadlines amid increased fear and anxiety.
With just four immigration attorneys serving 600+ active immigrant survivor cases, they need your support to expand their reach and impact.
$350,000 will allow them to grow their immigration team and serve more survivors. These funds will enable them to hire two attorneys and two paralegals, positioning them to provide complete legal representation for 75 more survivors and approximately 130 children each year.
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The Many Ways to Give...
A Place at the Table in South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles’s Service Planning Area 6 is a neighborhood of paradoxes. It is home to families with deep roots, churches that have stood for generations, and schoolyards that ring with the sounds of play. Yet beneath this familiarity runs a hard truth: the region has some of the highest poverty and food insecurity rates in Los Angeles County. One in four residents lives below the poverty line and in many schools, the majority of children rely on free or reduced-price lunch as their main source of nutrition.
Avalon-Carver Community Center has long been a counterweight to this inequity. Founded in 1945, it has grown into one of South L.A.’s most trusted anchors, a place where families find not just services but solidarity. Its mission is explicit: to strengthen families, empower youth, and create social mobility for historically underserved Black and Brown communities. That lofty goal is made tangible, every school day, through the center’s flagship Nutrition Program.
The program provides 250 free, nutritionally balanced lunches daily across ten Title I elementary and middle schools. The lunches are designed to sustain a child’s body and spirit with dignity. “With-
have to choose between learning and eating. Our nutrition program provides free after-school meals to keep youth thriving.
out reliable, nutritious meals, children face hunger during the school day, which makes it harder to focus, learn, and thrive,” explains Board Member Vina Crum.
Healthy meals are also provided, for free, at Avalon-Carver’s afterschool program where staff members witness the stakes up close. “Parents are so thankful and so grateful that their child is able to
come to us after school and get fed,” says Prevention Coordinator Kimberly Brock. She describes children shyly asking, Can I take some home for my sister? But that raw gratitude underscores the gap between what Avalon-Carver can currently provide and what the growing demand from the community so clearly needs.
The limitation is infrastructure. Currently, meals are prepared offsite by contracted chefs and delivered to schools and Avalon-Carver’s afterschool program. To meet rising demand, the center is seeking to build a commercial kitchen at its historic Avalon Boulevard facility. The plan is both practical and visionary: by cooking in-house, Avalon-Carver can add at least a hundred lunches per day, ensure fresher and culturally relevant food, and extend meals beyond schoolchildren to families and even seniors.
Just as importantly, the kitchen would double as a training ground. Through a new Culinary Arts youth program, 60 young people each year would earn food-handling certificates, learn catering skills, and operate a student-led enterprise.
For Avalon-Carver, a kitchen is not just a kitchen. It is a space that ensures every child arrives at school nourished, focused, and ready to thrive – secure in their rightful place at the table.
From garden to table — our youth are learning how to make healthy recipes that nourish the body and soul.
Food is the foundation of learning. Our nutrition program ensures our youth never have to end the day hungry.
No student should
With
Help Turn Hunger Into Hope
an investment of $150,000, Avalon-Carver can build a commercial kitchen that expands their capacity to provide free meals to students in Title I schools (adding 100 additional meals per day), brings meal preparation in-house, and launches a Culinary Arts youth training program serving 60 students annually.
Your donation will feed children, train the next generation, and strengthen families across South Los Angeles. This is not charity but equity – an opportunity to invest in Black and Brown communities, to turn hunger into hope, and to ensure every child arrives at school nourished, focused, and ready to thrive.
“We like the sandwiches, we never had sandwiches before! We also like that we can take food home to share with our family.” – Dylan, 2nd grade & Jorge, 4th grade
“Thanks to Avalon-Carver for everything. Their nutrition program helps my children stay focused while they are being tutored and mentored. The program fills important gaps by creating a family-like environment, providing nutritious meals and energy to maintain focus, and rewarding good behaviors with healthy fruits and foods. We are so grateful for this program.” – Tranata, parent
“The nutrition program is really helpful because sometimes I don’t eat at school or have breakfast, so I’m hungry when I get here after school. Sometimes my grandma forgets to cook, and then I can eat here so I’m not hungry.”
– Marilyn, 5th grade
Works to care for the physical, mental and spiritual needs of individuals and families through education, community outreach and empowerment.
Avalon Carver
www.avalon-carver.org
(323) 232 -4391 info@avalon-carver.org
Contact: Jamico Elder, MA Executive Director (323) 214 -6008
jamicoelder@avalon-carver.org
Ninjas Joseph Drown
Boston Scientific
Youth Build Charter School
Beach City E Sports
City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health OUR PARTNERS:
Fostering Care
“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.”
– Lady Bird Johnson
Furnishing Success For Foster Youth in College
When Lily arrived at UCLA, she carried everything she owned in one hand. “Moving into my dorm with just a pillow and a throw blanket felt daunting,” she recalls. While dormmates arrived with elaborate, expensive, color-coordinated bedding sets and an array of toiletries, Lily faced the same harsh reality as her system-impacted peers. “If you ask most foster youth what it feels like moving from one place to another, they will tell you their stu was put in a trash bag.”
The numbers are stark: while 93% of foster youth say they want to go to college, only about 4% go on to earn a four-year degree. And even for those who do enroll, without targeted support roughly one in five drop out of four-year schools and nearly half leave college altogether within their first year.
I support Project Dorm Room because providing the essentials for a college dorm room helps launch incoming foster youth into their new lives as college students. College is a big adjustment and not only does the program celebrate this momentous occasion, it
helps create their new home and find a community of people that want them to succeed. Project Dorm Room is like a college move-in day fairy godmother!
– Anissa Siegel Supporter
Founded in 2017, Project Dorm Room addresses the first and simplest need: ensuring foster youth have essential supplies when they arrive on campus. Yet the program’s impact runs far deeper than providing bedding, towels, toiletries, and school supplies. It provides a sense of community.
“For most students, moving into a dorm is a rite of passage. For foster youth, it can feel scary and lonely without family support. Project Dorm Room changes that moment – it says: you belong here, you are supported, and your dreams matter. With something as simple as a set of sheets, we’re not just furnishing dorms – we’re equipping futures,” says Romi Lassally, co-founder & CEO of Ready to Succeed.
And, it’s working: the program has grown from serving 75 students in its first year to outfitting the dorms of roughly 350 incoming former foster youth each Fall.
To date, Project Dorm Room has served more than 1,000 students across more than a dozen CalState and UC campuses, as well as a handful of out-of-state schools.
Their model is transformative. “Being a part of Project Dorm Room allowed me to allocate what was left of my funds for school supplies. I no longer had to make a decision about basic necessities,” says Lily, PDR Recipient.
Project Dorm Room also serves another critical function: it connects students with Ready to Succeed’s comprehensive Career Accelerator Program, which begins sophomore year. About 30% of Project Dorm Room students apply to join, gaining access to coaching, internships, mental health resources, and $5,000 basic-needs scholarships. The results are extraordinary: 100% of program participants graduate college – 10 times the national average for foster youth – and 85% secure career-track jobs within a year of graduation.
On move-in day, volunteers help students like Lily choose the dorm supplies they’ll need to feel at home.
RTS Co-Founders Romi Lassally and Pat McCabe with Project Dorm Room recipient Lily and Ruth Stalford from MakeGood at UCLA move-in day.
Equip a Dorm Room, Empower a Life
• $1000 – Full Dorm Room: Everything a
• $5,000 – Outfit 10 Dorm Rooms
• $25,000 – Sponsor a Freshman Class
• $100,000 – Build Belonging: Underwrite 4 Campus
Project Dorm Room recipients receive bedding, pillows, towels, toiletries, hangers, shampoo, conditioner, and more on move-in day.
Project Dorm Room serves incoming foster youth across multiple southern California campuses including UCLA, CSUN, UCI, CSULB, CSUDH, and more.
Empowering Children and Families
Ari* faced overwhelming challenges – failing grades, frequent fights, and the instability of life. Two years ago, she entered the mental health program at CSKF and received counseling with Ciara Cornejo, LCSW. She found her voice, confidence, and healing.
Creative Solutions for Kids and Families has quietly built a reputation as one of the most innovative nonprofits serving the Inland Empire, Orange County, and Los Angeles area foster youth and underserved families. Founded in 2005 by Dr. Ryan Cargando, the organization was born from a simple but radical conviction: “We cannot universalize an approach to kids,” Dr. Cargando says. Every vulnerable child’s situation is di erent and deserves individualized, culturally responsive care, the kind of holistic support that overstretched public systems too often fail to provide.
Over the past two decades, Creative Solutions has served over 4,000 children, currently caring for 100-120 youth through its outpatient mental health clinic and another 90-105 in its therapeutic foster care. Its program continues to achieve over 75% family reunification rate, well above the state average.
As its very name implies, their approach is not only trauma-informed but distinctly creative in the way the organization provides care to its youth. A trip to the beach, a field trip to Disneyland, even a group lesson to learn how to belt out a rock tune on the guitar. “These are opportunities that have therapeutic
components, but also something that builds social skills and inspires youth… to see the world in a di erent light,” Dr. Cargando explains.
One child’s transformation captures the heart of this mission. Ari*, an 11-year-old girl who once struggled with failing grades, frequent fights, and the weight of instability, entered Creative Solutions’ mental health program two years ago. With the steady support of her aunt, uncle, and the compassionate, dedicated treatment team, Ari found the confidence to engage in both family and individual therapy. Today, she thrives academically and has been recognized at school for her dignity and character. Her words are simple but profound: “I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have these mental health services.”
Stories like Ari’s show the impact of Creative Solutions. In the words of Ari’s therapist Ciara Cornejo, LCSW, “We don’t just o er therapy – we o er hope.” The mental health services face uncertainty with the Medicaid cuts. “If we really are honest in giving these children the opportunity to be empowered, we have to look individually into what exactly they are going through,” Dr. Cargando says. Such deeply personalized work requires consistent funding.
"I feel grateful for the path that took me to CSKF 10 years ago as a resource parent. Throughout my years in the classroom, I learned how resilient children can be, but I also saw firsthand how much support they truly need to thrive."
– Christine Connor Resource Parent, Retired Public School Teacher
Creative Solutions has received recognition for its resilience and innovation. It was recently featured as a case study in the book Small to Large: Growing Social Impact Organizations Against All Odds, underscoring its ability to thrive even in di cult conditions. But sustaining this work now depends on private philanthropy. For Los Angeles’s socially conscious donors, the opportunity is clear – to invest in turning trauma into empowering youth and families.
*Names are changed to protect privacy.
You Can O er Hope to Vulnerable Children
With federal funding greatly impacted and cuts in Medicaid already threatening critical health care, Creative Solutions for Kids and Families is relying even more heavily on the generous donations of individual donors to maintain their crucial, vital services. Your donation of $100,000 will help Creative Solutions continue to fund their transformative field trips, art therapy sessions, and therapeutic interventions for the most vulnerable kids and families for one year. Their services have proven e ective in building emotional resilience and life skills for longterm success. Through innovative, interactive field trips, dance classes, arts lessons, and compassionate therapy, your donations will empower foster youth to heal and thrive.
Empowering children and families on a journey of discovery, where creativity meets problem-solving, inspiring innovation and purposeful existence.
Joy in Motion — Foster youth build confidence, teamwork, and resilience while having fun. Every game is a step toward healing and empowerment.
KEY SUPPORTERS
Ed Ho man, WCC Charities
Mike Ponce, Allstate Insurance Agency
Foster Love
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
My Stu Bags Foundation
Bank of America
Toyota of Riverside
Riverside Sunrise Rotary
Go Lively Foundation
Walmart
Stater Brothers
Bu alo Wild Wings
Ross Network for Good
Tickets for Kids Charities
The Many Ways to Give...
Creative Solutions for Kids & Families, Inc.
www.csforkids.org
(951) 924-9791
Contact: Barbra Castillo
Chief Financial O cer (951) 577-5950
barbrac@csforkids.org
By Check: Creative Solutions for Kids & Families, Inc.
P.O. Box 7090
Moreno Valley, CA 92552
By DAF or Stock Transfer: Tax ID# 20-2882315
By Credit Card: www.csforkids.org/support-us
CSKF goes beyond traditional therapy. They o er transformative experiences through field trips such as a trip to Disneyland.
“This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”
The Rising Tide of Volunteerism
By Dan Schifrin
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead
There is a magic to volunteering, an enlargement of purpose and a re-balancing of energy, that is eerily similar to how it feels to exercise. Endorphins are released; time stands still; and one’s sense of agency and possibility blossoms.
It’s actually called “helper’s high,” that euphoric feeling people can experience after engaging in acts of kindness or helping others. Increasingly backed by science, this social high has been linked to other benefits like improved mood, reduced stress, increased longevity, and stronger social connections.
I remember my early volunteer experiences as vividly as I remember almost anything else growing up. Cleaning up beach litter with my youth group near Santa Cruz; visiting (and singing badly to) elders in a memory care facility; organizing the blood drive at my high school.
As an adult with children, the focus on family and work made it harder to carve out time to expand the circle of support, much less engage in those impromptu volunteer opportunities. But when I think back on the almost 25 years of parenting, the moments that stick out the most also revolve around doing things for others. For my 45th birthday, for instance, my kids played music at our house for a fundraiser for two youths. One was a rising first-year college student in Oakland, and the other a pharmacy student in Nairobi, Kenya. Our friends were delighted to be invited to the event, and we all felt a conflation of joy and
purpose, with my kids’ trumpet and clarinet melodies radiating outward through the open windows.
While society has changed dramatically over the past few thousand years, our core religious and social texts have always lifted up the altruistic impulse as our highest aspiration. We can point, among other examples, to the Parable of the Good Samaritan in the New Testament, where it is an average person – as opposed to a public leader – who stops to help a wounded man near Jerusalem, offering whatever he can of his time, talent, and treasure to do the right thing.
And in contemporary Jerusalem thousands of years later, sociologist Shalom Schwartz has published a landmark study noting that the most important value across all cultures is that of self-transcendence – the quality of going beyond oneself to help and create community.
Volunteering, in other words, has always and everywhere been the linchpin of philanthropy, no matter the size and scope of that giving.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
– Arthur Ashe
This year, in response to a cascade of domestic and international political developments, as well as a series of family health issues, I found myself eager to return to my volunteering roots. I had a previous connection with
the nonprofit Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS), a 150-year-old charity that supports many communities and individuals in need, that in recent years has also taken on a regional leadership role in helping refugees from Afghanistan, as well as LGBTQ+ folks fleeing persecution in Africa and the Middle East.
I learned from their Executive Director Robin Mencher that sudden, massive funding cuts from the federal government, to the tune of 40% of their operating budget, would result in a significant number of JFCS clients not knowing whether to worry more about hunger or being deported. At their annual event, packed with volunteers, Mencher took the podium to boldly ask: “Does the government get to tell us what kind of neighbors we get to be? The answer is an emphatic no.”
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
– Helen Keller
And so I began, again, to commit to helping my neighbors in a more systematic way by volunteering at JFCS.
I started simply, by working Friday mornings to assemble and organize meals for a mobile food program for homebound folks. In 2024 alone, JFCS delivered 4,500 meals to homebound seniors through their holiday meal delivery program. That’s a tremendous impact on the community.
My “job” was to take pre-printed names and addresses and affix them to a brown paper shopping bag, into which I placed a veggie or chicken entree, along with an assembly line of soup, fruit, and apple sauce. This particular program served those of the Jewish faith, and so the meal included the traditional braided challah bread, ritual grape juice, and a handwritten card from a group of kids wishing their elders a peaceful week. On the way into the office, I would stop to get fresh bananas for the delivery; on the way out, I would break down boxes and put them in the recycling.
Amy Turk (center, second row) releases the Women’s Needs Assessment, a publication by Downtown Women’s Center to lift up the needs of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles with L.A. County Board Supervisor Hilda Solis (right, bottom row), LAHSA Commissioner Wendy Greuel and Sarah Dusseault (top row second and third from left), L.A. City Mayor Garcetti (top row, center), and advocates of DWC. (Photo by Kim Quitzon, Digital Content and Marketing Specialist for DWC)
“Every person can make a difference. Every person should try.” – John F. Kennedy
Volunteering, change-making, moving the needle on necessary structural change in our society… all of this can feel lonely and overwhelming, even in the best of times. But volunteering creates its own weather system and has a genius of its own, in that it builds community not just among those whom it supports, but among those who volunteer.
Mark Rabinovitz, a retired technology strategist from Boston, has been volunteering for JFCS for more than 20 years.
“I was notorious for renting U-Hauls on a Sunday morning, loading up the truck with furniture at the storage location, and working with other volunteers to set up a home that day” for new immigrants, Rabinovitz said.
Today his focus is on delivering the Friday meals, along with visiting elderly Holocaust survivors in need of company.
With all these projects, he said, “it was obvious that I was helping, whether it was bringing food or furniture, or telling stories of my travels, which [homebound folks] enjoyed hearing,” he said. In the last couple of years, he has been visiting a homebound elder. Rabinovitz was shocked when the man, whose health is very delicate, asked him to be in charge of his burial.
“Whatever I do, wherever I have volunteered, the experiences I have are the reward,” Rabinovitz said.
JFCS’s community services coordinator, Zoe Pollock, rattled out dozens of examples of volunteers who not only had been transformative in the lives of the people they helped, but were transformed themselves in turn.
One volunteer, who knew how to navigate the public school system, helped a newly arrived refugee family get their son enrolled for his last year of high school, even though they had been told he wasn’t eligible. Another volunteer, a physician, supported a woman through pregnancy and navigating the health care system. In turn, Pollock reported, “the doctor said she changed the way she thought about her patients, and how she can better provide service to them.”
Those are the moments, said Pollock, when the relationship is transformed, and volunteering becomes community. “It’s no longer ‘I do a thing for you, and you receive support from me.’”
For Robin Mencher, this reframing of power and relationship is where the magic happens. It’s also a model for how social service organizations, and nonprofits of all kinds, can move away from an approach oriented toward charity, and toward one geared toward community.
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
Los Angeles has a deep and longstanding history of volunteerism going back to its founding in 1781. Early examples include neighbors forming “volunteer bucket brigades” to combat fires in the adobe-built city. In the late 1800s, the city established volunteer fire companies like the Morris Vineyard Hose Co. No.3 and Southern Pacific No.1. More recently, after the devastating 1994 Northridge earthquake, numerous volunteer efforts were mobilized to provide relief and support to affected residents. This year, after the tragic Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires, Los Angeles saw a surge in grassroots volunteer efforts providing immediate relief and long-term support to those affected. These efforts included establishing hubs for evacuees, collecting and distributing clothing and toiletries, offering spiritual care, and assisting with practical needs like insurance claims and rehousing.
At the same time, as the former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy reported in 2023, America is experiencing an “epidemic of loneliness” that has had profoundly negative health consequences. A generation after Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone alerted us to the deepening sense of isolation among many Americans, our addiction to screens, a deterioration of shared civic purpose, and increasing lack of faith in the capitalist enterprise, has led us to see a healthy sense of community as a primary driver of social health.
It’s for this reason that earlier this year, Governor Gavin Newsom created a new entity, Engaged California, as part of the California Volunteers project. The idea is to facilitate two-way conversations between residents and the State, and to encourage volunteerism as an urgent expression of solidarity with the communities in which we live.
The Giving List sat down with First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, honorary chair of California Volunteers, to ask her about the connection between volunteering and community health.
“I think volunteering is everything. I do,” she said. “None of us are going to achieve anything on our own. We have to partner across every entity and individual. It’s how we are going to move our country in a better, healthier direction.”
Nonprofit leaders across the region agree.
“Volunteers are often the silent backbone behind every thriving community, successful event, and the Educating Students Together (EST) College Access Program,” says the organization’s co-founder Dr. Yasmin Delahoussaye. “They are essential because they show the value of giving without expecting anything in return. In a world that often focuses on transactions, our EST volunteers remind us of the beauty of service.” EST is a college access program dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty and improving the quality of life for foster and low-income youth by helping them access and complete higher education.
The Downtown Women’s Center, a nonprofit whose mission is to end homelessness for women and gender-diverse individuals by providing safe housing and supportive services, was “founded on volunteerism,” says Amy Turk, their CEO. “It’s one of our heartbeats. Volunteers make it possible for our residents to not just find housing but to truly feel at home, ensuring that everyone can be part of the solution to homelessness.”
Ellen Shane, the executive director of The Emily Shane Foundation, a nonprofit that works to empower underserved middle school students through personalized academic coaching and mentorship, says that it can be a challenge to source volunteers. “We deeply value the individuals who do give their time to our mission in any capacity… We are incredibly appreciative of those who choose to volunteer with us as mentors and tutors – or in any position. Our foundation’s fundraiser event committee members are all volunteers; their participation allows us to present events to raise much needed funds.”
While financial support can and should be a critical part of the volunteering infrastructure, many major philanthropists remind us that it’s the connection with real people that solidifies our sense of purpose.
Melinda French Gates, whose philanthropic focus is wide and deep, explained in her book The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World that “If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop thinking only in terms of big systems and remember to sit with people, to listen to their fears and hopes. The biggest lift comes from seeing another’s dignity.”
Darren Walker, the outgoing head of the Ford Foundation, who has been animated by a critique of “professional philanthropy,” has called for funders to focus on “attention and solidarity” with those that they support. “We need to be proximate to the people we claim to serve.”
This idea of being “proximate” to communities that are supported, most famously articulated by Bryan Stevenson at the Equal Justice Initiative, is at the essence of Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund, or SV2.
SV2, which features a new model of engaging funders, who are called Donor Partners, has distinguished itself through its immersive learning experiences, full integration of community members on its board of directors, and an ethos of true collaboration.
“SV2 is all about community,” says SV2’s CEO David Onek. “With all the challenges in the world today, many people are feeling isolated and hopeless. Coming together in community to make positive change is an antidote to that feeling of isolation.”
After a few seasons of assisting JFCS with their frontline food program, I’m looking forward to my next volunteer adventure with them – supporting the staff with expertise from my professional toolkit of organizational storytelling. It turns out that my deeper dive into the economy of food insecurity, undertaken to help expand the possibilities of others, has expanded my own as well. A rising tide of volunteerism raises all boats.
Volunteering creates its own weather system and has a genius of its own, in that it builds community not just among those whom it supports, but among those who volunteer.
SAFE PARKING LA
The Parking Lot Safety Net
For 15 years, James built a life of service – first as an Army combat veteran, then as a special education teacher – until one spring the world shifted and his life shifted along with it. When the pandemic forced his Los Angeles classroom online, the isolation triggered his PTSD. He left his job, and with no family nearby and his savings running out, James soon lost his apartment. Like many who find themselves on the brink, James took shelter in the only place left: his car.
James’s predicament is far from unique. In a city where the last homelessness count hovered near 45,252 (L.A. County was over 75,000), roughly 40% of those live in their vehicles.
Safe Parking LA was created to catch people like James before they tumble into homelessness entirely. “We keep you safe in your car until we get you safe into your house,” Co-founder Scott Sale says. The model is a rare upstream intervention – low cost, high impact. By o ering secure overnight parking with amenities and case management, the program fills a critical gap in the city’s overwhelmed homeless services system.
Alone in a city of millions, James spiraled into despair. He turned to substance use to cope with the loneliness. A Veterans A airs counselor steered him to Safe Parking
LA. He was wary at first. But in the Veterans Safe Parking Program on the VA campus, James found something he hadn’t felt in a long time: safety. There are portable restrooms that are clean and well-kept, volunteers bring meals and folding tables turn asphalt into an impromptu dinner hall. The lot becomes a community. All with the goal of restoring kindness and dignity. Safe Parking LA runs similar lots across the city from Downtown to the San Fernando Valley.
At the core of Safe Parking LA is their individualized case management program – a staple of every lot and every parking spot they o er. Case managers o er referrals, resources, and support to create roadmaps forward for everyone that enters their lots.
With steady encouragement from his case manager, Anna Ruiz, James began to take concrete steps toward a fresh start. Safe Parking LA helped him enroll in therapy at the VA and work through housing applications. In May, the e ort paid o : James moved into a permanent studio apartment on the VA campus. What turned James’s life around was not a massive government project or expensive shelter, but a humble parking lot run by a small local nonprofit that o ers a simple, humane space to regroup and find a path back to a better life.
“C ase management is at the heart of every success story. At Safe Parking LA, we walk alongside our participants as advocates and guides - helping them navigate overwhelming systems while ensuring they are truly seen. For our marginalized neighbors, human connection is just as essential as housing. That’s why our team delivers every service with dignity, compassion, and respect.”
– Anna Ruiz Lead Case Manager
Founded in 2017, Safe Parking LA supports hundreds of individuals and families experiencing vehicular homelessness annually.
Safe, Overnight Parking for the Unhoused
Safe Parking LA’s programs run on community support and are a critical safety net preventing people from falling into homelessness. Since their inception they have received over 13,000 inquiries and permitted more than 3,000 vehicles for safe parking. Here’s what your donation can do:
• $10,000 – Provides six months of secure overnight parking plus case management for one family.
• $125,000 – Fully sta s the Community Warmline for a year, which fields over 7,000 calls and provides referrals, resources, or safe parking program enrollment to 2,000 households annually.
• $450,000 – Sustains Safe Parking LA’s Veterans program for a full year, keeping this one-of-a-kind lot open.
KEY SUPPORTERS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Matt Wersinger, Chair
Scott R. Sale, MD, Founder and Past Chair
Tim Wilson, Vice Chair
Greg P. Kushner, Treasurer
Daniel E. Behrendt, Secretary
Ori S. Blumenfeld, Esq.
Julia Dadakaridis
Becky Gross
Nancy Hammerman
Victor L. Hinderliter
Duane Lyons
Mellonise Shorter
Josh Steinberg
EMERITUS & FOUNDERS
Ira G. Cohen, Founder and Emeritus
Patricia O. Cohen, Founder and Emeritus
Emily Uyeda Kantrim, Founder and Senior Advisor
FUNDERS
The Ahmanson Foundation
Cedars-Sinai
The Charles H. Stout Foundation
CommonSpirit Health
Tech Sgt Jack Kushner Ret'd Foundation
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
The Rose Hills Foundation
Saint John's Health Center Foundation
Young Adults Forward Fund
Safe Parking LA provides safe overnight parking to facilitate stability and housing in Los Angeles County for individuals living in their vehicles, and advocates for fair and equitable treatment and resources for the unhoused.
“ “
Safe Parking LA safeparkingla.org (323) 210-3375 Ext. 3
Contact: Carmela Carreno, CFRE Director of Development (213) 408-2222 carmelac@safeparkingla.org
Through secure overnight parking, case management, financial assistance, and connections to housing, Safe Parking LA provides participants with dignity, safety, and hope. With your generosity, we can empower individuals and families to move from sleeping in their cars to sleeping in a home.
By Check:
The Many Ways to Give...
Safe Parking LA ATTN: Development P.O. Box 17157
Los Angeles, CA 90017
By DAF or Stock Transfer: Tax ID# 87-3148967
By Credit Card: safeparkingla.org
Community Resilience
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”
– Coretta Scott King
Conversations: Jamiah Hargins
as told to Brian Rinker
Planting Freedom in the Neighborhood, One Garden at
a Time
Jamiah Hargins is the founder of Crop Swap LA, a community farming initiative that aims to reshape how Los Angeles neighborhoods think about food. After a career in finance and recruiting, Hargins launched the project in 2017 to provide local produce for his family and neighbors. What began as swapping vegetables in his backyard has grown into a nonprofit that manages 10 active microfarm sites across five neighborhoods.
Crop Swap LA now delivers produce to about 80 families within a two-mile radius. With 30 garden installations completed, a team of 15 staff, and an annual budget of $1.3 million, the organization shows how community farming can create independence from grocery systems and build pride in the neighborhood.
In this conversation, Hargins shares how the movement began, why he sees community farming as a quiet
Jamiah Hargins explaining to workshop attendees how Crop Swap LA’s worm composting station operates.
Jamiah Hargins leading Crop Swap LA’s Urban Survival Workshop at the Degnan Microfarm.
form of resistance, and what it means to give people the power to grow their own food.
Brian Rinker: How did you first get into community farming?
Jamiah Hargins: I got into this in 2017 when my first daughter was born. I went out to my backyard garden and desperately started growing food because I wanted to make sure there was enough food in the house for her. Things in this country were starting to look weird, and I wanted less dependency on outside systems. I started swapping extra produce with other gardeners in the area. They came enthusiastically every month, and somehow I always had an abundance. That made me think: if it’s this abundant, we should be able to sell it and create jobs.
So I rallied volunteers, harvested extra fruit from people’s trees, and started growing food intentionally in yards. Now we have a neighborhood membership model. We aggregate food, wash and bag it, and deliver every Sunday to about 80 families within a mile or two of the gardens. We’ve got a staff of about 15 part time and full time, and dozens of volunteers.
BR: Did you have a background in gardening before this?
JH: No. My background was in finance. I was a stock
trader, then a headhunter recruiting leaders for other sectors. But I wanted to do something entrepreneurial and for my family.
I learned gradually from myself and other gardeners. When it came to constructing things, I had mentors with construction or landscaping experience who taught me and my team. Piece by piece, we learned how to install, grow, maintain, and expand.
BR: Do you see community farming as subversive?
JH: Yes. The food system is harmful and one of the real reasons people are sick. It’s too expensive. You can fight against it, but that’s like trying to stop a rolling boulder downhill; you might get run over.
The other option is to let that boulder roll by and build something else to replace it. That’s what we did with Crop Swap LA. We opted out of the existing system and invested in a better one, one that creates local jobs, preserves the environment, gives you better variety, and is more nutritious.
Every day is different. One day I’m finishing a garden in someone’s backyard, the next I’m starting a big project at a school. I might meet politicians or CEOs or just talk with a neighbor on the street. Everyone connects to this mission. A lot of people secretly want to opt out of the grocery system, and we’re giving them a choice.
BR: You’ve called the grocery system “food slavery.” What do you mean?
JH: When I was trading futures, I learned how the system works. Corn and soy are the most subsidized crops, so most farmers grow them whether they want to or not. The government pays for seeds, equipment, and land. That keeps prices artificially low.
Our food isn’t subsidized, so the real cost is higher. If you broke it down honestly, one of our produce bags would cost $400. We bring it down to $20 by using other revenue: garden installations, workshops, tours, and donations and grants.
It’s about choice. If you want freedom from a broken system, you have to pay for it. People have always paid for freedom in different ways. For us, it looks like supporting local food systems.
BR: What principles guide your work?
JH: At Crop Swap we have three guiding principles: intentionality, focus, and simplicity. Intentionality means doing things in the right place and time. Don’t plant something in the shade where it won’t grow. Focus means doing one thing at a time. Don’t try to weed, plant, and fix irrigation all at once. You’ll do them all poorly. Simplicity means don’t overcomplicate things. Choose the simpler irrigation and program design every time.
We also have a five-point framework: legal, financial, humans, operations, and public engagement. Anytime someone brings me an idea, I put it through that framework. If it fails on any one of them, we don’t do it.
BR: Can you give an example?
JH: Sure. We just installed a backyard garden. The le-
gal side meant we had both a service agreement and a land use with the homeowner – when we plan to visit, how much water we’ll use, what area of the yard, all that. Financially, each site has a budget. Homeowners also get tax write-offs for the land used, the water, and the food harvested. For example, if we harvest avocados worth $700, they get that deduction.
Humans: it takes one person about two hours a week to maintain a garden. One person can manage four or five gardens a day.
Operations: making sure supplies are ordered, visits are scheduled, and food is distributed.
Public engagement: in this case, the produce goes into our membership program.
That’s the system. If all five points check out, we move forward.
Jamiah Hargins giving workshop attendees a tour of the Degnan Microfarm, explaining how the farm systems work.
BR: How does gardening and swapping crops affect the community?
JH: First, it’s visual. People drive by and say, “I live next to that microfarm,” or their kids ask when they’ll start a garden. Neighbors stop and tell stories about eating from their grandparents’ gardens. Others honk and yell, “Love your work!”
We also do workshops, tours, donor events, and speeches. We have a farm stand on Mondays where people can buy extra produce and gardening supplies. It raises the spirit of the neighborhood.
Even when there are disruptions, it still feels like progress. Once an unhoused man came into a garden, picked beets, and acted like he worked there. He was messing things up, but he looked peaceful. It seemed healing for him just to be around the plants.
“If you want freedom from a broken system, you have to pay for it. People have always paid for freedom in different ways. For us, it looks like supporting local food systems.”
BR: What role does health play in this?
JH: There’s a naturally occurring bacteria in all soil that, when it touches your skin, it causes your body to release positive endorphins. So anytime you touch soil, you will automatically feel happier.
That’s part of why volunteerism is so high. Most nonprofits struggle to find volunteers, but all our weekly slots have been full for a year. People sign up weeks in advance. Families, seniors, young people – they all show up and leave feeling lighter.
BR: How do people get access to your food?
JH: We have a membership model. About 80 families get a weekly bag delivered to their doorstep, we try to keep it hyper local, so members need to live within two miles.
Membership is $80 a month, $20 a bag. We prioritize veterans, disabled people, foster and adoption system graduates, single parents, and families using EBT or CalFresh. Once people join, they almost never leave.
BR: What’s growing right now that excites you?
JH: We’ve got kabocha squash, carrots, peas, beans, lettuce, herbs, corn, green onions, pumpkins, and even watermelon coming through. Every season has something new.
An Innovative Way to Fight Hunger
On a sunny morning at a bustling Los Angeles farmers market, a volunteer gently guides a blind shopper from stall to stall, describing the bright oranges and leafy greens on display. Laughter punctuates their unhurried stroll. This outing is part of Hunger Action LA’s innovative Blind & Low Vision Food Program, which partners visually impaired Angelenos with sighted friends for what Executive Director Frank Tamborello calls a “nice fun day at the farmers market.” It is about more than just buying groceries; it is about companionship. The volunteer and shopper chat like old friends, proving that nourishment is more than what fits in a bag.
Since 2006, Hunger Action LA (HALA) has pursued its mission “to end hunger and promote healthy eating in Los Angeles County” through unorthodox means. Rather than a traditional food pantry, HALA runs several ground-breaking programs designed to tackle hunger from di erent
angles. Tamborello proudly describes these e orts as truly “thinking out of the box.” Each program does more than feed people; it builds community in surprising ways.
Their flagship initiative is their Market Match program, a partnership with 40 farmers markets across L.A. There, low-income shoppers who receive CalFresh benefits (food stamps) get an extra $15 to spend every time they visit a market, adding up to as much as $75 in healthy fruits and vegetables per month. Those extra dollars mean a mother can afford ripe strawberries for her kids, or a senior can bring home vine-ripe tomatoes. And it is a boon for local farmers, as well. The bonus vouchers, Tamborello explains, “circulate from the customers through the farmers,” boosting the local economy while making healthier diets attainable. In other words, Market Match fights hunger while “supporting the farmers” who grow our food.
Another core program is HALA’s weekly Food Delivery service, which brings fresh groceries to 300 households spread across a wide swath of Los Angeles. Each week, volunteers put together bags of produce, eggs, and pantry staples for vulnerable families. In order to reach as many families across as wide an area of Los Angeles as possible, HALA uses an ingenious delivery network made up of volunteers, the DoorDash delivery service, and other local delivery services. HALA also works with local farmers and growers in order to include fresh eggs and other staples in the food bags because, as Tamborello explains, “We believe that you also want to feed the people who are feeding the people.”
By building personal relationships through food, HALA’s programs aim to bring people “a sort of a spiritual nourishment as well as physical.” In Los Angeles, a city of millions, HALA is knitting a community closer, one egg, one conversation, one farmers market trip at a time.
“The weekly bags of fresh produce and assorted groceries have been a real lifeline...thoughtfully includes options that can be combined to extend meal options” – Sara Johnson, Food Delivery participant
Your Gift Builds Food Security
Hunger Action LA’s innovative, out-of-the-box programs run on community support, and your donation can make a tangible impact.
• $25,000 – Supports the Blind & Low Vision Food Program for an entire year, giving dozens of visually impaired people monthly farmers market outings with caring companions.
• $50,000 – Funds a full year of Market Match, helping hundreds of low-income families a ord fresh produce while bolstering local farmers at 40 markets.
• $135,000 – Sustains weekly food deliveries, including prepared meals, for 300 homebound households across Los Angeles.
To end hunger and promote healthy eating in LA County using public policy advocacy, education and appropriate direct service.”
We all need to eat more fruits and vegetables to be healthier and protect ourselves from diabetes, cancer, and obesity. But it’s hard to buy fresh produce when you don’t have enough money. Market Match provides free coupons to buy fruits and vegetables that make it easier for thousands of Southern Californians to eat healthier. Through this program, people who receive CalFresh (food stamps) can receive up to $15 in coupons per participating farmer’s markets. Coupons can only be used on fruits, vegetables and some nuts from certified growers.
Tamborello Executive Director
Delivering Life-Saving Aid When California Burns
For nearly 80 years, Direct Relief has stood ready to meet the cascading challenges of global disasters, delivering life-saving medicines, supplies, and funding to people in dire need in more than 100 countries. From its modest 1948 beginnings in a Montecito home, the nonprofit has become one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid organizations, navigating the toughest environments worldwide. From rushing cystic fibrosis medicines into war-torn Ukraine to routing cholera kits through shuttered ports in Haiti, Direct Relief has also never lost sight of its local roots, continuing to respond to emergencies here at home.
Its history of response to California wildfires stretches back decades, from the 1964 Coyote Canyon Fire to the 1990 Painted Cave Fire, when the organization coordinated around the clock with hospitals and clinics to deliver burn creams, sterile dressings, and critical medicines within hours. Today, California’s wildfire seasons are longer, hotter, and more destructive than ever, testing the communities in their path and entire regions with smoke, power grid failures, and surges in respiratory illnesses. In response, Direct Relief has scaled its support to meet this reality across the state.
After the 2017 Thomas Fire, the organization distributed thousands of N95 masks, emergency medicines, and financial aid to impacted clinics. During the 2018 Camp Fire, California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire, it shipped urgently requested medicines and provided targeted grant funding to clinics across Northern California. And in the first
“Dsix months following the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, Direct Relief has delivered $12.7 million in medical and financial assistance, including 140,000+ N95 respirators, trauma counseling for students returning to school, rental support for displaced families, and funding to keep safety-net clinics operating under extreme strain.
“Every wildfire creates its own public health emergency,” says Dean Axelrod, Direct Relief’s vice president of partnerships and philanthropy. “People lose their homes, but they also lose access to medicines, safe air, power, and medical care. Direct Relief’s goal is to close those gaps fast so clinics can stay open, patients can access necessary medicines, and families have what they need to recover.”
Direct Relief’s wildfire response goes beyond reacting. The organization now pre-positions critical medicines and medical supplies across California so healthcare providers can continue caring for their patients and communities when wildfires strike, clinics are equipped with solar-and-battery microgrids to safeguard refrigerated medicines, and facilities are kept open.
Direct Relief remains headquartered in Santa Barbara, just miles from the Montecito pantry where it began. But its work in California carries lessons and innovations that serve communities worldwide, shaping its ability to respond to complex emergencies with speed, precision, and trust.
irect Relief’s grant enabled AltaMed to respond quickly during the Eaton Fire, providing evacuees with urgent medical care, behavioral health support, and essential supplies. By strengthening our readiness and supporting mobile services at the Pasadena Convention Center, Direct Relief helped us care for displaced patients, community members, and sta . This partnership not only amplified our immediate response but also reinforced long-term recovery and resilience, ensuring compassion translated into action when it mattered most.”
– Sharlene Risdon-Jackson Vice President, AltaMed Foundation
Maximizing Impact
Nearly every cent donated to Direct Relief goes directly to delivering aid. None is used for fundraising, which is fully covered by a generous bequest.
By leveraging in-kind donations of medicines and supplies, the organization amplifies each donor dollar’s impact, delivering more aid than cash alone could achieve. Direct Relief’s 100% fundraising e ciency ratings from Forbes and Charity Navigator testify to its accountability.
Direct Relief was also the first U.S.based organization to ever receive the 2025 Seoul Peace Prize – one of the world’s most prestigious honors for humanitarian achievement – for its unwavering commitment to delivering lifesaving medical aid in disasters, conflict zones, and underserved communities.
Direct Relief
www.directrelief.org (805) 964-4767
Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people a ected by poverty or disasters by mobilizing and providing essential medical resources needed for their care.
KEY SUPPORTERS
Emma Carrasco
Adam Cooper & Melissa Fleisher
Mary M. Dwyer
Henrietta Holsman Fore & Richard Fore
Heitham Hassoun
Mark & Kim Linehan
Jay McGonigle
Harry & Jacqueline McMahon
Annalisa Pizzarello & Robert Conway
Marla Salmon
Mark & Lynda Schwartz
Perry Siatis
Laurie Siegel & Joseph Nosofsky
Tom Strickland
Thomas & Heather Sturgess
Elizabeth A. Toro & Mark Hauser
The Many Ways to Give...
Contact: Dean Axelrod Vice President, Partnerships & Philanthropy (805) 879-4932
DAxelrod@DirectRelief.org
For the Arts
“Creativity takes courage.”
– Henri Matisse
Conversations: Dr. Aaron Celestian
as told to Tim Buckley
Pocketful of Xtals, Real-World Impact: How L.A.’s
Natural History Museum Turns Mineral Science into Clean Soil, Public Health, and Sustainable Energy
Dr. Aaron Celestian didn’t always envision himself in a lab coat. In fact, as a teenager, he was laser-focused on becoming a professional golfer. A self-described “golf nerd,” he had the talent to go far – until an unexpected detour in a college classroom set him on a very different path. Celestian enrolled in a crystallography course and was instantly captivated. “Wow, this is amazing,” he remembers thinking. “I can do physics, I can do chemistry, I can do math – all while studying these beautiful crystal forms and shapes and understanding nature.” The intricate lattice of minerals hooked him in a way the fairway never could. He dove in headfirst, learning everything he could about crystals and discovering that mineral science pulled together many disciplines. His undergraduate advisor was a mathematician, his graduate advisor a chemist – an interdisciplinary foundation that set him apart from traditional geologists. Celestian went on to earn a Ph.D. in geology and became a professor. But after nearly a decade in academia, he grew uncomfortable with the status quo. At Western Kentucky University, he watched oil and gas companies eagerly recruiting his geology students – not exactly the future he wanted for them or himself. “I really don’t want to train people to do that kind of stuff. That’s not my passion,” he says. Seeking more socially impactful work, he left tenure to direct an advanced materials lab, applying mineral science to real-world problems. That jump opened new doors: he even received a job offer from pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. But at the same time, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA) came calling – and with it, a chance to rewrite the rulebook.
In 2016, Dr. Celestian joined NHMLA as its Curator of Mineral Sciences, trading the corporate lab for the
Curator of Mineral Sciences at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Dr. Celestian has pioneered the use of crystals and minerals to solve real-world problems—from cleaning toxic soils in East L.A. to developing life-saving pharmaceuticals and sustainable energy solutions.
museum’s halls of gems. It was an unconventional choice, but the appeal was undeniable: the museum gave him carte blanche to pursue any research that intrigued him, backed by one of the world’s finest and largest mineral collections. “The job description [said] develop a research program about anything that I want…” So that’s what
he did. In just a few years, one man’s passion for crystals has blossomed into bold solutions for community health, environmental cleanup, and climate technology.
Dr. Celestian’s work has ranged from cleansing toxic lead out of East L.A. neighborhoods to harvesting lithium from wastewater brine for sustainable energy. He’s even created a life-saving drug (drink) that pulls excess potassium from the bloodstream. Below, Dr. Celestian tells us how his crystal innovations are tackling some of today’s most urgent challenges. (And don’t miss his podcast – aptly titled “Pocketful of Xtals” – where he breaks down the latest in mineral science for the layperson.)
Tim Buckley: For those of us who don’t know the field, can you explain how crystals or minerals can be used to solve problems like pollution or health issues?
Dr. Aaron Celestian: Sure. It all comes down to a principle called molecular sieving. Think of a simple kitchen flour sifter – the mesh has holes that only let fine flour through and keep the clumps out. I design crystals that work on the same idea, but at the atomic scale. If you make a crystal with pores (holes) that are just the right size, it will let one specific kind of atom in and exclude the others. So if we want to remove a toxic element like lead or cesium from soil or water, we find or design a mineral with pores tuned to capture that element and ignore everything else. The trick is finding a mineral that only grabs that one atom and leaves all the good stuff behind – that’s why it can be difficult.
I take it a step further by essentially adding a trap door at the molecular level. When the target atom goes into the crystal’s pore, it pushes on a little molecular lever that closes a door behind it. The atom gets locked inside the crystal cage and can’t come back out. For something like lead in soil, that’s exactly what we want – the lead is trapped permanently and taken out of play, biologically speaking. If a person or animal accidentally swallowed those lead-laden crystals, they’d just pass through the body and carry the lead out with them. On the other hand, for something valuable like lithium, we do want to retrieve it eventually. So in those cases we design the material a little differently – the crystal will still selectively absorb lithium, but when we add a specific extra chemical, it triggers the crystal to open up and release the lithium on command. In a nutshell, it’s like having a sieve that can trap what you don’t want, or collect what you do want, and hold onto it until you’re ready to release it.
A naturally occurring mineral with microscopic pores, stellarite is one of the zeolites tested for its ability to bind toxic metals. Its crystal structure functions as a “molecular sieve,” selectively capturing harmful atoms like lead while leaving beneficial elements untouched.
Collected soil samples undergo rigorous lab analysis to confirm that zeolites are locking away lead atoms. This verification step demonstrates that the contamination has been effectively neutralized without removing or harming the soil’s natural components.
TB: One of your recent projects tackled a very local problem – lead contamination in East Los Angeles. How did the museum end up involved in cleaning up lead in the soil, and what exactly did you do?
AC: That came about in a pretty roundabout way. It actually started with an artist. She was leading a community art project funded by a Getty grant, aimed at helping residents in East L.A. deal with soil contaminated by lead (from old industrial pollution). She wanted to use natural materials somehow, but didn’t know how to start. By chance, she came on a tour of our museum and I was asked to talk about some of my work – including a project I’d done in Fukushima, Japan, dealing with radioactive cesium in soil. As soon as she heard that, she said, “Oh my gosh, this is exactly what we want to do.” We basically teamed up on the spot. That collaboration was absolutely critical – scientists don’t go out into the
community and say, “Hey, I can fix your problem,” out of the blue. But through the artist and her project, we connected with residents who wanted to work with us to learn more about how to address this issue.
Then it took about a year of research and testing to find the right mineral for the job. We had a long list of requirements: it had to be cheap, nontoxic, easy to use, easy to apply, and abundantly available, because we’re talking about treating entire yards and neighborhoods. That’s a tall order! We eventually identified a type of zeolite mineral that fit the bill. We even found a mining company that excavates this zeolite, and they were so on board with the project that they donated about four
“People sometimes think museums are just old, dusty boxes of artifacts, but that’s far from the truth. We’re actually on the cutting edge of science.”
Exploring the Boulby Underground Laboratory in northern England, Dr. Celestian collaborates on international research into new mineral materials. The deep mine environment provides unique conditions to test crystal applications for everything from clean energy to planetary science.
tons of it to the museum for us to use. We worked with local families and basically acted like gardeners applying a new soil treatment… a light dusting on top of the soil. The story actually made the front page of the L.A. Times, with a photo of us broadcasting this mineral dust across a yard.
We kept testing the soil and made sure the lead was being locked up by the crystals. It was. The lead’s still in the soil (we didn’t physically remove it), but it’s been chemically “taken out of action” – bound up in the crystal so plants or kids can’t absorb it. And we saw no negative side effects. Now that word is getting out, I’ve started working with other partners on similar ideas – for example, I’m talking with a cement company about using this mineral in concrete, and we’ve begun helping farmers as far away as Trinidad and Tobago use minerals to reduce cadmium and lead uptake in their crops. It’s exciting to see an L.A. museum project ripple out globally.
TB: Speaking of turning pollutants into something useful, you’ve also developed a crystal for lithium extraction – essentially mining lithium from wastewater brine. How does that work, and what’s the goal?
AC: The lithium project is one of my favorites. The material we’re using is actually based on a gemstone –a mineral called spinel. Spinel is the crystal structure of some famous rubies and sapphires (like the British crown jewels). We modified it chemically so it’s no longer a pretty ruby red; it’s jet black. But it kept that same crystal structure, and the amazing thing is it spontaneously absorbs lithium. You just put this crystal into water, and it will scavenge lithium ions out of the solution – and it’s very selective, it really only grabs lithium and not the other ions. It also works fast, which is a nice bonus.
Now, if you put it in ordinary seawater, it would pull out lithium (lithium is naturally present in seawater in tiny amounts). But where this gets really exciting is pairing it with desalination plants. Here in California, desalination plants take in a huge volume of seawater and produce fresh water, and they spit out a super-concentrated brine as waste. That brine is literally a gold mine of metals. All the minerals in the seawater get left behind in a much higher concentration. If we can process that brine before they dump it back into the ocean, we could extract valuable elements like lithium and prevent some pollution. It’s a win-win: economically beneficial (you get lithium, which is in high demand for batteries) and environmentally ben-
On the ground in East Los Angeles, Dr. Celestian’s team applies zeolite minerals to lead-contaminated yards. Acting like molecular cages, the crystals permanently trap toxic lead in soil, protecting families while leaving the environment otherwise intact.
eficial (you’re not returning as many heavy metals back to the ocean). We can use our crystals to clean that water and recover the lithium at the same time.
To get the lithium back out of the crystal, we use a simple trick of chemistry. We’ve found that pushing carbon dioxide through the material – essentially bathing it in a carbonated solution – will make the crystal release the lithium it captured. In the lab we capture CO2 from the air and dissolve it in water to form a weak carbonic acid; flushing that through the crystal knocks the lithium back out. The bonus is that we’re sequestering CO2 in the process (turning it into benign carbonate). So overall, the energy and carbon footprint of this lithium-harvesting method is much smaller than traditional lithium mining or evaporation ponds. To me it feels like a best-of-bothworlds scenario – we’re taking something viewed as waste and turning it into a resource, while also cleaning up the environment. Now, I’m an ideas and materials guy; I can’t scale this up to industrial levels on my own. So I’m working with outside partners – companies, government agencies – to hopefully make it a reality on a large scale.
TB: On the health front, one of your crystal discoveries has already become a life-saving pharmaceutical. I’m talking about the new potassium-binding drug that can prevent heart attacks – the one now stocked in ERs and ambulances. What is that, and how does it help people?
AC: Yes! That’s a potassium-regulating crystal we characterized – it’s now an FDA-approved drug called Lokelma (sodium zirconium cyclosilicate) for treating hyperkalemia, which is high potassium levels in the blood. In fact, I was at a drugstore recently and saw Lokelma on the shelf behind the pharmacist – that was a proud moment. I’m still under some NDA restrictions so I can’t go into the exact formulation, but essentially it’s the same idea we’ve been talking about: a molecular crystal designed to selectively absorb potassium from the bloodstream. It works extremely fast, so it can serve as a rescue drug in emergency situations (like when someone’s potassium spikes to dangerous levels). They formulated it as a powder you drink – I was told it’s chocolate-flavored, believe it or not – and once the minerals enter your gastrointestinal tract, they start pulling potassium out of your blood. The potassium gets captured by the crystal and then the whole complex just passes through your system and exits through your kidneys – you basically pee it out.
This is hugely important for patients because too much potassium in the blood can be deadly. Potassium is critical for muscle function – including your heart muscle. If your potassium is too high, it can cause your heart to go into arrhythmia or even stop (cardiac arrest) without warning. That’s why hyperkalemia is such a concern in
kidney disease and other conditions. This drug sieves up the potassium: it grabs the excess so your levels come back to normal, and it won’t remove too much because it reaches a balance point (equilibrium) and just stops at a safe level. It’s literally saving lives by preventing heart attacks and cardiac deaths in patients with high potassium. For me, it was the first time I applied my geology knowledge to a health science problem, and seeing it go from the lab to ambulances and hospitals has been incredibly satisfying.
TB: Your work really illustrates how a museum can be a hub for real-world problem-solving. You’re based in a museum, but you’re collaborating with universities, companies, community groups – even artists. How does working at a museum enable this, compared to a traditional academic or industry setting?
AC: There’s often a disconnect – academics don’t always show how cool and applicable science can be in solving everyday problems. Museums can step in and fill that gap. Here at the Natural History Museum, we’re evolving constantly and we’re very interdisciplinary. I might be working with dinosaur fossils one day and new mineral materials the next. We have experts in zoology, paleontology, mineralogy all under one roof, and we cross-pollinate ideas. It’s not siloed at all. That creates an environment where we can address new kinds of questions and careers that are emerging out there in the world. As the job market evolves, a museum like ours can show young people: hey, here are some amazing things you can do in science – even things that didn’t exist as a “field”
Trials reveal that plants grown in zeolite-treated soils thrive compared to those in untreated, contaminated soils. By immobilizing lead and cadmium, zeolites safeguard both food crops and human health, demonstrating the minerals’ role in sustainable agriculture.
when I was in school. We’re not stuck teaching out of the same textbooks year after year; we’re showcasing the cutting edge, in real time, in a way that’s accessible.
People sometimes think museums are just old, dusty boxes of artifacts, but that’s far from the truth. We’re actually on the cutting edge of science – just without the pressure to churn a profit like industry or the pressure to publish esoteric papers to get tenure like academia. We can pursue projects that have real-world impact and also communicate them to the public in engaging ways.
The museum has given me freedom to explore and a platform to connect. I’m working with everyone from local teachers and artists to engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. (True story: we have proposals to help analyze samples from Mars and even to design new drills and microscopes for space missions.) We’re showing that a museum can be more than a collection of displays – it can be a community hub where science actually happens and where anyone can get involved.
TB: All this groundbreaking work doesn’t happen in a vacuum. How do donors and supporters factor in? Specifically, what is the Gem & Mineral Council I’ve heard about, and what role does it play in your research?
AC: The Gem & Mineral Council is absolutely essential to what we do. It’s basically a group of museum supporters who are passionate about mineral science and want to be part of it. They work with me – even directly in some cases – to help push forward our research, and in return they get to enjoy special content and behind-thescenes access to some of our most exciting work. Practically speaking, their contributions fund a lot of critical needs. For instance, they help us grow our mineral collection, keeping it world-class by acquiring new specimens that are important for research or dazzling pieces for our exhibit hall. Acquiring a rare mineral sample can be expensive, so having donor support there is huge. They also support our educational and outreach programs. We create fun public programs around gems and minerals – from mineral ID days to showing off meteorites – and the Council’s funding helps make those possible. Importantly, their donations help support student researchers and interns in the mineral sciences department. I currently have a few students working with me (some from local community colleges), and being able to provide stipends or equipment for them often comes down to donor-funded resources. In fact, the X-ray dif-
Developed from the spinel crystal structure (best known for sapphires and rubies), this modified mineral selectively captures lithium from brine waste streams. Beyond enabling cleaner battery production, the process doubles as carbon capture by using CO2 to release lithium back from the crystal lattice.
fraction machine we use – a crucial piece of equipment for discovering and analyzing new minerals – was originally purchased by a donor about 15 years ago, and it’s now aging. We’re looking to fund a new one, and that kind of big-ticket item is something grant funding alone might not cover. Donor support can make it happen.
Beyond the dollars and instruments, I truly think of Council members as thought partners. They often have perspectives from business, medicine, or other fields and they challenge me with new ideas or applications I might not have considered. It’s a journey we invite people to join – you don’t have to be a scientist to make a difference here, you just need that passion to learn and support discovery.
To learn more about Dr. Aaron Celestian’s work – or to support the Natural History Museum’s mineral science research and community initiatives through the Gem & Mineral Council – please visit the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s website: nhm.org
Aaron with his son Oliver
Help Young Poets Find Their Voice
In the face of natural disasters in Los Angeles and lingering social anxiety, poetry has become a refuge for students. Meg Hamill, executive director of California Poets in the Schools (CalPoets), explains the organization’s mission: to establish a statewide network of professional poets who engage with local communities, empowering young voices through literary arts. Founded in 1964, CalPoets reaches K-12 students across California through literary arts residencies that integrate reading, writing, and performance.
Hamill emphasizes CalPoets’ focus on fostering literacy while allowing students to explore their lives and confront real-world challenges. Serving 1,500 youth annually across 20 schools in predominantly marginalized neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, the program addresses pressing issues like ecological disasters and mental health isolation. “Poetry allows young people to find their voice, feel what they need to talk about, and then say it out loud,” Hamill says. Classes involve sharing work aloud, creating a “safe container” for empathy and listening.
CalPoets stands out by employing local, professional poets as teaching artists. These experts introduce model texts from renowned poets, often local or reflecting the community’s diversity, as stepping stones for students to learn techniques such as metaphor, simile, and personification. These residencies, spanning five to 12 weeks during school hours or in extracurricular settings like libraries, culminate in capstone events where families have the opportunity to witness performances. Additionally, publications are distributed as community gifts, and an annual statewide anthology is published.
Amanda Gorman, the inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate, embodies the program’s potential. In 2013-2014, she honed her craft in a Saturday workshop and she has been published in their statewide anthologies and presented at their annual conference. CalPoets supports Poetry Out Loud competitions and youth poet laureate programs, creating a pipeline from student to professional.
As local arts funding dwindles due to contracting California Arts Council budgets and resource allocation to
basic needs, CalPoets faces challenges. Foundations are merging arts grants with general funds, pitting poetry against homelessness aid. Despite this, the organization aims to double its L.A. presence in five years, expanding to more schools amid growing demand from eager poets, educators, and students.
In a remarkable story from a San Fernando Middle School residency, a seventh-grade newcomer from Mexico, who was illiterate in any language and still learning English, dictated a poem in Spanish about his experiences and trauma. When the principal acknowledged his poem in a published book, the student was visibly overcome with pride and emotion.
“This type of experience and recognition really can change a kid’s life,” Hamill says. Through CalPoets, not only is literacy fostered, but isolation is also transformed into connection, one verse at a time.
"California Poets in the Schools is hard work, bold work, heart work — much-needed dedication for personal, curricular, and community growth. What would poets do without California Poets in the Schools, what would teachers and children do without California Poets in the Schools? And the parents, what would they do with less poetry and song in their children’s lives at home?"
– Juan Felipe Herrera Poet Laureate of the United States, 2015-2017
Professional Poet-Teachers spark literacy from the inside out – empowering students to discover the joy, creativity, and fun in writing.
Help Catalyze Creativity and Curiosity Through Poetry
California Poets in the Schools is seeking your partnership to sustain and expand their vital work amidst shrinking arts funding. A $5,000 gift will support a full residency for professional poets in an L.A. school, where they will engage with 50 students. Through writing about real-world challenges, these poets will foster literacy, empathy, and validation among the students. With $100,000, they can double their impact, expanding from 20 to 40 schools in marginalized neighborhoods over five years. Additionally, they will publish more student anthologies as community gifts. Your support will transform young voices, similar to Amanda Gorman’s, into empowered futures.
California Poets in the Schools develops and empowers a multicultural network of independent Poet-Teachers, who bring the many benefits of poetry to youth throughout the state. Their vision is to enable youth in every California county to discover, cultivate, and amplify their own creative voices through reading, analyzing, writing, performing, and publishing poetry.
AIR PEACE
There is as much peace in the world as air. except you can’t see air so you don’t know how much peace there is.
Erika Hashimoto, written in 4th grade
From the classroom to the stage, California Poets in the Schools helps youth turn words into power.
California Poets in the Schools www.cpits.org (415) 221-4201
Contact: Meg Hamill Executive Director (415) 221-4201 meg@cpits.org
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Global Research and Public Wonder in L.A.’s Backyard
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) has been a cornerstone of culture in Los Angeles since 1913. Still, the iconic displays and exhibits barely scratch the surface of the collections, programs, and research pursuits of this iconic institution. “We have over 35 million objects in our collection,” says Paul Bessire, the Museum’s chief advancement o cer. “Those range from several hundred million years old fossils, to a dress that belonged to early silent film legend Mary Pickford.”
From Triceratops to Tinseltown, NHMLAC’s paleontological and cultural riches intermingle in a one-of-a-kind center for science and research. With the November 2024 opening of NHM Commons – the Museum’s new wing and community hub in Exposition Park – NHMLAC’s decades-long mission of bringing the public into the science has reached a new benchmark. “A unique aspect of NHMLAC is that not only are we science-focused, but we are 100% engaged with our community,” Bessire says. “Admission to NHM Commons is always free and features some of our newest wonders: Gnatalie the Green Dino, and Barbara Carrasco’s stunning mural, L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective.”
Bessire explains the Museum’s genuinely twofold mission. “NHMLAC’s renowned research institutions and community spaces are featured in the Natural History Museum in Exposition
Park, and La Brea Tar Pits in Hancock Park. We engage over a million visitors annually, o ering free and low-cost access for our exhibitions and education programs. Every year, hundreds of thousands of students, families, and lifelong learners engage with our exhibits, our community programs, and – yes – with our scientists,” Bessire says. “This is made possible through the support of our donors.”
The public is often largely unaware of the critical research being pursued there, which has for decades attracted an international community of visiting scientists… “Our scientists conduct essential research, addressing challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss,” Bessire says.
Recent federal retraction of scientific research monies acutely a ected NMHLAC’s UNLAB program, which supports young postbaccalaureate scientists from underserved communities. “Our student cohort completed two years of this program, and we lost funding for the third.”
Another signature program, the Mobile Museum, expressly reaches out to young learners whose circumstances may otherwise preclude self-discovery as a future scientist. “The Mobile Museum goes to the school and stays for a week. And 99% of these visits are to Title I schools in LAUSD… We’re actively seeking support for this program to
continue bringing the Mobile Museum to schools and students in need,” Bessire says. “We are determined to help students become scientists, and deepen the public’s connection to stewarding our natural world.”
"Bringing my own children to the museum was a cherished experience, and now seeing new generations discover the same sense of wonder, whether inside the museum or through the mobile museum reaching children across L.A. County, fills me with hope."
– Charlene Dimas-Peinado Member
of NHMLAC’s Board of Trustees and Governors
NHM Commons.
Discovering Nature, Science, and Culture
• $10,000 supports the Museum’s internship programs, empowering diverse young people to explore science and education careers.
• $25,000 brings the Mobile Museum to an under-resourced school for a week.
• $50,000 helps preserve the Museum’s 35 million specimens for generations to come.
• $100,000 ensures the Museum can respond in times of crisis with access, community support, and vital research (after the recent devastating fires, the Museum opened its doors to 12,705 visitors in one week, free of charge).
• $250,000+ creates a legacy through NHM Commons: a new 75,000-square-foot hub o ering free public space, exhibitions, and performances.
• The Hildegarde Howard Society – planned giving through your estate creates a lasting legacy at the Museum.
The mission of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds.
The Many Ways to Give...
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County nhm.org
Where Young Voices Find Their Power Through Writing
Step into the Time Travel Marts in Echo Park or Mar Vista, and you’ll find yourself surrounded by quirky items like “robot milk” and “anti-cloning fluid” – time travel essentials. But behind these whimsical storefronts lies something far more powerful: 826LA’s mission to amplify the voices of Los Angeles youth through the transformative art of writing. “The Time Travel Marts signal to entering students that, here, creativity reigns supreme,” says Jaime Balboa, 826LA’s executive director.
“Adults don’t listen to young people enough,” Balboa says. 826LA gives students an opportunity not only to discover their own voices, but to hone them and have them published. “Publication provides validation for students while introducing their work into broader discussions,” he continues. This philosophy drives everything the organization does, from after-school tutoring to innovative field trip programs that turn every child into a published author.
Now celebrating its 20th year, 826LA serves over 8,000 students annually – 90% young people of color, 72% from lowincome backgrounds, and 22% English language learners. The organization operates free writing labs in Echo Park and Mar Vista, plus free writing rooms in high schools in underserved communities across the city.
Students thrive in programs like their signature field trip experience, where kids collaborate on shared stories under the fictional pressure of Professor Barnacle, a cranky boss who demands each student publish their own book by lunchtime. By afternoon, they’re holding actual published books complete with their author photos and bios, making them legitimate published authors.
At the cornerstone of all of 826LA’s programs is the knowledge that a strong writing program fosters academic success, personal growth, and career readiness.
Their impact can be seen in the snapshots of their students’ trajectories. Like Luis, who found 826LA while a student in high school, who received crucial help with college essays. He’s now a college graduate working successfully at a large real estate development company.
Their free after-school programs serve hundreds of kids annually, providing homework help and creating what Balboa calls a “third space” between home and school, complete with adult role models. The organization also supported 641 students through workshop experiences last year, covering everything from ethical AI use in writing to art-inspired creativity at venues like the Hammer Museum.
Balboa, a trained English teacher from Michigan, was drawn to 826LA because it combines his love of writing with a joyful teaching approach that avoids the “red ink” mentality he disliked in traditional education. Instead, 826LA celebrates student voice and creativity.
"Students in the 826LA programs measurably improve their writing skills. But it is much more than that: By learning how to organize and express their thoughts and feelings, they also build self-confidence and their understanding of themselves and the world. 826LA’s field trip, tutoring, in-school, and college access programs help over 8,000 children each year to find their voice and move with courage and determination through today’s challenging times."
– Karen Van Kirk 826LA Board President and Volunteer
Your Investment in 826LA Creates Immediate Impact:
Individual donors contribute close to 40% of 826’s annual funding, making community support essential to helping connect students with the power of writing.
• $50,000 helps pave the way for more than 3,000 of L.A.’s future leaders by supporting 826LA’s In-School Writers’ Rooms and college access events. Donors at this level have a naming opportunity to honor you, your family, or anyone you would like.
• $25,000 fuels the creativity of 2,000 of tomorrow’s great writers, powering a year of field trips.
• $20,000 prints young voices, by publishing another 20 student books.
• $10,000 keeps time travel alive, supporting 17,000 visitors a year at the Time Travel Marts.
• $5,000 sparks 2,500 young writers’ imaginations, ensuring every student leaves a field trip with a published book and helps provide bus scholarships to those in need.
• $1,000 empowers 50 students to begin their storytelling journey with supplies, mentorship, and encouragement.
826LA www.826LA.org (213) 413-3388
Contact: Christie Thomas Director of Development (323) 389-7248 christie@826la.org
826LA is dedicated to unlocking and cultivating the creative power of writing for students ages 6 to 18, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.
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KEY SUPPORTERS
Karisma Foundation
The Eisner Foundation
Snap Foundation
Karen Van Kirk
Sarah Rosenwald Varet
David Ullendorf
Cisca Brouwer
Ben Au
Scott Boxenbaum
Iman Farrior
Joe Ferencz
Scott Ginsburg
Susan Ko
Dave Eggers
Vera R. Campbell Foundation
Deborah Groening-Rother Foundation
The Elizabeth R. Koch Foundation
The Many Ways to Give...
MUSIC SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
Connecting Communities Through Music
of after-school programming beginning in 2nd grade and extending throughout their elementary education.
Eight-year-old Valentine walked out of his summer music class in tears. He’d missed the first day, and watching his classmates confidently navigate the drums while he struggled left him overwhelmed. But at Neighborhood Music School, no student is left behind. Teaching artist Matthew Hernandez followed him out, gently reminding the boy of the message printed on his own sweater: “Enjoy Life.” By the next day, with Hernandez’s support and musical guidance, Valentine had learned three instruments and was eagerly preparing for Friday’s performance.
This is the transformative power of music that has resonated from the charming Victorian house in Boyle Heights that houses the Neighborhood Music School. Founded in 1914 by composer and philanthropist Carrie Stone Freeman with a $1,000 gift and a belief that lives change through music, Neighborhood Music School began as a settlement house serving immigrant communities, offering both English instruction to help newcomers learn
the language of their new home, and affordable music lessons to share the music of their journeys.
Today, Executive Director Karen Louis leads an organization that has grown far beyond its historic walls. “Community Connection is really that piece that we are constantly exploring here,” Louis explains. “It starts here in Boyle Heights, but it has also reached out” to encompass an extraordinary network of programs.
The school now serves 2,338 students annually – 425 taking one-on-one lessons at the Victorian house, and 1,969 through outreach programs that stretch from PUENTE Learning Center down the street to Long Beach Unified School District. And their high-quality instruction is provided at low or no-cost. Their innovative partnerships include collaborating with USC’s Bionic Ear Lab to serve the hearing loss community and working with the John Tracy Center’s preschool for children with varying levels of hearing impairment.
For Matthew Hernandez, the school represents the full circle of community
investment. A former student who received scholarship assistance as a teenager from a single-mother household, he returned as an intern and now teaches the Latin Jazz Ensemble, bringing the sounds of salsa and cumbia to reflect the neighborhood’s rich cultural tapestry. “This is the music we’re going to share,” he says, “and if we can all get involved with music, somehow we’re going to understand each other a little bit better.”
The school’s impact extends beyond musical education. During recent crises –from wildfire evacuations to immigration enforcement – the Victorian house has served as a sanctuary and civic anchor, hosting the “Carrie Stone Freeman Store” (a play on “free-man”) providing basic necessities to families in need.
With a $2.5 million Peterson Foundation grant supporting expansion plans, Neighborhood Music School is preparing to replicate its open-arms, communitycentered model in new locations, carrying forward Freeman’s vision that music inspires community engagement and connection, one note at a time.
“Growing up in Pasadena, my mother, Zandra Hanson, raised our family with music as a core part of our upbringing and education. She was an accomplished and dedicated cellist, playing right up to her final weeks. In her final days, she shared that she wanted to make a lasting impact on the place that began her lifelong love of music: The Neighborhood Music School. To honor her legacy, we established the Zandra Hanson Memorial Scholarship in Cello, and to ensure that generations of students learn to embrace music with love, dedication, joy, and connection, I joined the Board of this historic organization and have began my own journey with Neighborhood Music School, strengthening the legacy, impact, and futures of those we are proud to serve.”
– Bruce Gorelick Treasurer, NMS Board of Directors
2nd and 3rd grade students from Little Lake City School District showcase their violin skills through the Immersive Music Challenge, an initiative that will provide 4 hours
Orchestrating Hope
Your investment in Neighborhood Music School creates lasting change in underserved communities. A $1,000 donation – matching founder Carrie Stone Freeman’s original gift – covers one student’s entire year of lessons. For $5,000, you can sponsor six weeks of tuition-free classes at Art in the Park, an outreach initiative bringing music directly to Northeast L.A. families. A $10,000 contribution fully underwrites a tuition-free ensemble, ensuring that economic barriers never silence a student’s musical voice. Every donation helps expand this 111-year legacy of connecting communities through the universal language of music.
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The Coburn Foundation
Find Your Light Foundation
Ahmanson Foundation
Ella Fitzgerald Foundation
Clarence C. Heller Foundation
City of Los Angeles Dept. of Cultural Affairs
Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture
The Mawardi Foundation
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts
The Perenchio Foundation
The Al Sherman Foundation
Vernon CommUNITY Fund
Neighborhood Music School
www.neighborhoodmusic.org
(323) 268-0762
Contact: Karen Louis Executive Director (323) 268-0762 Ext. 7 karen@neighborhoodmusic.org
NMS Los Angeles
Community gathers at NMS for a Latin Jazz Ensemble Porch Concert.
The impact of music is everywhere! NMS students learn about careers in music behind the scenes at Classical California KUSC with an on-air visit with Host Alan Chapman.
Youth Developm
“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
– Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Conversations: Gail Schenbaum
as told to The Giving List Staff
In One Instant, This Hollywood Producer Became a Dedicated Philanthropist
Gail Schenbaum had a long and storied career in Hollywood for over 20 years. During that time, she developed and produced award-winning television shows and films for notable studios such as Warner Brothers, Columbia, Universal, Walt Disney, Paramount, and 20th Century Fox, just to name a few.
She has donated regularly to charitable organizations that seek to end homelessness and food insecurity and
to those that help to uplift education for all.
But a deeply personal experience catapulted Schenbaum from philanthropist into a founder of a nonprofit herself. One that would ultimately resonate with both teenagers and families, and combine Schenbaum’s love of education, business, and philanthropy.
In this new role, Schenbaum became the co-founder and president of the nonprofit, In One Instant, a
Gail Schenbaum receiving the prestigious Peace of Heart Award from griefHaven, with Susan Whitmore, founder and CEO, and Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, board president.
“To be on the other side of it, to be the recipient of the giving, has given me a profound understanding on a very deep level of what philanthropy is all about. To experience firsthand the love, care, and selflessness that people exhibit when touched by tragedy continually brings tears to my eyes and fills my heart. I feel such gratitude.”
peer-driven teen safe driving program that has impacted over four million students in over 4,800 high schools. She also became the co-founder of Umergency, a health and safety app for college students and their families, which won the 2018 Media Excellence Award for Best in Health Tech.
Here’s our conversation with Ms. Schenbaum:
The Giving List: You have a lifetime teaching credential and a long list of successful entertainment credits. What made you pivot into your newest ventures that combine philanthropy with education and business?
Gail Schenbaum: I think a lot of people who start nonprofits do it because of a personal experience, and mine was the same. When my daughters were in high school, within a two-year period there were three fatal car crashes involving teens. We attended three funerals in those two years. The community – friends, parents, families – was devastated over and over again. I wanted to change that… It felt like the right time in my life to do purpose-driven work. That was my “aha” moment… I did some research to find out how prevalent teen car crashes were, and I discovered that nine teens died every single day in crashes. That was staggering to me. And while things have improved since then, it’s now around eight teen drivers dying every day (in 2023 there were about 3,048 teen driver fatalities)… I felt I could help change that. With my background in education, I started developing a plan. I realized that when you’re a kid,
nobody wants to be lectured by an adult – you’re going to listen more if you hear the message from a peer. So, I decided to create a peer-driven program. I launched it in Los Angeles and got friends from the entertainment industry to help… We ultimately built a program that included a short film (which we keep updating) and supplemental videos. Drawing on my teaching experience, I reached out to educators and safety professionals to help develop the curriculum. My vision from the start was a “by teens for teens” program, and that’s exactly what we created.
TGL: How did your previous careers as both a teacher and an entertainment executive prepare you for your role in the nonprofit world?
GS: From my entertainment career, I knew how to produce a show and manage a team to achieve a goal. From my teaching career, I understood how to engage with teens – I love that age group. Teens aren’t set in their ways yet; you can reach them and spark that “aha” moment. Thanks to raising my own kids, I also learned how to really listen to teens and hear what they’re saying. All of that background made creating the program much smoother.
TGL: Rather than just volunteering your time or donating money, you focused on galvanizing change. Why was that the road you took?
GS: I didn’t think enough change was happening with the usual approaches. When I looked around at what programs already existed, most of them involved adults lecturing teens, and I didn’t see a lot of true engagement. I talked to educators to ask why that was. I even went to a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) meeting and asked, “Why aren’t the current programs working? What’s missing?” They basically said, “There’s nothing out there we really like.” So I set out to create something different – something that would truly connect with teens and make an impact, rather than just being another well-intentioned talk that teens might tune out.
TGL: What advice would you give aspiring philanthropists who want to effect change?
GS: I would say: start with what speaks to your heart. Figure out what you care about most and what change you’d love to see, because that passion will drive you.
Also decide if you want to start something of your own, or if you’d rather join and support an existing organization – there’s no single right path… You have to follow both your heart and your head: once you identify the cause that matters to you, do your research. Look at programs you admire, learn from what’s out there. If nothing out there fits the bill, that may be your cue to step up and create the solution yourself.
TGL: Much of your philanthropy – including your original emergency app and now your latest endeavor, In One Instant – focuses on helping teens and by extension their families. Why has this sector been so important to you?
GS: I’ve always felt connected to teens and their families – we just “get” each other. I started my career as a high school teacher at 22, and even though I only taught for a few years (before I felt the pull to go into film and television), that experience stayed with me. Later on, I became a mother to two daughters and was very involved in their school activities. All of that reinforced to me that any program aimed at teens has to truly resonate with them if it’s going to
First responders with In One Instant student leaders at University High School.
work. My mission was to create something that really spoke to them, because if it spoke to them, it could save lives.
TGL: In your opinion, what more should philanthropy be doing to support and uplift teenagers? What’s still missing in the efforts to help the teen sector?
GS: I believe there are several ways philanthropy can better support teens:
• Engage all sectors: Embrace collaboration between corporate social responsibility initiatives and private philanthropy when it comes to helping teens. There are many competing priorities out there, and we need all hands on deck.
• Go beyond academics: Make room for learning opportunities that aren’t purely academic. We need complementary programs that recognize and amplify the youth voice in all types of leadership. Not everything that prepares a teen for life is taught in a classroom, and we should value those other forms of learning.
• Think nationally and locally: Support national organizations that have a local focus. In other words, big-picture programs are great, but they should be adaptable to local communities and realities.
• Listen to teens: Ask what success looks like from the teens’ perspective, and really listen. We should support organizations that elevate youth voices and the lived experiences of young people. Teens know what they need; we just have to include them in the conversation and act on their input.
TGL: What’s on the horizon for you? Are there any new philanthropic programs or initiatives you’re working on now?
GS: Absolutely. Just last year, we branched out with a big in-person event on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Tribal lands unfortunately have some of the worst problems with drinking and driving. In fact, Fremont County (where Wind River is) has one of the highest per-capita rates of teen driving fatalities in the country. Our whole team went out there for a huge day-long safe-driving program. We partnered with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Wyoming Department of Transportation on it, and it was such a moving experience. Now we’re getting a lot of requests from other areas – especially rural communities, which often have very high teen crash death rates – to do similar day-long events. We’re exploring ways to
make that happen. And even in places where we can’t put on a big event, we’re working on getting our program into those schools and communities in whatever format works best.
TGL: How has being a philanthropist impacted your life personally?
GS: It’s given me a very different kind of pride than I got from making a hit TV show or a successful film. This is a deeper, more lasting sense of fulfillment. I feel proud in a way that stays with me, knowing that our work has real meaning and might literally be saving lives. I also hope that by doing this, I can be a role model. Maybe someone else will see what I’ve done and think, “Hey, I can do something like that too. I can make a difference.” Because truly, anyone can find a cause and have an impact if they put their heart into it.
TGL: Sadly, you lost your home in the Palisades Fire, and you ended up seeing philanthropy in action from the other side. What were your observations?
GS: To experience philanthropy from the other side is quite humbling. I donate to many children’s organizations, to nature and the planet, food banks, education, the homeless, the Red Cross, but here I was receiving help and supplies from the Red Cross, YMCA, and funds from a charitable organization to help us move forward.
We escaped the fires with only the clothes we were wearing. The outpouring of love and support from family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers – many of whom quickly put together care packages, clothing, essential supplies – was beautiful. Companies donated many goods and volunteers from far and wide all showed up to do whatever they could to help. To be on the other side of it, to be the recipient of the giving, has given me a profound understanding on a very deep level of what philanthropy is all about. To experience firsthand the love, care, and selflessness that people exhibit when touched by tragedy continually brings tears to my eyes and fills my heart. I feel such gratitude.
A Tree Grows on Skid Row
The Central City East neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles goes by another moniker – one familiar to the public and long considered synonymous with urban hopelessness: Skid Row. In 1979, a Los Angeles Times article exposed the di cult lives of children living in Skid Row, and the piece galvanized social worker Tanya Tull to secure a $5,000 grant and turn a Skid Row warehouse into a childcare facility. That is, she planted something. So began Para Los Niños (PLN). “For the Children.”
Since 1980, Para Los Niños has been a grassroots powerhouse; innovating culturally responsive programs that deliver opportunity to some of Los Angeles’ most marginalized kids and their families through integrated education, wellness support, and advocacy. Poverty and inequity can seem cyclical, inevitable. They are not. Give someone the space to breathe, to locate their own potential – and they will lift themselves like a rocket on a column of flame. It starts with the at-risk children.
“As we’re enrolling a child into one of our centers, schools, or other programs,” says Drew Furedi, PLN’s president
“O ur employees look forward to the AdoptA-Family volunteer project each year. The PLN team identifies families in need of holiday cheer, and because their team is so organized, it’s easy for Disney VoluntEARS to help spread joy and create moments of happiness when families need it most.”
– Mark Pulley Disney VoluntEARS & ESR Programs Manager
and CEO, “we’re identifying how many family members they have, what additional resources they may need – particularly around food insecurity, housing insecurity, mental health referrals. It is the child, yes. But Para Los Niños really is wrapping around the entire family.” What has become clear in PLN’s decades of working with families is that it is di cult for anyone to succeed academically or economically when they are experiencing hunger, discrimination, and the long-term stress of living in under-resourced communities.
Para Los Niños’ beginnings 45 years ago were a kind of emergency triage. Today the nonprofit operates 16 locations across L.A. County, including seven early education centers, two charter schools, and two “Workforce Services” centers focused on high school drop-out prevention and recovery. PLN is also a children’s mental health provider – the only such provider on Skid Row – o ering a host of evidence-based
clinical mental health services.
The ever-growing PLN family works with community-based organizations, city and county agencies, elected o cials, and businesses to fuel the mission. PLN’s leadership program pairs community members’ lived experience with the skills to build collective power and work productively with these entities to make a positive impact in their neighborhoods.
How to fight the illusion of inescapable poverty? You help grow a determined community and provide it the oxygen and sunlight to rise of its own accord. PLN serves 10,000 children, youth, and families annually.
“There still is such a need for the nonprofit sector, public sector, and private donations, philanthropy and supporters,” says Furedi. “To not just stitch together a safety net, but to weave it together so that it’s something that can address all the needs that are out there for these kids.” We provide high-quality academic instruction that keeps babies, preschoolers, and TK-8th grade students intellectually enriched and their families actively engaged. Our wraparound social-emotional education helps to build character and confidence.
From tiny tots to elders, more than 10,000 children, youth, and family members benefit from PLN services across Los Angeles County.
Planting the Seeds for Families to Thrive
• $100 – Provides supplies, uniforms, hygiene products, and more for one of Para Los Niños’ 900 students.
• $500 – Provides supplies for community events supporting connection, family bonding activities, and the de-stigmatization of wellness support.
• $1,000 – Provides transportation services for families to access services and activities.
• $2,500 – Covers the cost of an after-school sta member for one month of tutoring as well as extracurricular support.
• $5,000 – Provides one to two months of emergency support for rent, utility bills, or other urgent needs.
We bring together community residents, local organizations, city and county departments, elected o cials, and businesses, to advocate for more equitable systems for all.
Para Los Niños (PLN) partners with children, youth, and their families through integrated education, wellness, support, and advocacy to address individual and systemic barriers and create pathways to success.
KEY SUPPORTERS
Annenberg Foundation
The Atlas Family Foundation
Gail and George Baril
Andrea and Blake Brown
California Community Foundation
Capital Group Companies
Charitable Foundation
Caruso Family Foundation
Cedars-Sinai
The Carol and James Collins
Foundation
DiCecco Family Foundation
Doris Duke Foundation
The Green Foundation
Madeleine Heil and Sean Petersen
Leonard Hill Charitable Trust
Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles
The Dr. Ruth Milman and Dr. Frederick Schi Foundation
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
Pfa nger Foundation
The Rose Hills Foundation
Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, Los Angeles County, 1st District
Steinmetz Foundation
Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
WHH Foundation
Winebaum Family Foundation
Para Los Niños paralosninos.org
(213) 250-4800
Contact: Christina Mariscal Pasten Managing Director of External A airs (213) 250-4800 Ext. 510 cmariscalpasten@paralosninos.org
By Check: Para Los Ninos
5000 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA, 90027
paralosninos.org/donate
Trusting relationships with highly qualified and compassionate PLN sta members help to create long-term success for our scholars and their families.
The Firehouse Where Futures Are Forged
On a late afternoon in South Los Angeles, Historic Fire Station 54 hums with a drum circle. A dozen teenagers sit where fire engines once idled, eyes closed as a sound bath thrums. Against a brick wall, Pluto watches them – remembering when he was one of those kids. At 17, locked in juvenile hall, he scribbled poems in a notebook. That’s when Spirit Awakening Founder Akuyoe Graham walked into his unit and handed him her number.
“No matter what facility I was in… when I called, I got support,” he says. Today, he sits on the organization’s board and helps guide others through the same meditation and creative work that changed his life.
Spirit Awakening Foundation builds up what courtrooms often strip away: self-worth, agency, belonging. Each year, about 9,000 youth are arrested in L.A. County – 95% of them Black or Brown, with 80% being eligible to be diverted to community programs. For nearly 30 years, Graham has created such alternatives. “Thirty years of doing good – our legacy is love,” she says. In 1995, after emigrating from Ghana and writing a one-woman play, she brought her traumainformed, arts-based programs into 15 sites, encompassing juvenile detention camps, facilities, and schools. “We were doing mindfulness training way before it was in vogue,” she recalls. Her goal was simple: a safe space for young people to work on themselves – center themselves – and strengthen themselves from the inside out.
"It has been an honor and privilege to be a part of Spirit Awakening Foundation... I only wish I'd found it sooner. I can't say whether life would be 'better' per se, but what I can say without a doubt, is that I would have become the person I am today a lot sooner, and maybe even easier. Probably would've dodged that six-year sentence when I was 17 years old. However, my story as it stands, is a testament to the value of the work we do here at Spirit: teenage hellraiser, sadomasochistic manic depressive, serial burglar, turned community volunteer, teaching artist, reentry advisor, and board member."
– Pluto Brown Board Member
Their program has grown to include their distinctive, compassionate Mentoring Leaders Program at the Historic Fire Station 54, which serves as a bridge to adulthood. A free three-hour afterschool program, the focus is on peer-to-peer mentoring but the o erings are vast and impactful. Youth arrive to hot, healthy meals, then come workshops in filmmaking, writing, poetry, financial literacy, and job preparation. Meditation slows racing thoughts; role-play builds confidence; and a van ride home ensures they can return next week.
Their core on-site Writes of Passage curriculum continues to help thousands of incarcerated youth. Teens journal, paint, and play “The Winner’s Circle,” a game designed to help them imagine a life where they have already achieved their dreams. The labels – felon, dropout – fall away, revealing what Graham calls the “eternal self.”
Their success can be seen in the fact that many alumni now work as educators, artists, and mentors for the organization. In Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, violent incidents dropped by 73% after Spirit Awakening produced their “No Bully Zone” project. Most important to Graham is that her students know “they belong.” As Graham says, “Part of our mission is to provide experiences where they know they can go anywhere on this planet and belong there.”
In a city where so many youth are written o , this little firehouse glows with possibility – a place where spirits are, quite literally, awakened.
Rites of Peace mural project entitled “Reflection” at Central Tri-C High School inside their classroom.
Fuel the Fire of Hope
While the city of Los Angeles has asked Spirit Awakening to work with more youth – they typically work with 400-500 students a year – funds are limited. They need your generous donations to maintain their programming and expand to reach more youth. It costs $2,000 per month, per participant, to sustain their vital Mentoring Leaders Program. Your gift will fund hot, healthy meals, safe transportation and transformative workshops in art, writing, and life skills – and reduce recidivism and inspire the next generation of leaders.
We believe that art is powerful and can entertain, heal, transform and inspire; therefore, artistic expression is a powerful entryway to uncover and heal from traumatic experiences. With the use of meditation/mindfulness practices, creative writing, visual arts, music, role-play, conflict resolution and dramatic improvisation, we support abused, neglected and underserved youth and young adults in realizing their value, self-worth, and dignity.
Spirit Awakening Foundation www.spiritawakening.org (866) 456-8002
Contact: Akuyoe Graham CEO/Founder (310) 406-6606 Akuyoe@spiritawakening.org
CEO/Founder
Akuyoe Graham with program participants and guest artist Kennedy Zimet.
KEY SUPPORTERS:
BOARD MEMBERS:
Akuyoe Graham
Lynn Kitchen
Bert Christian
India Radfar
Martha Della Scala
Karan Nigam
Pluto Brown
Hunter Formica
Peter O'Fallon
SUPPORTERS:
The California Wellness Foundation
Gina Morris/EDL Northwest
Amity Foundation
L.A. County Dept. of Arts & Culture
L.A. County O ce of Education
Liberty Hill Foundation
A & A Fund
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Agape International Spiritual Center
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
Esalen Institute
The Many Ways to Give...
By Check:
Spirit Awakening Foundation 12130 Millennium Drive, Suite 300 Los Angeles, CA 90094
By DAF or Stock Transfer: Tax ID# 95-4585425
By Credit Card: www.spiritawakening.org
Spirit Awakening Foundation provides culturally enriching field trips for our youth to embrace new surroundings, like a visit to Cirque du Soleil.
Igniting Potential in Underserved Youth
Kevin had always been the quiet kid in class, slouching in the back row avoiding the teacher’s gaze. Today, as a sophomore at UC Berkeley, he’s an outgoing, confident young man who credits a nonprofit called Youth Champions for his transformation. Youth Champions first reached Kevin when he was a shy high schooler and it helped him find his voice. Youth Champions offers a 24-week paid personal development internship for Los Angeles high schoolers. Each week, students participate in workshops on everything from leadership to financial literacy, guided by professional volunteer facilitators from all walks of life – including lawyers and entrepreneurs. These mentors share their personal stories and encourage discussion – there’s even a class on how to be curious and ask better questions. The program isn’t confined to a screen; students also come together for six in-person field trips – from college campus
tours to a high-ropes course – that expand their horizons beyond the virtual classroom.
Danna, a first-generation student from South L.A., entered Youth Champions as an over-scheduled senior overwhelmed by her AP classes and family obligations. A single workshop on time management proved a turning point: she covered her bedroom wall in Post-it notes – a simple but transformative system that gave her “a sense of peace” and room to breathe. With her stress under control, a more relaxed Danna headed to Stanford University this fall as the first in her family to attend college.
Stories like Kevin’s and Danna’s are increasingly common. The organization has been expanding by roughly 50% annually to meet overwhelming demand, with new openings filling up within days of applications going live. To date, Youth Champions has mentored more than 1,000 students from over 60 high schools and will serve 550 students this 20252026 school year.
Roughly 91% of its participants come from Title I schools, and 80% are the first in their family to go to college. Each student who completes the internship earns a $1,000 stipend funded entirely by donors – an often life-changing sum that can mean textbooks for college or groceries for a family, and for one teen it made the di erence in allowing him to stay in school by helping to provide for his family.
Youth Champions rejects a one-size-fits-all notion of success. One graduate might pursue a four-year university, and another a trade apprenticeship. At Youth Champions, their goal is to help each student find their right path. That student-centered approach has created a ripple e ect: alumni often return as volunteer mentors to lift up the next cohort, forming a virtuous cycle of mentorship.
The only limit now is how many more students Youth Champions can reach — and that depends on community support.
Adventure Days are interactive experiences modeled after corporate team building and leadership retreats, helping students to overcome fear and harness their internal strength. Experiences include a ropes course which will challenge students and push their boundaries, Junior Achievement Finance Park, UCLA ropes course, and wolf-pack experience.
Help Guide Underserved Youth to Brighter Futures
Each $1,000 donation to Youth Champions funds one student’s stipend, powering an entire year of personal development for an underserved Los Angeles teen at no cost to them. Your gift provides access to this life-changing program, stability for a teen’s family, and opportunity through mentorship and exposure to new horizons – all of which can launch the next Kevin or Danna toward a brighter future. It’s not just a donation; it’s an investment in Los Angeles’s youth, one champion at a time.
J Martin connects with Youth Champions during the Networking Day, where students practice communication skills and learn from professionals about their career journeys. Youth Champions encourages students to explore diverse career paths and prepares them with real-world networking experience for future success.
Youth Champions students
where they learn financial literacy through an interactive, hands-on experience, as part of six annual in-person field trips designed to explore careers and gain real-world skills. Other field trips include STEM panels, trade days, college tours, tackling the UCLA ropes course and wolf-pack activities that build leadership and confidence, and touring healthcare facilities, veterinary clinics, movie studios, and local government o ces-each designed to inspire the next generation of leaders.
To ignite potential in students by providing tools that accelerate their personal development through a paid internship. “ “
472-7233
472-7233
michelle@youth-champions.org
The Many Ways to Give...
visit Junior Achievement Finance Park,
Guiding Girls Toward Success
In the bustling heart of Los Angeles, where dreams often collide with harsh realities, Step Up has been reshaping futures since 1998. Founded by Kaye Popofsky Kramer, a Hollywood talent agent who rallied her network of young professionals, the organization began as a conduit for women’s causes. “They had access to the most powerful Rolodexes,” recalls Jamie Kogan, Step Up’s vice president of development. “But they felt
"A mentor is the person who stands with you at the starting line and helps you see the finish line you couldn't see on your own."
– Delores Druilhet Morton Step Up CEO
like there was something missing where people could use their connections or leverage their connections for good.” By 2006, Step Up evolved into direct service, focusing on mentorship to bridge gaps for teen girls and young women.
Today, under CEO Delores Druilhet Morton, Step Up operates in eight cities, including Los Angeles, serving about 3,000 participants annually through free programs that foster confidence, connections, and career readiness. Targeting girls from marginalized communities – often first-generation college students or those from under-resourced schools – the nonprofit’s wide-ranging programs innovatively pair them with multiple mentors with diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and career paths.
“We know that one conversation can change a life,” explains Druilhet Morton.
For high schoolers, the curriculum unfolds in 12-week afterschool cohorts each semester at 32 partner schools nationwide. “We also take the students o campus,” Druilhet Morton says, “so they might visit one of our corporate partners and they can see, well, I’m interested in working in entertainment, but here are all of the di erent careers in television that I could choose.”
Post-high school, up to age 29, options further expand: career coaching for tar-
geted tracks like early career pivots, Power Talks to close the confidence gap, and a mentoring app for “flash mentoring” –quick, on-demand sessions. In 2024, 1,109 mentors volunteered. As Kogan notes, “Our programming really is designed for all students to meet them wherever they are and all paths are valid.”
Impact resonates in stories like Jaden’s, a young adult facing remote work isolation and contract instability, who connected via the app to Druilhet Morton. “I helped her to reframe her résumé into a skills-based résumé,” Druilhet Morton recounts. Within weeks, Jaden secured a full-time role.
In Los Angeles, where 80 percent of Step Up teens are Latina and challenges like immigration actions, wildfires, and mental health crises loom large, programs adapt nimbly.
Looking ahead, Step Up envisions leveraging technology to reach rural areas and sustain participants from high school through careers – and back as mentors. With 97 percent of teens graduating on time and upward trends in confidence (78 percent growth), connections (79 percent), and career readiness (75 percent), Step Up isn’t just opening doors; it’s forging pathways for equity, one conversation at a time.
Step Up's Career Connections Conference is an example of the organization's programming that brings women and girls together for mentorship that supports the teens in becoming confident, connected, and career-ready.
Mentorship Can’t Wait
Through Step Up’s structured mentorship program, the nonprofit helps girls identify their goals and build the roadmap to achieve them. Step Up needs more resources and more mentors to expand the number of girls they can reach.
• $1,000 – Supports adding 20 dedicated mentors in 1 new school in Los Angeles, igniting potential one relationship at a time.
• $1,500 – Supports mentoring an additional cohort of 10 girls, fostering a new generation of confident leaders.
• $5,000 – Allows expanding mentorship to 2 additional high schools nationwide, multiplying national impact.
• $15,000 – Expands the Step Up model and adds 6 cohorts to 3 schools nationwide, reaching 60 more girls and strengthening their national network of support.
Through structured mentorship programs, focused support, and inspiring connections, Step Up helps girls define and achieve their unique visions of success.
After participating in Step Up mentorship programs, 97% of teens say they're more confident. “
Ways
Success looks di erent for everyone. No one destination fits all, so why would one path fit all? At Step Up, they help girls achieve their unique visions of success. They create safe, brave spaces for girls to connect, learn, and grow alongside supportive mentors (and each other).
Step Up's Power Talks program works to close the confidence gap by
