The Giving List Los Angeles, Vol. 1

the giving list Los Angeles

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Welcome to the inaugural publication of The Giving List Los Angeles.

Y

ou are receiving this book because of your ability to impact philanthropy in Los Angeles.

Whether as an individual, a professional working within a charitable foundation, or a financial professional guiding your clients’ charitable investments, your contribution to L.A.’s nonprofit sector is substantial.

You have the means, intelligence, and experience to uplift Los Angeles through the direct power of your giving and your ability to influence your peers on the causes that matter the most.

We hope we are helpful in that endeavor.

What you find in your hands is a compendium of stories describing the work being done by some of the most vital nonprofit organizations in this region. Organizations on the front lines of recovery, pressing for social and racial justice, protecting our children, supporting the arts, and fighting to preserve our precious natural world. The nonprofits in this book are not the only important ones in Los Angeles. They reflect a carefully curated collection of what we believe represents some of the most meaningful work being done in this vicinity.

This book is, in a way, a love letter to Los Angeles, my hometown. I grew up here, earned my BA from UCLA, and came of age in the marinade of L.A.’s powerful culture of giving back – reinforced at home by my family’s belief that one should always strive to leave every room they walk into better than how they found it. My partners at The Giving List, including our phalanx of local writers, live in L.A. and are deeply steeped in the city’s rich philanthropic spirit.

The same is true of those featured in this book. From social sector leaders who constantly uplift the community, to the corporations that have baked social responsibility into their strategies, to the nonprofits that are doing the work on the ground, each has something important to say about why, how, and to which organizations we contribute, matters.

Los Angeles County is home to tens of thousands of nonprofits and has a deep and colorful philanthropic history. These organizations play a critical role in meeting some of the region’s most pressing challenges. In order to provide these services, they rely on the strong support of L.A.’s vast philanthropic network,

which includes the commitment of donors like you.

Our intention is to cut through the fundraising noise so that you can more easily determine on which causes and organizations to focus your giving.

We have found that most giving guides are missing the most important aspect of connecting donors with causes – which is powerful storytelling. So, we have worked closely with each organization in this book to tell its unique story to you.

Our world is changing rapidly. The recognition of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access as a critical consideration in all aspects of life includes philanthropy. It involves not only the causes we support, but the ways in which we support them. It is for this reason that helping organizations of all shapes and sizes gain direct access to individual donors is not just important, but critical.

Because nothing is as impactful as giving locally, and the best way to change the world is to uplift our own beloved community.

This book would not be possible without the help and support of some of L.A.’s premier institutions.

We are deeply grateful to the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Zegar Family Foundation, SONOS, and the Reissa Foundation for supporting local organizations and our matching grant program.

Thank you to our partners at the Capital Group, City National Bank, KCRW, and Microsoft. The value of your ongoing commitment to supporting Los Angeles’ nonprofit community is immeasurable.

This book was in part made possible by the involvement of our impact partner, Arabella Advisors. The global philanthropic advising firm recently opened an office here in Los Angeles and has its eyes set on helping local funders tackle the region’s most critical issues.

And finally, to our anchor partner, California State University, Northridge for sharing its story about the profound impact CSUN has had on communities across Los Angeles. As well as how it has emerged as a national leader in social mobility for its students.

We hope you are as inspired by this book as we have been making it.

Sincerely, Gwyn Lurie CEO The Montecito Journal Media Group

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Giving Back

W

e launched The Giving List to help the important nonprofits featured in this book spend less time fundraising and more time doing the critical work demanded of them.

Healing from the wounds of the pandemic and the scars of racial inequity require the work of the community-based organizations that fill these pages. We have assembled their stories in the hopes that you will turn the page and find ways to engage.

Many nonprofits, especially those that are earlier stage and grassroots, are too reliant on lopsided and overly restrictive funding. This impedes their ability to derive the predictable, unrestricted revenue they need to focus on what’s most important: the work. By sharing their stories with you, we have a chance to break that cycle.

Please join us by supporting your local nonprofits on the front lines of justice, whether that be fighting racism; using the arts to shape culture; helping children, youth, and families in need; or striving to preserve our environment.

We will all be better for it.

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How to Read This Book

T

he Giving List was created to make it easier for you to navigate the dizzying array of worthwhile causes and nonprofit organizations here in Los Angeles. To that end, we have distributed 100,000 copies of The Giving List Los Angeles 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.

Curation Before we started outreach to any of the nonprofits featured in these pages, we consulted with a wide variety of leaders working as executives in private and community foundations, leaders of nonprofit boards, wealth management firms, and philanthropic advisors to ensure that we included a balanced cross section of some of L.A.’s most important nonprofit organizations. We sought to understand which nonprofits were leading in recovery as we endure the long tail of the pandemic and racial justice awakening sparked by the murder of George Floyd.

The result is that – unlike other giving guides – the list we present to you is made up of not just large, well-funded, and established nonprofits, but many smaller grassroots organizations with deep connections to the communities they serve.

If one or more motivate you to learn more or donate, just wave your phone’s camera over the QR code accompanying each in order to connect directly with that organization.

Matching The Giving List was created to help nonprofits create predictable, unrestricted revenue through storytelling. One tried and true method to accomplish this is matching challenge campaigns.

Thanks to the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Reissa Foundation, and the Zegar Family Foundation, you will find a number of matching opportunities, including challenges for 16 smaller nonprofits. In total, there is more than $270,000 in matching challenges being offered in The Giving List Los Angeles. Additionally, the Simms/Mann Family Foundation has set up a $6 million gift-matching fund to bolster the Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology’s endowment (see p.166). We hope that you will be sufficiently inspired to help one or more of these organizations meet its matching challenge.

Ongoing Support Our partnership with the nonprofits in these pages does not end with the printing of this book. Each profile will live on TheGivingList.com through 2022, where we will be updating each profile monthly, so that you can continue to track the important ongoing work of each and every Giving List organization.

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.

If you would like to be included in our newsletter “The Fifth Estate,” 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

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Contents

the diversity, pioneering spirit, and artistic sensibility unique to Los Angeles ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 244

The Harmony Project harnesses the transformative power

Books are analog. And analog can be tricky when trying to create a table of contents.

Our intention throughout The Giving List is that every organization – regardless of order – is equally important.

For that reason we have reversed the table of contents so that the last nonprofit that is featured in the book appears here first.

Don’t fret, the page numbers all correspond.

of music to increase access to higher education for underserved students by removing systemic barriers to achievement through academic and social support ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 242

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Leading the Way, Social Change Coro Southern California’s mission is to strengthen the

democratic process by preparing individuals for effective and ethical leadership ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 238

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Brady | United Against Gun Violence

unites people of all identities, races, and ethnicities from coast to coast, young and old, progressive and conservative, and everything in between, fed up and fired up, to protect our country from what is killing it ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 236

Animals to the Rescue Urban Saddles

builds hope and opportunity for youth and community through the equine experience and the cowboy code of the West. ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 254

MAZON fights to end hunger among people of all faiths and

National Disaster Search Dog Foundation’s

Profile – Bruce Corwin

Social Sector Leader – KCRW:

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mission 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. �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 252

Community Becomes Eclectic ��������������������������������������������������������������������P. 248

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is equal parts optimist and philanthropist ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 232

Legal Advocacy Children’s Law Center

provides legal representation for tens of thousands of children impacted by abuse and neglect with an unparalleled level of expertise in and out of the courtroom ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 228

The Arts Silverlake Conservatory of Music facilitates a dynamic

music education and teaches beginning and accomplished musicians of all skill levels. The Conservatory’s primary focus is on the youth of the community, but all are welcome and encouraged to participate ������ P. 246

LA Opera serves the public by producing world-class opera that

preserves, promotes, and advances the art form while embodying

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backgrounds in the United States and Israel ����������������������������������������P. 234

Alliance for Children’s Rights

protects the rights of children in poverty and those overcoming abuse and neglect by delivering free legal services, supportive programs, and systemic solutions ���� P. 226

Learning Rights Law Center fights to achieve education equity for underserved families in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. The Center provides free and low-cost legal representation, advice, advocacy, and training to families and communities whose

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children, as a consequence of disability or discrimination, have been denied equal access to a public education ����������������������������������������������P. 224

Public Counsel is the nation’s largest not-for-profit law firm

specializing in delivering pro bono legal services ��������������������������������P. 222

Profile – Steven Nissen has spent his career building L.A.’s

civic strength ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 220

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Criminal Justice Centinela Youth Services operates innovative programs

that are proven to increase student performance, reduce school dropout rates, help preserve families, and reduce gang involvement, youth violence, and crime �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 216

Anti-Recidivism Coalition works to end mass incarceration in California to ensure our communities are safe, healthy, and whole.

ARC empowers formerly and currently incarcerated people to thrive by providing a support network, comprehensive reentry services, and opportunities to advocate for policy change �����������������������������������������������P. 214

National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform

works to reduce incarceration and violence, improve the outcomes of system-involved youth and adults, and increase the capacity and expertise of the organizations that serve these individuals ������������ P. 212

A New Way of Life promotes healing, power, and opportunity

for formerly incarcerated people by taking a multifaceted approach to mitigating the effects of, and ultimately eliminating, mass incarceration ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ P. 210

Lisa Ling “ What good is a platform, if you don’t use it for good to raise awareness about things that people might otherwise not have any idea of, and to be able to highlight people who are on the ground doing the work?”

– Profile begins on P. 142 Profile – Ahmos Hassan is making entertainment

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more inclusive ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 200

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Human Rights Jewish World Watch inspires people of all faiths and cultures

to join the ongoing fight against genocide ����������������������������������������������P. 206

HIAS works around the world to protect refugees who have been

forced to flee their homelands because of who they are, including ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities ���������������������������������������������������P. 204

Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide

by scrupulously investigating abuses, exposes the facts widely, and pressures those with power to respect rights and secure justice ���P. 202

Environment Plastic Pollution Coalition is a growing global alliance of

more than 1,200 organizations, businesses, and thought leaders in 75 countries working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impact on humans, animals, waterways, the ocean, and the environment ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 196

White Buffalo Land Trust

practices, develops, and promotes systems of Regenerative Agriculture ������������������������������������ P. 194

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Step Up inspires professional women to inspire teen girls through after-school and weekend mentorship programs ����������������������������������P.186

Jovenes helps youth, ages 18-25, end their cycle of homelessness serving communities throughout Southeast L.A. County ���������������� P. 184

Profile – Casey Wasserman lives his family’s legacy of giving back �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 182

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Social and Emotional Wellness ARC-Cares.org

provides the resources, programs, education, and environment to support the independence and inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 178

Casey Wasserman

California Children’s Trust seeks to reimagine the way California supports children’s healthy development and social and emotional well-being ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 176

“ I don’t believe being anti-racist is political. The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the ultimate manifestation of representing equality and inclusion.”

OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center provides the

community with grief support services, education, resources, and hope. �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 174

A Home Within

identifies, recruits, trains, and supports a network of licensed therapists who each provide free, weekly, one-toone therapy to a single foster youth “for as long as it takes.” ���������� P. 172

– Profile begins on P. 182

180

162

Homelessness and Workforce

Health Specialties

Goodwill Southern California’s first priority is helping

people in need find jobs. As one of the world’s leading nonprofit brands, Goodwill partners with companies, educators, community organizations, and government agencies to help match qualified talent with employers looking to hire �������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 190

LA Family Housing

helps people transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 188

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USC Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research’s mission is to discover the cellular mechanisms that establish and renew the body’s organ systems and to apply these discoveries to treating disease �������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 168

Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology maintains wellness, maximizing health, and

complementing the best oncologic practices and scientific research through individualized care offered by a multidisciplinary team committed to enhancing the physical, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing of people touched by cancer ������������������������������������������������������������ P. 166

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USC Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute is dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals and society by promoting health, preventing and curing disease, advancing biomedical research, and educating tomorrow’s physicians and scientists ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ P. 164

152

To Your Health Keck Medicine of USC

provides support across the continuum of caregiving, including diagnosis, prognosis, services that help maintain the care recipient’s independence and abilities, and helping caregivers care for themselves and manage their own well-being ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 160

Adventist Health Glendale’s mission is living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness, and hope �������������������������������������������������P. 158

UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital

cares for the physical and emotional well-being of children, from newborns to young adults, and serves the most critically-ill children with sophisticated, compassionate care in an environment that is both welcoming and healing to children and their families �������������������������������������������������������P. 156

Venice Family Clinic provides quality primary healthcare to people in need �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 154

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Antonia Hernández “ If you don’t partner and leverage public sector resources, you are just playing at the edges.”

– Profile begins on P. 38

Profile – Lisa Ling asks, “What good is a platform if you don’t use it for good?” ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ P. 142

Justice for All

Social Sector Leader – Microsoft :

Social Justice Learning Institute empowers individuals to rise up, create change, and help their communities thrive ���������� P. 150

Muslim Public Affairs Council

promotes and strengthens American pluralism by increasing understanding and improving policies that impact American Muslims ���������������������������� P. 148

Facing History and Ourselves uses lessons of history to

challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 146

Black Equity Collective’s mission is to join funders and

communities as partners in strengthening the long-term sustainability of Black-led and Black-empowering organizations in Southern California ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ P. 144

On a Mission to ‘Activate’ Los Angeles’ Charitable Foundations Behind the Tech Needs of its Black-led Nonprofits �������������������������������������������� P. 138

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Accessing Higher Education Southern California College Access Network’s

mission is to increase the rate at which underrepresented students access and complete post-secondary education �����������������������������������P. 136

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Teach the Children Well P.S. ARTS provides more than 25,000 students with year-long

arts education, increases collaboration, improves problem-solving, increases creativity, and improves resourcefulness �����������������������������P. 124

Point Foundation empowers promising lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 122

Seneca’s mission is to help children and families through the most difficult times of their lives. Seneca is driven by the fundamental belief that children and families do not themselves fail, but rather are failed by systems unable to meet their complex needs ���������������������������������������� P. 120 Vision to Learn provides free eye exams and glasses to kids

Sharyn Church

in underserved communities. More than two million children in the U.S. do not have the glasses they need to see the board, read a book, or participate in class ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 118

“ Today’s donors and changemakers are different; they’re ambitious. They come to their philanthropy with bold ideas and with an impact-investing mindset.”

Profile – Austin Beutner

is laser-focused on solving problems ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 116

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– Learn about Arabella Advisors and Sharyn Church on P. 32

Fostering Care AdvoKids’

Mentors 4 College helps students and parents find and attend

the ideal post-secondary educational program, help school counselors extend their college counseling reach, and build college-savvy communities – with services free to all! ���������������������������������������������������P. 134

Bayan Islamic Graduate School’s mission is to offer a world-class, non-sectarian education and produce dynamic and ethical leaders and scholars grounded in the Islamic tradition ���������������������P. 132

Fulfillment Fund works to make college a reality for students

growing up in educationally and economically under-resourced communities. Fulfillment Fund builds pathways to college, navigates educational barriers, creates support networks, and empowers future leaders ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ P. 130

Profile – Diana Ingram is nurturing agents of change �����P. 128

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hotline, website, and legal trainings equip child advocates with the legal and scientific principles that they need so that they can more effectively advocate for the well-being of the child and encourage persistent judicial focus on every foster child’s need for safety, emotional security, and developmental health ����������������������� P. 112

iFoster’s mission is to ensure that every child growing up outside of their biological home has the resources and opportunities they need to become successful, independent adults ���������������������������������������������������P. 110

Happy Trails is dedicated to bringing camping, connections,

and confidence into the lives of boys and girls growing up in foster care through the great outdoors, overnight summer camp, year-round extracurricular engagements, and their supportive team of counselors ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 108

CASA of Los Angeles transforms the lives of abused and

neglected foster youth by providing one consistent, caring volunteer advocate, trained to address each child’s needs in the court and the community ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 106

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Profile – Leslie Gilbert-Lurie is an unrelenting upstander ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 104

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Family Ties Echo

educates trauma survivors about trauma and resilience in order to promote survivor empowerment, resolve individual and community-level trauma, and create safe, stable nurturing relationships that break the cycle of generational trauma ������P. 100

Kidsave finds older foster kids and orphans permanent homes through a weekend and summer hosting program ���������������������������������P. 98

Violence Intervention Program ’s

mission is to protect and treat all victims of family violence and sexual assault, and for 30 years, has been executing and expanding that vision ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ P. 96

Profile – Edgar Villanueva draws on his Native American roots to help heal philanthropy by using money as medicine ������������P.92

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For the Youth Peace4Kids’ mission is to create a safe space for youth to navigate past trauma and embrace a future that builds on individual and collective strengths. Faced early on with tough experiences, our youth show resilience, strength, and empathy – and offer daily teachable moments �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 88

The Rightway Foundation helps Transition-Age Foster Youth get and keep good jobs despite the overwhelming trauma they have endured throughout their lives �����������������������������������������������������������P. 86

California Youth Connection

develops leaders who empower each other and their communities to transform the foster care system through legislative, policy, and practice change ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 84

Ready to Succeed empowers youth impacted by foster care to graduate college, launch successful careers, and reach their full potential �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 82

Profile – William Briggs

never let life’s circumstances inhibit his ambitions ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ P. 80

Erika D. Beck “ We have to shift the conversation from being about what students must do to be successful to what institutions must do in order to support the students.”

– Profile begins on P. 20

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For the Children Para Los Niños fosters pathways to success through excellence

in education, powerful families, and strong communities for children and youth to thrive ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 76

Friends of the Children

impacts generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors – 12-plus years, no matter what ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 74

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The Fourth Estate Stanford Social Innovation Review’s mission is to

advance, educate, and inspire the field of social innovation by seeking out, cultivating, and disseminating the best in research- and practicebased knowledge ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ P. 60

Boyle Heights Beat is a bilingual community news project produced by youth, offering “noticias por y para la comunidad,” or “news by and for the community.” �����������������������������������������������������������������P. 58 (photo by Richard Reinsdorf)

Fostering Media Connections uses the power of media

and journalism to lead the conversation about children, youth, and families in America ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 56

CalMatters

is an award-winning, nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s State Capitol works and why it matters �����������������������������������������������������������������P. 54

William Briggs

Profile – Jihee Huh

shares her uniquely American philanthropic legacy �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 52

“ It’s my way of giving back to the city that raised me and made me who I am.”

Social Sector Leader – City National Bank:

Helping Students Make Sense of Dollars and Cents ���������������������������������P. 48

– Profile begins on P. 80

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End Child Poverty in California’s mission is to make a

positive difference in the lives of low-income families and their children through value-based collaborations and by formulating, implementing, and expanding measures to reduce barriers to full personal development and economic stability ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 72

Everychild Foundation is dedicated to easing the suffering

of children in the Greater Los Angeles area, whether due to disease, disability, abuse, neglect, or poverty �������������������������������������������������������������P. 70

The Children’s Partnership works at the intersection of

research, policy, and community engagement to advocate on behalf of children, especially those from underserved communities ���������������P. 68

Profile – Jacqueline Caster is a children’s advocate who created a virtuous cycle of giving circles ����������������������������������������������������P. 66

Social Sector Leader – Capital Group:

A Personal Commitment to Philanthropy �������������������������������������������������P. 62

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South Los Angeles Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center provides quality performing arts instruction to youth in South Central Los Angeles �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 46

Partners for Children South L.A.’s

mission is to improve access to high-quality healthcare, early education, and family supports for the youngest and most vulnerable children in South Los Angeles �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 44

Brotherhood Crusade

is a 50-year-old grassroots organization with a vision of improving quality of life and meeting the unmet needs of low-income, underserved, under-represented, and disenfranchised individuals �����������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 42

Destination Crenshaw will be the place to experience the

most dynamic expression of Black American culture in the United States ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 40

| Los Angeles |

Profile – Antonia Hernández is opening doors for new

faces in philanthropy �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 38

Impact Partner – Arabella Advisors:

Helping L.A. Turn Big Ideas into Outsized Impact �������������������������������P. 32

To learn more about joining The Giving List Community, please contact: partnerships@thegivinglist.com

The GL Feature – Can Homelessness be Solved

by Making it Profitable?

Daniel Heimpel argues that redeploying the capital locked in foundation endowments could dramatically improve the region’s homeless crisis ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 22

CEO & Founder Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net

Profile – Erika D. Beck,

CSUN’s young president, is on a “mission to increase access for first-generation, historically underserved students” �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� P. 20

President & Founder Tim Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net

California State University, Northridge has steadily become a national leader in providing upward economic and social mobility to its students. ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P. 14

Executive Editor Daniel Heimpel dheimpel@thegivinglist.com Art Director Trent Watanabe Director of Partnerships Alexandra Stabler astabler@thegivinglist.com Copy Editor Lily Buckley Harbin Photography Edward Clynes Administration & Billing: Christine Merrick frontdesk@montecitojournal.net Contributors: Dana Bartholomew, Joe Donnelly, Les Firestein, Brenda Gazzar, Miranda Green, Stella Haffner, Jonathan Karp, Alice Lloyd, Nadra Nittle, Brian Rinker, Dan Schifrin, Nick Schou

Edgar Villanueva

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“ We all have to take ownership of this country’s history, have truth and reconciliation around it, and understand what must be repaired to support collective healing.”

– Profile begins on P. 92

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

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A California Gem Hiding in Plain Sight A

by Jonathan Karp

CSUN’s University Library

ndy Candelaria was so determined to go to California State University, Northridge that as a freshman, he commuted for two hours by metro and bus from his home in Downey. Now a fifth-year senior majoring in Computer Information Technology, he lives closer and, thanks to internships facilitated by CSUN, he’s on track for a career in IT security.

Milen Coronado, a fourth-year senior who plans to be a public-school teacher, is a double major in Liberal Studies and Chicana/o Studies. She also carries a double workload outside of class, as a teaching assistant at an elementary school and a CSUN academic mentor, passing on to fellow students the essential guidance she received to navigate college.

“I want to give back to the community that gave so much to me,” Coronado says.

Candelaria and Coronado reflect the aspirations of CSUN’s 39,000 students – and of the university itself. They are first-generation collegegoers, like 71% of fellow students; Latino/a, like more than half of the richly diverse student body; and from low-income families on a campus that has more Pell Grant recipients than any other public university in Califor-

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CSUN President Erika D. Beck distributes Apple iPad Airs on campus

| Los Angeles |

Students conducting a lab experiment on campus

nia. They are inspiring family members and friends to consider college. And, Candelaria and Coronado will enter the workforce equipped with skills that are critical to Southern California’s economic vitality.

“Higher education is the answer to much of what ails us,” CSUN President Erika D. Beck says. “We are the answer to what ails us.”

CSUN represents an educational model that is grounded in equity, committed to erasing racial-achievement gaps, and deeply integrated with the community it serves. CSUN’s medley of white and Black, Asian and Latino/a, Jewish and Armenian students is, in the words of the poet Maya Angelou, “a rainbow in the clouds.”

Set on 350 acres in the San Fernando Valley, a site where state-of-the-art facilities now seem to sprout as regularly as oranges once did, CSUN has long delivered inclusive academic excellence. Its nearly 400,000 alumni include students of humble origins who became leaders in business and entertainment, Pulitzer Prize winners, and even the first Second Gentleman of the United States, Doug Emhoff.

CSUN’s commitment to diversity extends to disabilities: Its Deaf-Studies expertise and campus support services have attracted hearing-impaired students for 60 years. One of them, actor Lauren Ridloff, made history as Marvel’s first deaf superhero in the 2021 film Eternals.

Most importantly, amid unaffordable private college tuition and widening income inequality, CSUN removes barriers to success for students from traditionally underserved communities and offers them a springboard into the middle class.

CSUN’s Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya)

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CSUN ranks fourth nationwide in fostering social and economic mobility, based on a respected index that measures how well nearly 1,500 colleges educate students from low-income families and graduate them into well-paying jobs.

“This is an institution that has been values-driven and has done extraordinary work for a very long time before I ever set foot on this campus,” Beck, who joined CSUN in January 2021 after leading California State University Channel Islands, says.

“We just need to tell our story, to amplify the understanding that what’s happening here is genuinely transformational.”

She wasted no time getting the message out, producing results that will help write the next chapter of CSUN’s story. Within months, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett, who widely support education for students from historically underserved communities, donated $40 million. It was the largest gift from a single donor in CSUN’s history.

Next, Apple made the second-biggest gift: $25 million, as part of a public-private partnership to develop an equity-centered technology hub that will provide state-of-the art labs for CSUN engineering and computer-science students and serve as a beacon for middle- and high-school underserved students to explore the wonders of STEM education and careers. Apple’s gift matched a $25-million allocation in the California state budget to build the facility, which CSUN hopes to open in 2024.

The Global Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Equity Innovation Hub promises to be an immersive experience. A maker space will allow kids and their families to play with tools of technology, and curated displays will embed cultural symbolism and inspirational images of accomplished Latino/a and people of color in tech. Visitors will be able to enter labs to meet CSUN students and faculty and see their cutting-edge research in advanced robotics and other fields. The hub will also connect with students beyond Los Angeles through virtual programming, even before the building opens.

“So much of the Equity Innovation Hub is about helping young students and their families see themselves as the innovators and creators of the future and build a seamless pathway to college,” Beck says. “We lose too many students who never envision that possibility and never even make it to our doors.”

The Equity Innovation Hub encapsulates CSUN’s goals and challenges. It also illustrates the multiplier effect of collaboration, a core tenet of Beck’s educational and leadership philosophy.

Initially, CSUN alumnus Andrew Anagnost donated funds through Autodesk, the company he leads as President and CEO, to plan a “center of possibilities” in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Encouraged by three Californian elected officials – each a Latino/a with an engineering degree and ties to the San Fernando Valley – CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro took the concept further to include STEM programming aimed

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Computer science majors in class

at underserved groups across the CSU system. Governor Gavin Newsom backed the idea, and CSUN was chosen to host the hub and work in collaboration with the other 22 CSU campuses.

Apple’s vote of confidence added yet another dimension. Its offer of technology and design support on top of funding will enable CSUN to connect with HSIs around the country, positioning the university as a national leader CSUN alumnus Andrew Anagnost in thought and practice for equity-centered STEM education. HSI is a designation under which an institution of higher education is eligible for federal funds if its undergraduate full-time enrollment has at least 25% Latino/a students and at least half of all degree-seeking students are low-income. For Beck, the Equity Innovation Hub is an opportunity for CSUN to forge a more cohesive identity and mission for this disparate group.

“As a leader who’s been really engaged in Hispanic-Serving Institutions, minority-serving institutions, and the national dialogue around student success and equity, what I have always wanted to be is that convener,” she says. “I want to connect with other leaders in common cause so that we can learn from each other.”

CSUN has been at the forefront of the drive for equitable higher education since before it was even named CSUN in 1972.

| Los Angeles |

Founded 14 years earlier as San Fernando Valley State College, like many American college campuses then, it had almost no students of color. Student activism in the ’60s made Northridge a hotbed of protests, as well as the birthplace of a program that has driven student success and social mobility ever since.

The Civil Rights Movement brought Black and Latino/a student groups together to demand greater diversity. In November 1968, Black Student Union members occupied the administration building until the college pledged, among other things, to boost the number of students and faculty of color and introduce ethnic studies. Afro-American Studies and Mexican-American Studies programs opened in 1969 and were among the first of their kinds in the country.

The social justice movement also led to a program known as the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). EOP broadened admissions criteria for historically low-income and educationally disadvantaged students who were underrepresented at the university, to include consideration of their “high potential” and life circumstances, not just high-school grades and test scores. The Northridge campus was one of the first to have an EOP, which California established by legislative mandate in 1969. EOP is now in place at all 23 CSUs. “There is not a program I know of that has been as enduring and as transformative as EOP,” says William Watkins, an early beneficiary in 1970 as a first-generation student from South Central Los Angeles. At CSUN, he was an award-winning Urban Studies major and the first African American elected student body president. He earned a doctorate in Education Leadership from UCLA and is currently vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students at CSUN.

“There is not a program I know of that has been as enduring and as transformative as the Educational Opportunity Program.”

– William Watkins, CSUN’s vice president

for student affairs, and an EOP participant

when he studied there in the 1970s EOP has served more than 30,000 CSUN students and evolved far beyond its origins as an admissions program. It offers academic advisement, peer and faculty mentoring, transitional programs, financial assistance, and even a program specifically for students in or exiting foster care. These services are designed to support, build resilience, and – perhaps most importantly for less-advantaged students to thrive – convey a sense of belonging.

“It has not only changed my life, it has also impacted my family’s,” Gustavo Sanchez, a junior majoring in Business Administration, says of EOP. His improbable path from a high schooler all too familiar with juvenile court to a successful first-generation student has encouraged relatives to follow, including a cousin who is at CSUN and a sister who plans to apply.

Such stories – not nostalgia or football boosterism – are why CSUN alumni are so passionate about their alma mater. David Nazarian, who attended CSUN shortly after immigrating from Iran, recalls that “I just wanted to get my degree, be done with it” and start a career. He added an MBA from USC, and

Students outside the University Student Union Sol Center

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only after he became a successful investor did Nazarian fully appreciate how important the classes, learning environment, and students at CSUN had been.

“On top of that, I saw that state universities would have a much bigger role in education going forward, and they were not getting enough attention or funding,” he says.

The Nazarian family has become one of CSUN’s top benefactors and fundraisers. The gleaming 1,700-seat performance hall on campus is named after Nazarian’s parents, Younes and Soraya, and known simply as The Soraya. The David Nazarian College of Business and Economics is the second-largest CSUN college, by number of students.

Nazarian invests his time as well as money, deriving pride from the work ethic of CSUN interns, entrepreneurship of students, and dynamism of the faculty.

Join California State University, Northridge in Its Bold and Inclusive Vision

P

hilanthropic investment in California State University, Northridge has a transformative impact. Recognized nationally as one of the top campuses for advancing the social mobility of its students, CSUN welcomes everyone who possesses a determination to make their mark in the world. They come from every background and rung of the socio-economic ladder. CSUN is where their talents are cultivated, where odds are overcome, and where aspirations, even those once seen as impossible, are fully realized.

In Southern California, CSUN answers an urgent call for an educated and diverse workforce, and in doing so, transforms lives, families, and communities. Support for CSUN drives local results with immediate impact and a signifi- SCAN TO MAKE cant return on investment.

A DONATION...

Giving to CSUN is a contribution to a bold and inclusive vision, a commitment to some of the most comprehensive solutions to today’s most urgent challenges, and an investment in a brighter and more equitable future.

For more information, visit https://engage.csun.edu.

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“When I visit campus, I keep finding out about more great things that are going on under the radar.”

– David Nazarian

CEO, Nimes Capital

and CSUN alumnus and donor “When I visit campus, I keep finding out about more great things that are going on under the radar,” he says.

Like the CSUN Innovation Incubator, whose director was invited by the U.S. State Department to South Africa to share his ideas with women and underserved populations. Or Bull Ring, a Shark Tank-like competition in which students from multiple colleges collaborate on business ideas for prize money. Such interdisciplinary projects are essential training for the workforce, as are programs tailored to emerging needs, like CSUN’s new Business Analytics major.

The fast-changing workplace means that “the most important piece is that we teach students to thrive in the context of ambiguity, by allowing them to solve problems in the way problems show up in the real world,” Beck says. “It is interdisciplinary, hands on, immersive. It is asking questions.”

The task is urgent. Society’s fundamental challenges – poverty, energy, climate change, and healthcare – are more complex than ever. California is the heart of the global innovation economy, yet if all of its colleges and universities keep producing graduates at the current rate, the state will face a deficit of more than 1.1 million jobs by 2030.

The CSU chancellor has set ambitious goals to boost graduation rates by 2025. CSUN is making gains in four-year and six-year graduation rates for first-time freshmen and it already surpasses the CSU target for transfer students to finish their studies in two years.

Beck brooks no illusions about the uphill battle to eliminate entrenched equity gaps. The difference between the six-year

| Los Angeles |

“G

iving is personal, touching on our passions and stretching our potential for purpose in our lives. For Debbie and me, the pillar of our giving is CSUN where we support various scholarships, the arts and programs that advance the First Amendment. One of our passions is helping underserved youth, and so we direct our primary philanthropy to CSUN’s Resilient Scholars, a program that provides opportunities for those emancipated from foster care who aspire to a college education.”

– Milt Valera

Chairman, National Notary Association

Milt and Debbie Valera

graduation rate for students from better-served groups and those from traditionally underserved ones has narrowed to 8.4 percentage points. But beneath this aggregate number, Beck – an experimental psychologist devoted to scientific methodology and data – knows that the deficits are wider, even “deeply troubling,” among permutations of whites, Blacks, Latinos/as, low-income, first-generation, and other individual groups.

The traditional university model was built to serve largely middle-class students who were following a family tradition, not creating one. State universities like CSUN deserve a larger place in the dialogue about higher education, Beck says, because they graduate the most, and most diverse, students – the students of today and the backbone of the workforce of tomorrow. Declining government funding for public education, thus, makes outside resources all the more vital to the mission of advancing social mobility.

“What we do is a heavier lift,” says Beck, who sees CSUN as nothing less than the future of public higher education. “Investing in us is investing in a more equitable future and will reap enormous long-term benefits for the communities that we are so proud to serve.”

CSUN student with diploma at graduation

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A Public Educator for the Public Good

by Jonathan Karp

E

rika D. Beck has been up since 4 a.m., yet as the afternoon light fills her office, she is effervescent. Her inaugural fall semester as president of California State University, Northridge has just begun, and the campus is alive with students for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

But what really has her adrenaline surging is that morning’s predawn announcement of a $25 million gift from Apple to support CSUN’s Global Hispanic Serving Institution Equity Innovation Hub, an ambitious initiative to inspire students from Latino/a and other historically underserved communities to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Apple’s gift marks a sterling endorsement of Beck’s mission to re-envision higher education so that it “authentically serves” students from underrepresented communities and propels them into the future workforce and up the economic ladder. Moreover, it affirms CSUN’s leadership in the national dialogue about eliminating equity gaps.

“The Equity Innovation Hub is truly the realization of a professional and deeply personal dream that has been a couple of decades in the making,” Beck says. It braids together her convictions that higher education can transform lives and that collaboration – across academic disciplines and with public and private institutions – enhances outcomes, and thus the collective good.

Beck’s passion for inclusive education was seeded by her grandmother, who emigrated from Norway after World War II and earned a master’s degree when it was a rarity for women. She was limited to studying nursing, teaching, or library sciences; she chose the third.

In Marin County where Beck grew up, her mother’s involvement in women’s and children’s issues instilled a commitment to the broader community.

Beck is a product of public higher education. Her bachelor’s degree in psychology and doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of California, San Diego bookend a master’s in psychology from San Diego State University. She has conducted research, including work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, on developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Beck says her background shaped “my fundamental belief in the critical importance of a liberal arts core that is then enhanced by data.” Lots of data.

Beck loved teaching and never imagined going into administration. Only at the urging of a UCSD colleague, who saw her as a natural leader, did she reluctantly wade in and discover

20

that, in fact, she was. At first, Beck assumed she would stay at a traditional top-tier research university, but she began to long for a model that was more connected to the surrounding community and the social responsibility of higher education. So, she made another unexpected career change.

“My heart pulled me in a very different direction, toward the mission to increase access for first-generation, historically underserved students,” she says, “to have a bigger impact, particularly on issues of equity and seeing things through a different lens.”

In 2002, Beck helped launch Nevada State College as a founding faculty member, was named dean of liberal arts and sciences two years later, and then rose to the posts of provost and executive vice president. She crossed back over state lines in 2016 to become president of California State University Channel Islands, the youngest CSU campus.

Among Beck’s accomplishments at CSU Channel Islands, the four-year graduation rate for first-time students reached the highest level in the campus’s history. The success rate for freshmen who entered the year that Beck became president was a remarkable seven percentage points higher than that of the previous class.

| Los Angeles |

“My heart pulled me in a very different direction, toward the mission to increase access for first-generation, historically underserved students, to have a bigger impact, particularly on issues of equity and seeing things through a different lens.”

– Erika D. Beck

Beck, who is 49 years old and is raising two teenage sons while overseeing more than 4,000 faculty and staff, is CSUN’s sixth president – and the fourth consecutive woman to lead a campus that has a majority of women students. She aims to build on her track record of boosting enrollment and graduation rates among historically underserved groups. CSUN offers her a much larger platform for her leadership, its own track record of facilitating social mobility and two assets that her previous campuses were not old enough to have: world-class academic programs and a vast network of accomplished, devoted alumni.

Up-and-coming ones, too. Beck recently saw Amal, a senior film project by 2018 graduate Dilek Ince. It traces the journey of an American volunteer in Syria who adopts a seven-year-old girl orphaned by civil-war violence, only to arrive in the United States with her just as a travel ban is imposed on Syrians. Ince had come to Los Angeles from Turkey after high school and learned English from scratch to pursue her dream of studying film. It paid off: Amal won her a top award from the Directors Guild of America over students at New York University and other leading film schools.

“Our tuition is $7,000 a year, she was an undergraduate, and she beat MFAs from the top film schools around the country,” Beck says emphatically.

Beck’s vision for CSUN is to give all students a shot at success, no matter where they start the journey.

“We have to shift the conversation from being about what students must do to be successful to what institutions must do in

order to support the students,” she says. Or, as she recently told Latino/a-focused educators, “meet the students where they are, not where we are.”

Open and accessible, Beck has been meeting students, among many others in the CSUN community. The feedback has reinforced her desire to enhance faculty and staff diversity, inclusive student services and academic excellence. Her first year has fueled her ambitions for CSUN. “I’m never satisfied with where we are. I always want us to dream bigger, think bolder,” she says. “I’m just more comfortable on the cutting edge. I want to nurture innovation.

“I’ve always known that my life would be shaped by education and that opportunity would follow education,” Beck says, “so I went straight through” from undergraduate to doctorate.

Years later, the educator who never planned to swap grading papers and lab reports for managing personnel, budgets, and fundraising is still on campus.

“I have no intention of ever leaving the university environment.

It’s magical,” Beck says. “It’s that sense of the fundamental imperative of higher education to help facilitate the world that I want to live in.”

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Can Homelessness be Solved

by Making it Profitable?

Redeploying charitable foundation investments could be the needed difference in stemming a homegrown humanitarian crisis.

By Daniel Heimpel

R

icardo Barron just started his shift at the “tiny home village” on a traffic-choked Alvarado Street in Echo Park.

He is sitting at a steel table, an umbrella shielding the already hot L.A. sun. Behind him are 38 neatly spaced 64-square foot shelters. Inside each is a man or woman who has found succor from the ravages of the street. Most are sleeping, it’s early yet.

Nearly three decades before, and about a mile south of here, a then-21-year-old Barron got into an altercation outside of a bar on Echo Park Avenue. Having been shot at 18, Barron carried a gun. He says he tried to shoot into the air to scare his aggressors away, but the bullet found its way into another man.

Barron was convicted of murder and spent 20 years in prisons up and down California.

“Being incarcerated kills your job opportunities.

You feel like you are worthless.

My mission is to help get people off the streets, so they aren’t throwaways anymore.”

– Ricardo Barron

Urban Alchemy is a staffing social enterprise that hires the formerly incarcerated and homeless to do the dirtiest jobs associated with homelessness (photo courtesy Urban Alchemy)

When released in 2014 – at 41 – Barron found his way back to Echo Park, but now a pariah, unable to find work and soon homeless himself.

“Being incarcerated kills your job opportunities,” Barron says. “You feel like you are worthless. My mission is to help get people off the streets, so they aren’t throwaways anymore.”

Barron now has a place to live – that he pays for – which he shares with his wife and two children. A true double bottom line.

In the face of the humanitarian crisis playing out across Los

Angeles, Barron is an incarnation of hope.

Meeting the challenges of the rolling catastrophe will require the full expression of the power of the government, the nonprofit sector, and importantly, philanthropy.

Government has deployed billions of dollars to the cause.

Nonprofits have designed and executed programs to contend with a wildly complex problem, wherein economics, mental health, and substance abuse have left nearly 70,000 Angelenos unhoused.

22

| Los Angeles |

Meeting the challenges of the rolling catastrophe on L.A.’s streets will require the full expression of the power of the government, the nonprofit sector, and importantly, philanthropy.

Despite the combined largesse and acuity of these two actors, homelessness continues to expand. This while a leviathan remains submerged.

The philanthropic sector has also mobilized, but mostly on its traditional footing – through grantmaking. Underneath the 5% that foundations are compelled to give away every year lies a vast underutilized resource: their endowments. In 2018, the latest year comprehensive data is available, the Foundation Center found that L.A.-based corporate, private, and community foundations held $96.7 billion in assets. This is a low-bound estimate given stock gains in the years since. And it doesn’t include the many millions sitting in donor-advised funds administered by private financial institutions.

If one-tenth of that wealth was invested in private develop-

ment, nearly 73% of L.A.’s entire homeless population could be housed in a studio or one-bedroom unit, and much faster than publicly-funded construction. This while yielding strong returns, backed by the security of existing and expanding government spending.

Notwithstanding the complexity of investing such a sum, these investment vehicles do exist and are growing.

L.A.’s philanthropic sector simply has not expressed its power commensurate with the need. It can, and if it does, be a key player in triumphing over the plainly unacceptable human suffering that we all see every day.

Alchemy

U

rban Alchemy depends on ex-cons and the formerly homeless to staff the hardest and often dirtiest jobs associated with homelessness. Eight hundred strong and growing, the “practitioners” as they are called wear all black, their telltale vests emblazoned with the nonprofit’s bright green logo, a U dipping down into an A with a Hamsa-like eye in the middle, where the letters overlap.

“It’s completely untapped labor,” says Urban Alchemy Founder Lena Miller. And critically, a workforce imbued

Urban Alchemy’s fast-growing staff is uniquely equipped to help people experiencing homelessness, because of what they have experienced

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After two decades spent in prison and years on the streets, Ricardo Barron is now working his way up Urban Alchemy’s employment ladder (photo courtesy Urban Alchemy)

“T

hat’s the tricky thing about solving this problem. If the community and public leadership think that solving homelessness is the sole responsibility of the homeless service system, we’ll never solve the problem.”

If one-tenth of the funds locked in L.A.’s charitable foundation endowments was invested in private housing development, nearly 73% of L.A.’s entire homeless population could be housed in a studio or one-bedroom unit, and much faster than publicly-funded construction. This while yielding strong returns, backed by the security of existing and expanding government spending. with a “beautiful skillset” honed during frightful years spent in a brutal carceral system. “Being in survival mode develops that emotional intelligence because your survival depends on reading people correctly.”

Miller is rightfully proud of what Urban Alchemy has accomplished, cleaning up Skid Row and San Francisco’s Tenderloin, making sure interim housing sites for people traumatized by the streets like the tiny home village are safe, and staring down the “chaos” all around that most would rather turn away from. “Everything we touch turns to gold,” she says.

That sentiment extends beyond positive outcomes for her employees or the thousands of unhoused people they serve. It can be measured in cold, hard cash.

The nonprofit was founded in 2018. That year, revenue stood at $36,000. The projection for the fiscal year running through June 2022 is $36 million.

That explosive growth is an indication of both the depths of the crisis and the opportunity hidden in the encampments lining our streets.

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– Andrea Iloulian

Senior Program Officer, The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

In its FY22 budget, the City of Los Angeles approved nearly $1 billion in homelessness-related spending, while the county dedicated more than $500 million to the crisis. That doesn’t account for the nearly $600 million in federal Section 8 housing vouchers the city doles out to some 44,000 families each year, or myriad other streams of federal and state funding that touch the problem in some way.

But the wash of government money is neither adequate nor unencumbered enough to meet the incredible challenge facing L.A. and most other large urban centers in his country.

“That’s the tricky thing about solving this problem,” says Andrea Iloulian, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s senior program officer overseeing its $46-million homelessness strategy. “If the community and public leadership think that solving homelessness is the sole responsibility of the homeless service system, we’ll never solve the problem.”

Instead, Iloulian and a growing number of thinkers across philanthropy, finance, and housing development are stacking private capital and the security of government spending to find creative – and in many cases lucrative – answers to the crisis.

What I have learned in interviews with more than two dozen top minds across these sectors is that helping the unhoused can be a very good investment, and one that often isn’t all that risky. And there is capital to do just that.

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Philanthropic Capital

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hilanthropy’s coordinated response to homelessness here is clearest in the formation of the Home for Good Funders Collaborative in 2011. Fueled by an initial $1 million grant from the Hilton Foundation and housed within the United Way, the collaborative was and is a collective impact initiative aimed at ending homelessness in Los Angeles.

It is credited with seeding the county’s Coordinated Entry System, which triages homeless people touched by the region’s vast array of service providers, helping connect them with housing.

The funder collaborative’s work has been critical for both unlocking grant dollars and laying the groundwork for major public investments, including the 2016 passage of $1.2 billion Proposition HHH, which partially subsidized the development of 10,000 housing units for homeless Angelenos, the majority of which won’t be occupied until well after 2023.

But when it comes to philanthropy’s investment, there is a lot left on the table.

This is – in part – structural. In 1976, Congress tightened the Tax Reform Act, creating the “five percent rule,” which compels foundations to grant 5% of total assets annually.

“The majority of philanthropic capital is sitting in banks or invested in Wall Street,” says Edgar Villanueva, author of Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance. “It’s a sad thing that there had to be an act of Congress to force foundations to actually give money to the community. Donors do a little bit of good with that 5% that goes to the community, but the vast majority of the wealth is often not aligned with the mission.”

By mission alignment, Villanueva simply means that a foundation’s investments should be in sync with its mission. So, if you fund criminal justice reform, investments in private prisons would be a no-no.

Despite the obvious synergy of such strategies for organizations established to benefit the public, only 18% of small to midsize foundations surveyed by Exponent Philanthropy in 2021 engaged in impact or mission-aligned investing.

And while there is a national movement afoot within philanthropy to change how foundations invest their endowments, the practice is far from ubiquitous.

Of the major local charitable foundations that make up the Home for Good Funders Collaborative, many are likely engaged in some mission alignment, but the Weingart Foundation’s commitment to align its entire corpus stands out.

Tim Ortez is Weingart’s vice president and chief financial officer, overseeing the foundation’s $936 million endowment.

For Ortez, a rare Latino face among foundation CFOs, the foundation’s strategy to invest in Black and Brown communities is about “correcting some of the imbalances that have accumulated over time and history.”

Of the 34 foundations that make up the Home for Good

“T

he majority of philanthropic capital is sitting in banks or invested in Wall Street. It’s a sad thing that there had to be an act of Congress to force foundations to actually give money to the community. Donors do a little bit of good with that 5% that goes to the community, but the vast majority of the wealth is often not aligned with the mission.”

– Edgar Villanueva

Author, Decolonizing Wealth

Funders Collaborative, I tallied the available financials of 15 based here in Los Angeles. Combined, their endowments stand at roughly $15.8 billion.

Going deeper, the average foundation’s assets are broken into three predominant classes: equities (largely stock), fixed income (largely Treasury bonds), and alternative strategies, ranging from hedge funds to real estate. While private and community foundations behaved differently in 2020, both were heavily invested in equities or alternative strategies: 88% for private foundations and 81% for community foundations, according to a 2021 National Council on Foundations’ report.

The remainder is predominantly devoted to Treasury bonds, which act as a ballast to equity positions exposed in a down market and to ensure liquidity.

Real estate investments designed to house the unhoused are often backed by the security of government-subsidized rental assistance – among other streams. And even with nonprofit organizations like Urban Alchemy, there is security in the

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government contracts they assemble, and margins baked into those contracts.

What I am suggesting is that there exists the opportunity to include meaningful allocations to these types of exposure within philanthropic equity portfolios that can yield acceptable returns with acceptable risk. And that this alternative investment strategy could change the face of homelessness in L.A. and across the country.

Let’s start small by carving out 10% from the corpora of the 15 foundations above. The total – $1.58 billion – eclipses the sum dedicated to building permanent supportive housing in Proposition HHH. That investment alone would – at $200,000 per unit – produce 8,530 units, housing nearly 13% of L.A. County’s 66,436 unsheltered people, according to the latest count from 2020.

If you added development of dorm-like housing, which can be done with modular construction, even repurposed shipping containers, for as little as $100,000 a door – you could house even more people.

Now imagine if all L.A.’s foundations stepped up in this way.

Government-Backed Security

I

am sitting at a press conference on the top of a new five-story development in the heart of South Los Angeles. All the residents here have experienced homelessness and are paying their rent with government-issued vouchers.

From here you can see downtown L.A. with the San Gabriel Mountains rising behind, and somewhere over my shoulder, past the steady sprawl, the Pacific.

Local City Council Member Curren Price is at the podium. He points to the “unique and powerful partnerships” that

“I

realized, wow, I am going to focus my work on enlisting the private sector.

Because you need more than the government and nonprofit sector, otherwise you’re just not operating on all cylinders.”

– Debbie La Franchi

Founder and CEO, SDS Capital Group

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The Etta James, at the confluence of the Central and Vernon corridors, is an example of the double bottom line possible when investing in housing for people who have experienced homelessness (photo courtesy Homeless Healthcare LA)

made this happen and thanks the impact investing firm, SDS Capital Group, that is financing this and an additional 34 similar projects. In five years, SDS developments will house 1,800 people across California, including 1,200 here in Los Angeles.

“Everyone knows that nothing happens without the capital,” Price says. The assembled chuckle.

Next to take the mic is Kush Simpson, a Maryland-born, 72-year-old resident who spent decades in and out of prison and living on the streets as he battled deep drug addiction. For him, escape from that harsh, unforgiving life came through his art – collages – that let him express the world that he wanted to see.

“This is not an ending,” he says of his one-bedroom apartment three floors below, “but the opportunity for a new beginning.”

As Simpson sees it, housing is a stepping stone. When he moves on, his space will open up for someone who needs it more.

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Unlike the typical supportive housing procured by the city and county of Los Angeles at costs of $500,000 or even $700,000 a unit, The Etta James, as this building is called, was built for roughly $200,000 a door. Because the developments in the fund are underwritten with purely private capital, they can be completed, start to finish, in as little as 24 months.

The nonprofit Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles provides case management for all the tenants.

For Debbie La Franchi, SDS’ founder and CEO, it’s deals like this that got her to leave the public sector two decades before. La Franchi was an assistant deputy mayor for Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, before becoming the first CEO of Genesis LA, one of the city’s leading community development financial institutions (CDFI). There she raised $85 million to “engage in the fight against poverty.”

“I realized, wow, I am going to focus my work on enlisting the private sector,” she says. “Because you need more than the government and nonprofit sector, otherwise you’re just not operating on all cylinders.”

By the time of publication, SDS’ Supportive Housing Fund – which fueled the Etta James – had closed its $150 million target. Kaiser Permanente was the largest investor at $50 million, alongside a slew of local banks. While most of the capital

Mayor Garcetti, Michael Tubbs, and Martin Muoto at The Beehive (photo courtesy SoLa Impact)

came from outside the philanthropic sector, the Annenberg, California Community and Weingart Foundations did invest.

For Weingart’s Ortez, the $5 million investment penciled out. The return that SDS offered gelled nicely with his 8% annual target. It also didn’t hurt that the fund’s reliance on housing vouchers creates a secured, near recession-proof revenue source.

SoLa Impact has built a business model out of affordable housing in South Los Angeles (photo courtesy SoLa Impact)

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SoLa’s panelization process cuts build time by approximately 20 percent (photo courtesy SoLa Impact)

“It has taken a lot of work to educate the foundation world. In some respects, I am a little surprised. They have a fiduciary duty to look at returns after all.”

– Martin Muoto, CEO, SoLA Impact SDS isn’t the only housing-focused venture that Weingart is considering.

SoLa Impact is a real estate investment firm that does most of its work in South Los Angeles, where it manages 1,500 apartments. Half house tenants subsidized by vouchers, and 60% of all residents have experienced homelessness. The firm has another 1,300 units in the pipeline, which range from $225,000 to $250,000 per unit to build.

“This is a grand experiment on how you can approach capitalism differently,” says CEO Martin Muoto. “Some call it compassionate capitalism, but I just call it common sense.

“I hope that corporations and investment and asset managers are either inspired or embarrassed. Inspired because people can do this. Embarrassed because they said it couldn’t be done

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and we are doing it.”

Despite the interest from Weingart, Muoto says it has been slow going getting other charitable foundations to invest.

“It has taken a lot of work to educate the foundation world,” Muoto says. “In some respects, I am a little surprised. They have a fiduciary duty to look at returns after all.”

Like Muoto, Jennifer Kenning, co-founder and CEO of Align Impact, has seen a disconnect between foundations’ efforts to fight homelessness and how they guide their investments.

“They haven’t yet connected that to eradicate homelessness we need safe, secure, and affordable housing, which would require an investment in real estate rather than a traditional grant,” Kenning says. “They are also focused on wrap-around solutions rather than taking a comprehensive approach and using multiple forms of capital to address the problem.

The Capital Stack

S

ometimes called patient capital, charitable foundations can offer low-yield loans – often 10-year terms – to projects that lure in other, more returns-driven investors.

An example is Just in Reach, a $10 million “social impact bond” that marries private investment with public ser-

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SoLa CEO Martin Muoto says his company is “unapologetically for-profit,” and simultaneously focused on social good (photo courtesy SoLa Impact)

vices. The program’s goal is to push down recidivism rates by housing people at high risk of becoming homeless the moment they are released from jail. If successful, the county pays back investors, with interest.

Keeping people out of costly jail beds creates “bankable savings” for the county, according to Gary Painter, director of the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation and the Homelessness Policy Research Institute, housed at USC. The Hilton Foundation used Program Related Investment (PRI) dollars drawn from its grantmaking portfolio to make two loans of $1.5 million, one for 2% and the other for 0%. These low rates ensured that the $7 million UnitedHealth invested would yield 5% if Just in Reach was a success. Just in Reach’s “innovation” was in the “stacking of capital,” Painter says.

Hilton’s Andrea Iloulian says the initiative will “show program success.” But more than the return on investment, she is focused on the county latching “onto that program success and making the program changes permanent.”

“We’re not interested in using our PRIs for return when they come out of our grantmaking budget; we’re interested in using them for maximum impact,” Iloulian says.

But impact need not deny returns.

Signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act pumped federal grant dollars into CDFIs like Genesis LA, creating an equity base these financial institutions leverage to offer affordable loans. Coupled with the Community Reinvestment Act, which compels banks to invest in low- and moderate-income communities, CDFIs have become a linchpin of affordable housing development nationwide. They have also become a vehicle for charitable foundations that want to safely invest in affordable housing, while preserving capital and earning modest returns.

Today, Genesis LA, the same CDFI that La Franchi launched in 1998, is run by President and CEO Tom De Simone.

While De Simone is grateful about “historic levels” of county, state, and federal funds being devoted to building housing, he is dismayed by the strings attached. “We’ve created this byzantine process that just adds so much delay and higher costs.” To get a supportive housing project off the ground, developers typically apply to as many as six government funding streams delaying construction for years and driving costs skyward.

“The government should be funding the demand side of housing as opposed to the supply side,” De Simone says. “Let the private sector build the units, and the government can buy the units outright or provide permanent rent.”

In 2014, Los Angeles County Health Services launched – unsurprisingly with Hilton – the Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool, which has made housing possible for thousands of homeless people. The pool provides case management and, importantly, rental subsidies, which have been used to leverage the financing of construction projects.

In response to the pandemic, the state launched Project Homekey, wherein grants were offered to local public entities to buy housing units, whether in motels or in vacant apartment buildings. Within a year of its launch, the program had snatched up 6,000 affordable housing units, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, illustrating what the government can do when it switches to the demand side.

And on the federal level, the earned income child tax credit, expanded food stamp allocations, and calls for a dramatic increase in rental vouchers are examples of programs that aim to keep poor people – many on the edge of economic homelessness – above water.

While there isn’t an endless supply of rental assistance or other government funds, these shifts portend growing opportunities to match public spending with private capital.

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(photo by Pedro Marroquin)

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The Crisis Demands More than Housing

B

eyond housing, philanthropic capital has another important role to play. While nearly two-thirds of L.A.’s unhoused reported being homeless for the first time in the latest count, many are there for more than economic reasons alone.

Deep mental health issues and substance abuse conspire to leave a large part of the homeless population in need of a wide array of services, which can also, counterintuitively, translate into solid investments.

Carrie McKellogg leads REDF’s Impact Investing Fund, which blends low-interest PRIs and grants from charitable foundations to underwrite short and midterm loans for for-profits and nonprofits, primarily employment organizations like Urban Alchemy.

“Staffing organizations have the potential for both safe and stable returns,” McKellogg says. It’s all about understanding those organizations’ government contracts and how well they are billing and getting reimbursed in a timely manner. “The fundamental business model has margins built in.”

The downside is that public agency reimbursement can take anywhere from 30 to 60 days, creating cash flow nightmares.

With millions in payroll, Urban Alchemy faces this problem every month.

When I catch McKellogg on the phone, she is diligencing a 12-month, $500,000 line of credit to Urban Alchemy at 6-8% interest. The impact lending practice can do this because it is recycling 10-year program related investments from charitable foundations that typically expect a 3% return. “Good, solid, patient money,” McKellogg calls it.

As a nonprofit, REDF uses the margins to offset the cost of providing technical assistance to its borrowers, helping the Urban Alchemy’s of the world become financially stable and adept, putting them on a path to scale.

other paraphernalia.

And those are just the everyday citizens. The intersection is frequented by the unhoused, many of them clearly suffering.

It is late in the afternoon. The sun dances off the glass towers, gleaming, giving the confluence of Vine and Selma a goldish glow.

I look up and see a small battalion of men and women in all black, wearing those telltale Urban Alchemy vests. I stop one young man with dreads past his shoulders and ask him how he likes working for the organization.

With a smile, he says he just started, but yeah, he likes it a lot. I’m sure he’s got a good story.

His co-workers are now halfway across Vine, moving in the direction of Trader Joe’s. He jogs over to join them.

In this place, in this crisis, I feel hope.

Eyes Wide Open

I

often work out of an office at the intersection of Vine and Selma streets in Hollywood. It is, like so many of this city’s corners, a raw place when you decide to look.

On the southwest corner stands a narrow tent with a blue tarp draped over it. Inside lives a young woman. A few yards from where she has made her home, I saw a young, wild-eyed man land two punches to the face of another man before a security guard moved him along.

On the southeast corner, a new luxury-style apartment development looms, with an Equinox gym in its belly.

A Trader Joe’s dominates the northeast corner. An apparently unhoused man is camped near the door, always sitting on a beach chair, a large plastic cup of dollars and change in his hands. A few yards south, another man sits behind a table proffering psychedelic mushrooms, marijuana, and

In the rolling human catastrophe that is homelessness here in Los Angeles, solutions can be found on every corner (photo courtesy Urban Alchemy)

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Helping L.A. Turn Big Ideas into Outsized Impact

P “Today’s donors and changemakers come to their philanthropy with bold ideas and with an impactinvesting mindset,” says Arabella Advisors’ Managing Director Sharyn Church. “We help them use their philanthropic capital catalytically, to maximize effectiveness and impact,” adds CEO Sampriti Ganguli.

hilanthropy can be, should be, and often is so much more than writing checks.

At its best, it can change the world for the better by making the most of what Arabella Advisors CEO Sampriti Ganguli calls “catalytic risk capital.” An incredible force that if coalesced is capable of driving deep and lasting impact in the global fight against climate change, the racial and economic inequity rife throughout American society, and here in Los Angeles, challenges like the seemingly intractable homelessness crisis.

But enlivening the philanthropic sector – oft-referred to as the Fifth Estate – to its fullest potential requires matching passion with technical acuity and an understanding of how best to pull all the levers of change available to individual donors, charitable foundations and corporations.

Enter Arabella Advisors, the only philanthropic advising firm that’s part of the Inc 5000, whose 300 passionate problem solvers have helped hundreds of clients and partners deploy billions of dollars in assets toward philanthropic impact. The D.C.based firm, whose client list ranges from the Hewlett Foundation to Malala Yousafzai and Selena Gomez’s fast-growing company Rare Beauty, has recently established an office here in Los Angeles.

To lead that effort, Ganguli and Arabella have tapped a native Angeleno with deep roots in the nonprofit and movementbuilding sectors: Sharyn Church. Among the many nonprofits she managed and grew is Inner-City Arts, which received the coveted Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence.

During her tenure, the nonprofit’s revenue quadrupled, and she led fundraising, design and construction of its 2.5-acre campus near Skid Row – all while serving 10,000 Los Angeles students annually. While leading the Los Angeles office of statewide children’s advocacy powerhouse Children Now, Church ensured that the needs of Los Angeles County children and families were a priority in Sacramento.

And Church has some notable admirers at the highest levels of philanthropy, including Judy Belk, president and CEO of the California Wellness Foundation.

“I’m thrilled that Arabella Advisors is expanding its footprint in Southern California under the leadership of Sharyn Church,” Belk says. “Their presence is a welcome addition to the region’s philanthropic landscape. I have long admired Sharyn’s commitment to nurturing inclusiveness throughout the nonprofit sector and appreciate the presence of another African American woman at the table.”

“T

he Rare Impact Fund is forging new alliances among donors to support young people’s mental health, helping them get the education and support they need. Arabella has been a trusted partner in developing and executing our strategy for reaching corporate, individual and other philanthropic partners who share similar aspirations and goals.”

– ELYSE COHEN

Vice President, Social Impact & Inclusion at Rare Beauty

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With allies like Belk, Church is bent on channeling the deep wellspring of philanthropic good in Los Angeles toward solutions to the endemic problems she has seen throughout her life and career.

“Today’s donors and changemakers are different; they’re ambitious,” Church says.

“They come to their philanthropy with bold ideas and with an impact-investing mindset. Grantmaking is often thought of as catalytic capital, where donors make strategic investments in opportunities with the capacity for growth, leveraging additional resources, and leading the way for scale and sustainability. Arabella keenly understands this entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy and specializes in providing nuanced strategic guidance. And now, being in Los Angeles, we truly have an opportunity to leverage the creativity and ingenuity that comes from being in the entertainment and tech hub of the world.

This kind of transformational giving is really exciting and needed.”

Even as she works with fellow Angelenos, Church can rely on Ganguli and Arabella’s established network of partners and platforms, as well as the knowledge and experience of philanthropists of all stripes needed to accelerate and increase their impact.

“We love to help spread best practices of what makes for effective and strategic philanthropy so that people aren’t recreating the wheel,” says Ganguli, who spent years studying and implementing efficiency strategies in the private sector. “That way, our clients are organizing and coalescing around proven solutions. Another goal, if I can be so bold, is to make sure that we can fast cycle donors’ commitments to communities that have been left behind in terms of philanthropic contribution.”

“T

he California Wellness Foundation has valued its partnership with Arabella Advisors in establishing and building the Hope and Heal Fund, a California-centered effort to invest in public health, racial equity and communitybased approaches to preventing gun violence. They have helped us elevate this critical issue among new donors.”

– JUDY BELK

Church agrees and is quick to note both the role philanthropy can play in accelerating momentum for social justice and Arabella’s commitment to such efforts. “Arabella’s work is anchored in addressing four key pillars of social change,” Church notes, “strengthening communities, enhancing equity, defending democracy, and protecting the planet.”

But amplifying impact is a threedimensional game of chess, wherein the players must be thinking 10 moves ahead to efficiently navigate an array of philanthropic and financial structures, connect with the right partners, and all the while execute effectively. With Arabella, the forwardthinking individual donor, philanthropic institution or corporation has a partner to guide them through all their options and come up with the most clear-eyed strategy.

This entails finding the right fellow travelers to join on a philanthropic journey: other funders, issue experts and most importantly the nonprofit organizations and community leaders who do so much of the groundwork.

Simultaneously, that strategy must also titrate available platforms – an area where Arabella is an established leader. Options include using a private foundation, donoradvised funds, money from the corpus of your family foundation devoted to impact investing, or even launching a new nonprofit organization or project. Choosing between and among such options, and potentially combining them in different ways, is critical to deploying resources most effectively to advance the causes you care about.

SCAN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ARABELLA ADVISORS Sharyn Church, Managing Director sharyn.church@arabellaadvisors.com (310) 962-3542

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President and CEO, The California Wellness Foundation

Ganguli was born in the United States but raised in India and the Philippines – where she picked up at least a couple of her five languages – before returning to the U.S. During that time, she witnessed American generosity intimately. She was one of the last children to receive a smallpox vaccine in India as part of the Ford Foundation’s Last Mile Program aimed at eradicating the deadly, medieval relic.

“What I have found very different about the United States and anywhere else that I have lived, quite frankly, is the spirit of generosity and giving,” Ganguli says. “And so, I’ve always been inspired and a little bit in awe of how charitable this country and nation is.”

This spirit is what led her out of the corporate boardroom and to Arabella, a B-Corp organized with social good at the forefront and focused on using philanthropy as the catalyst she knows it can be.

Pausing to consider how philanthropy can be more catalytic, Church reflects on some of the remarkable philanthropists and changemakers she has known. “I have observed that in order to catalyze the sort of social and economic change that’s needed, one of the most effective intervention points is the person who sits on a nonprofit board or who himself, herself, or themselves gets involved in the act of giving.”

Now Arabella Advisors is here in Los Angeles, a county more populous than all but eight states, peopled with some of the most high-profile philanthropists in the world, poised to take on challenges of outsized proportion. Imagine the possibilities.

Arabella is interested in speaking with today’s changemakers and helping them turn inspiring ideas to life-changing impact.

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South Los Angeles

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“I love my community.

I love black people.

But I have pain for my community, for what is happening around homelessness and inequity, around how this city looks today.”

– Charisse Bremond Weaver CEO & President, Brotherhood Crusade

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Opening the Door to a New Kind of Philanthropy As told to Daniel Heimpel

S

ince 2004, Antonia Hernández has led the California Community Foundation (CCF). Over those nearly two decades Hernández has grown the endowment to $2.6 billion, $800 million being discretionary funds that she and her increasingly diverse staff have used to combat some of the most endemic social issues facing our region.

For Hernández, CCF and its vast resources have allowed her to continue the expression of her life’s work: helping people.

Whether working for the Senate Judiciary Committee as an attorney representing victims of domestic abuse, or as president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) fighting for immigrant rights, she has always focused on justice.

One of her proudest achievements at CCF is changing the institution to represent Los Angeles more deeply, the place she calls her “perfectly imperfect paradise.” To do so has required changing not only how the foundation makes grants and investment decisions, but also the people who work there.

For many years, “I was the first Hispanic,” she says. “It got old and lonely. What I want to do is have a lot of other Latinos, people of color in philanthropy, because I think philanthropy will be better for it.

“I’m not the special one. I just opened the door. Who else is coming in?”

In her remarks below, Hernández speaks to the urgent needs of Los Angeles, and charts a path for a new kind of philanthropy – one that looks more like the people it serves and is ready to change how it works to achieve more social good.

You have led the California Community Foundation for nearly two decades now. What about the job has made you want to stay?

I’ve loved every job I’ve had because I see every job as a vehicle, a vehicle for social change, a vehicle for improving the quality of life.

When I worked at legal aid it was one client at a time. When I worked in the Senate, it was legislation to really improve the lives of refugees, immigrants, and similarly at MALDEF. The tools that I used for social change were litigation, advocacy, education. At CCF, the tool is money. To me it’s the same thing.

You’re just using different tools for the same goals.

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What are you most proud of in the time you have spent leading the Foundation?

What I’m most proud of is that I have changed this institution to see itself as of L.A. for L.A. by L.A. I call L.A. my perfectly imperfect paradise. We are the world, every community, every language, every ethnic group is here in Southern California. We’re a laboratory of bringing together people from different parts of the world and creating an environment where with all our problems we can coexist.

I am proud that we have changed the institution of CCF to be an activist community foundation. We know that the community is the foundation of who we are.

Philanthropy is still predominantly white. And so, part of CCF’s mission is to train people of color here at CCF, and then for them to go and populate other foundations, not just

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locally, but in California, throughout the country. So, we can diversify philanthropy, which I think is really important.

I hire extraordinarily bright, talented people because the perception is that intellect is still a white issue. But the Lord spread intellect to all parts of the world, what that intellect needs is opportunity.

Since pledging to commit $1 billion in grants to Los Angeles County nonprofits in 2015, the California Community Foundation has already eclipsed $800 million. Why is that investment so important?

We are unique in our ability to do stuff. Yes, our donor funds are larger, but not by much. We have a substantial amount of funds that are discretionary to our fields of interest. And we have worked very hard to increase our discretionary funds.

And that’s what has given us this influence in L.A., the fact that we have discretionary money to infuse into L.A. County and then bring along donors. Because it’s only when you align all those that you maximize your impact.

Our strategic plan runs through 2025. So, we’re going to exceed that $1 billion goal.

The Foundation has prioritized getting children and families enrolled in two federal programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Earned Income Child Tax Credit. Why is this important, and how does it speak to philanthropy’s role in working with the government?

Philanthropy is delusional if it thinks it is going to address issues of poverty with the totality of the funds that philanthropy has. We both know that the vast majority of money and resources that go to alleviate poverty come from the public sector.

And so, if you don’t partner and leverage public sector resources, you are just playing at the edges.

The Child Tax Credit is a perfect example. Right now, we have a temporary earned income tax credit of $3,600 for every child under six and $3,000 for a child over six. If a poor person has three children, they can technically receive over $12,000.

This is in addition to a 25% increase in the food stamp program [SNAP].

It is possible that this is the most significant thing that has happened for us to alleviate poverty in our lifetimes, and a chance to really touch and decrease poverty. But if we don’t sign people up, it’s not just the family that’s gonna lose. It’s the grocery store, it’s the Ross, it’s the Marshalls, it’s the Targets.

So, it’s our job to make sure families sign up, and CCF has already devoted $1 million to do that. That’s how we leverage.

Collaborating with government is the only way we’re going to

make a major impact on all the issues affecting poverty, and any philanthropy, any foundation that doesn’t see that is fooling themselves.

Affordable housing and homelessness are arguably two of the most pressing issues we all face in Los Angeles. Tell me how the Foundation is using not only its grantmaking, but the investments made from its corpus to help.

My approach is threefold.

First of all, it’s grantmaking to the nonprofit developers.

We’re one of the biggest grant-makers in that locally.

Secondly, it’s program-related investments, where we make loans to nonprofit developments.

And now this mission investing, where we have $10 million to invest in private sector endeavors to increase the stock of homes.

We also engage our donors. For instance, we went to our donors and said, we’re creating a fund that you should invest in for dealing with homelessness. And we created a fund of $5 million. We told them, you’re not going to get huge returns, but CCF guarantees the loan. You’ll never lose the value of your investment. The $5 million came in and we deployed those funds. Now we’re thinking of starting another fund. So, it’s not just our resources.

You’ve got to look at it holistically in order to leverage the resources that we have to make major impact.

The Foundation has a robust donor advised fund practice.

Why do you believe the Foundation is a good partner for individuals or families looking to engage on philanthropy?

If the community foundation is in fact a community foundation, the value added is our knowledge of the community, our knowledge of the needs of that community.

We understand that donors want to give, but they want to have impact. The action is at the community foundation level.

This is where change is happening. And so, I would urge folks, whether it’s Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, or wherever, I would urge donors to connect with your community foundation, because that’s where you’re going to see the difference and the impact of your investment.

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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Art as Permanence for Black Los Angeles

DESTINATION CRENSHAW:

D

estination Crenshaw is a potential game changer for South Los Angeles. Once complete, the 1.3 miles of Destination Crenshaw will boast more than 100 commissioned works of Black art, 10 pocket parks and community spaces, cultural stamped infrastructure (including sidewalks, wayfinding signage, and street furniture), and hundreds of trees in the heart of the city’s Black historic district once construction wraps in late 2022. Through art and design, the project aims to stamp the boulevard with a visual celebration of the creative contributions Black Angelenos have made to the city and to the world. A parallel and equally important component of the project is Destination Crenshaw’s economic agenda, which is to create careers for local residents, and offer critical support for both legacy small businesses and young entrepreneurs.

“How do we improve systematically oppressed communities and serve as an answer to the cultural erasure and displacement that Black and Brown communities experience and keep people there?” asks Jason Foster, Destination Crenshaw’s president and chief operating officer. “That’s something that Destination Crenshaw is working toward and will accomplish with our project.”

Destination Crenshaw intends to economically revitalize the area in a way that will benefit the historic community’s existing residents. It’s a goal the organization plans to achieve with the backing of community members who have weighed in on the project through an advisory council that formed four years ago. That guidance and grassroots support is essential to the project because Destination Crenshaw is a concept that arose from strong community sentiments regarding the Los Angeles Metro’s nearly complete $2.14 billion Crenshaw-LAX light rail line and its potential to displace local businesses and residents.

The brainchild of Los Angeles Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Destination Crenshaw instead wants to create “permanence” for the Crenshaw District’s Black community. Its “unifying narrative” highlights the migration experience of thousands of Black families who moved to Los Angeles generations ago in search of a better life. The project’s unifying narrative is based on the Giant Star

40

Grass, which served as bedding on the ships that transported enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas. That grass is now found in every U.S. state and represents a definitive link to the greater Black experience in America.

“All the design elements of our DC President and COO Jason project are based on that unifying Foster (photo by Leroy Hamilton) narrative,” Foster says, “so that the community can understand that the story of the project is actually their story, directly addressing cultural erasure and really, hopefully, being an answer to the gentrification question that typically happens when public investment occurs.”

As Destination Crenshaw is prioritizing community members’ opportunities to benefit economically from the project, they’ve set an ambitious goal of hiring 70% of its construction workforce locally. Ideally, Foster would like to see projects similar to Destination Crenshaw appear in disinvested African American neighborhoods nationwide.

“We want to create a way for people to have a North Star and really be able to understand that it is possible to improve your community,” he says of scaling the project for other cities. “It is possible for Black people to live in a beautiful environment.”

“D

estination Crenshaw is a commitment to both celebrating the rich contributions Black Angelenos make to this city and the indelible impact they’ve made across the world. And in living its purpose, will serve Black Los Angeles through equitable economic development, environmental uplift, and engaging the community in ways that build generational power. We’re overjoyed that we can support this uniquely South Los Angeles community effort.”

– Alex M. Johnson

Interim Vice President of Programs, The California Wellness Foundation

| Los Angeles |

“T

his is for us, and by us and unapologetically so. You can see in the assembly of community members at the table and the team that is doing the work this project is culturally competent, which we rarely, if ever, see in these types of public infrastructure and community development projects.”

– Karen Mack

Destination Crenshaw Advisory Council Member and Executive Director of L.A. Commons in Leimert Park

Artis Lane with her work Emerging First Man, courtesy of the artist and the California African American Museum

KEY SUPPORTERS Kehinde Wiley

by Kylie Corwin, courtesy of the artist

Maren Hassinger

by Ava Hassinger, courtesy of the artist

Alison Saar, Self-Portrait 2020, courtesy of the artist

Brenna Youngblood

by James Kelly, courtesy of the artist

Melvin Edwards

by Ross Collab, courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates, New York

Leave Your Mark on Destination Crenshaw — Literally

D

estination Crenshaw, a 1.3-mile art and culture corridor, aims to preserve the rich legacy of Black Angelenos – from the Angelenos of African descent who cofounded L.A. to the generations of Black Americans who moved to and thrived in the Crenshaw District.

“We’re now in our capital campaign, and we need people who actually want to invest in the future of Black Los Angeles,” says Jason Foster, Destination Crenshaw’s president and chief operating officer.

Investors in the project can literally leave their mark on the museum. The names of foundations or individual donors who make substantial donations to Destination Crenshaw will appear along its corridor, at parklets, and in other high-profile sites.

Destination Crenshaw

Jason Foster, President and COO Jason@destinationcrenshaw.la www.Destinationcrenshaw.la

Charles Dickson

by Leroy Hamilton, courtesy of Destination Crenshaw

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT DESTINATION CRENSHAW

| www.thegivinglist.com |

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Berlinda Fontenot-Jameson, Board Chair Deborah Bryant, Board Treasurer George Fatheree Esq. ADVISORY COUNCIL Adam Ayala Alberto Retana Allison Agsten Archer One Ben Caldwell Darnell Hunt Drake Dillard Felicia Filer James Burk Jill Moniz Jorge Peniche Joy Simmons Karen Mack Kohshin Finley Leroy Hamilton Mandla Kayise Mark Greenfield Naima Keith Ron Finley Tafarai Bayne

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BROTHERHOOD CRUSADE:

Uplifting South L.A. Hope

by Turning Its Youth into Stars

T

he young Black man with the ear-length dreads is wearing a brand new, white sweatshirt with MOREHOUSE emblazoned across his chest. In the one-and-a-half-minute video, he is effusive, not knowing exactly how to articulate the depths of his gratitude for South Los Angeles’ Brotherhood Crusade, its staff, and its dynamic leader Charisse Bremond Weaver.

“You guys have given me so much. And I really wish I could repay you,” Rufus says. “But I’m gonna repay you by doing what I gotta do in college. Graduating.”

For Bremond Weaver, whose father Walter Bremond founded Brotherhood Crusade in 1968, and her mentor Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. who led the organization for 35 years, thinking about Rufus and what he represents brings tears to her eyes.

“The video says it all,” Bremond Weaver says. “Oh my God, yes, you are going to finish college. You have got a plan.” And the most important aspect, she says, is that the plan is all about “giving back.”

Situated in the heart of what Bremond Weaver sees as a deeply troubled and neglected South Los Angeles, Brotherhood Crusade is bent on giving young people the tools and the exposure to new experiences that they need not only to succeed in school, but become the doers who will uplift the community she loves so much.

Every year, the nonprofit serves a staggering 3,000 young people, ages 10-24, with a wide array of programs and services. With 14 school-based programs, Brotherhood Crusade is seeing stunning results: 99% will graduate on time, 93% saw their grades go up, and among those with significant barriers to entering the workforce, 94% earned certificates from workforce development programs and another 25,000 South Los Angeles residents with support services through community special projects.

For Bremond Weaver, Brotherhood Crusade’s success is familial.

It comes from growing up in a home that she calls “electric,” where her father – a “philanthropist, organizer, and therapist” – and her mother – an educator – made sure all their children had choices.

That’s what she wants to give her community and the young peo-

42

“Y

ou guys have given me so much. And I really wish I could repay you,” says Rufus, a rising scholar now attending Morehouse College thanks to Brotherhood Crusade. “But I’m gonna repay you by doing what I gotta do in college. Graduating.”

– Rufus Williams

Class of 2025, Morehouse College

ple growing up in it.

“I think of my own life,” Bremond Weaver says. “I think of how I was raised, the unconditional love. Like from the time I was five, opening a savings account, to talking about current events at the dinner table, to having opportunities as a child to travel, going to see the theater, the exposure. My parents gave me choices.

And I live by that. And so when you think of young people in our community who look like me, I want to expose them to everything possible.”

And even though Brotherhood Crusade’s budget and the scale of its work has ballooned under her leadership, she is far from content. She wants to see real, lasting change in South Los Angeles.

“I love my community,” she says. “I love black people. But I have pain for my community, for what is happening around homelessness and inequity, around how this city looks today.”

Until she can raise the many more millions she needs to do what she knows Brotherhood Crusade can, Ms. Bremond Weaver stays focused on the young people, like Rufus. One at a time.

| Los Angeles |

“F

or 22 years, I had the honor to serve as the President and CEO of the Weingart Foundation. During that time, the Foundation supported many outstanding community-based organizations. Under the leadership of Charisse Bremond Weaver, Brotherhood Crusade exemplifies what it means to be an effective, impactful, community-driven nonprofit organization working to address the impacts of social, economic, and racial inequity.

“For over 53 years, Brotherhood Crusade has provided critically important human and social services to the South Los Angeles community. Most importantly, Brotherhood Crusade has been a steadfast and effective advocate for the underserved and marginalized. For individual and philanthropic organizations who want to invest with impact, Brotherhood Crusade is an excellent choice.”

– Fred Ali

Immediate Past President and CEO of the Weingart Foundation

Charisse Bremond Weaver, CEO & President, with Andrew Altshule, President, Outdoor Products at the inaugural Brotherhood Crusade Juneteenth in June 2021 at Crete Academy in Los Angeles

KEY SUPPORTERS SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

Renovations with a Purpose

B

rotherhood Crusade’s President and CEO Charisse Bremond Weaver has a simple and important ask: She is seeking thoughtful donors to provide $250,000 to refurbish one of the nonprofit’s dilapidated buildings into a resplendent youth development center.

“The young people really need their own space to thrive,” Bremond Weaver says. “This is a great place, it’s a great building. It just needs a lot of love.”

Additionally, Brotherhood Crusade secured scholarship funds for Rufus for his freshman year at Morehouse. If you want to help young men and women like him, you can support scholarships as well.

Brotherhood Crusade: 200 East Slauson Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90011 (323) 846-1649 (323) 245-5536 fax brotherhoodcrusade.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT BROTHERHOOD CRUSADE

Contact:

Charisse Bremond Weaver, President and CEO cbremond@brotherhoodcrusade.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Annenberg Foundation California Community Foundation Comerica Bank Conrad Hilton Foundation Danhakl Family Foundation Erika Glazier Ford Motor Company JP Morgan Chase Leonard Green & Partners Liberty Hill Foundation Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper Sandra Evers-Manly Microsoft Northrop Grumman The Ballmer Group The California Endowment The California Wellness Foundation The Clippers Foundation The Dodgers Foundation The James Irvine Foundation The Weingart Foundation

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PARTNERS FOR CHILDREN SOUTH L.A.:

Supporting Deserving Children and Families in Need LIZA BRAY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

L

iza Bray remembers a mother and child walking into a Partners for Children South L.A. (PCSLA) partner agency clinic desperate for help. The mother was seeking medical care for high blood pressure due to stress caused by being in a violent relationship. On top of everything, she had just received an eviction notice, and she and her three-year-old child had nowhere to go.

“So, what is that doctor supposed to do?” Bray, executive director of the organization asks rhetorically. “Well through our System of Care, with a few clicks of a button, that doctor can refer the patient to us.”

Partners for Children South L.A. exists for these exact moments.

The nonprofit was able to help that mother not only with her medical needs, but also assist with getting domestic violence support services and emergency housing.

“That doctor doesn’t have to figure out what to do, or who to call,” Bray says. “He now has vetted organizations that he can refer that mom to and know she’s going to be well taken care of. And we go into action, and we take care of mom. It’s coordinated care.”

In 2009, the recently deceased, legendary local philanthropist Rich Atlas brought seven organizations providing critical services in South L.A. together, forming Partners for Children South L.A., a collaborative designed to improve access to high-quality healthcare, early education and family supports for the youngest

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and most vulnerable children in South Los Angeles. To do this, Partners for Children South L.A. and its partner agencies identify children ages birth to five and their families to participate in the Early Childhood System of Care, where partner agencies coordinate service delivery to provide high quality, holistic, and reliable care for families. The System of Care includes intake, triage, assessment, referral, care plans, and case management, as well as tracking and evaluation.

The nonprofit has grown from working with seven partner agencies to 38 today and has served over 13,000 individuals. It’s in the process of adding two more partner organizations to its roster.

South L.A. is one of the most underserved communities in the region, where redlining, a legacy of racism, and manufacturing decline has led to stark economic disparity, which particularly impacts young children. These racial divides, however, are apparent throughout Los Angeles County. Three times as many African American infants die within their first year compared to white babies, and racial discrimination has been found to impact both the mental and physical health of young children, according to two studies by the Center for Health Equity and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

The partner agencies provide services ranging from childcare services to parenting classes and early intervention services to employment assistance and mental health services to housing, and so much more, as well as cross-agency care coordination.

“If a parent walks in the door and requests a service that we don’t have, our job that night is to find a reputable organization to invite into our network to be able to offer that service moving forward – immediate, quality, comprehensive, coordinated care is our goal,” Bray says.

| Los Angeles |

L

ooking back and speaking of PCSLA, Julia offers this bit of insight for others who might find themselves in seemingly insurmountable situations: “Always remember, there is help,” she says.

“And there are people out there who want to help you. When things go bad, it’s natural to feel frightened and alone. But I’m here to tell you — you are not alone.”

– Julia Escalante

Relative caregiver (grandmother)

“P

artners for Children South L.A. advances the health and wellness of children and families in South L.A. by leveraging the power of collaboration and partnership. Through its unique System of Care, PCSLA connects families to the critical resources and services that support positive child and family development.

PCSLA shows us what it means to invest in people and how it transforms lives and strengthens community.”

A Community Hub

– The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation

R

esearch shows if you can reach kids during those most impressionable years, you are able to set them on a path toward being productive citizens, which is why Partners for Children South L.A never turns a family away.

To do so, the nonprofit hopes to raise $250,000 to hire two new staff members and furnish its new South L.A. offices to become a hub for the community and technically outfitted with the adequate resources to serve the neighborhood.

The organization’s ultimate goal is to turn its network into a replicable model to serve other high-risk communities in addition to South L.A. “This is taking that leap, ramping up the organization to be properly staffed so we can start thinking about replication, so we can take this effort throughout L.A. County to serve even more children and families in need,” says Executive Director Liza Bray.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through January 15, 2022, the first $1,500 donated will be matched thanks to the Giving List’s novel matching program

Partners for Children South L.A. www.partners4childrensla.org P.O. Box 218 Inglewood, CA 90306

Contact:

Liza Bray, Executive Director (213) 308-4267 Lbray@partners4childrensla.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS The Atlas Family Foundation Ballmer Group The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation The Change Reaction The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Dwight Stuart Youth Fund The Eisner Foundation Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles WM Keck Foundation Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health The David and Lucile Packard Foundation The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Kaiser Permanente The Reissa Foundation The Rose Hills Foundation Social Venture Partners The Specialty Family Foundation The UniHealth Foundation The Weingart Foundation

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FERNANDO PULLUM COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER:

‘Applause is Empowering’ and Transformational for Young People

F

ernando Pullum was always told he’d end up in prison. But the trumpet player, raised by his great-grandmother, discovered music and his life took an entirely different path.

“Growing up on the West Side of Chicago, I just saw the worst of the worst,” he remembers. Pullum stumbled across his school’s band, and his teacher handed him a trumpet. He never looked back, getting two college scholarships and eventually moving to Los Angeles.

It’s with that mindset that he created the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center in South Los Angeles, to allow students to tap into their performing arts interests offering a wide range of classes from drama to filmmaking to music.

“Arts programs are one of the only things keeping kids in school, but they’re being cut,” Pullum says. “I wanted to give kids the opportunity that I didn’t get. I left teaching and opened the center.”

The former music teacher spent 25 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he led a wildly successful program and was named a California Teacher of the Year.

The Pullum Center runs 110 performing arts classes a year and has helped more than 5,000 young people since it was launched in 2012. Nearly all of the students who stick with the program graduate high school. Six of its educators are former students, a testament to the nonprofit’s enduring pull on the youngsters it serves.

A part of the draw is the chance to take advantage of L.A.’s star scene, and perform on stage with famous musicians. In the past two years, one of the center’s students sang the national

46

“I

have seen firsthand how the mission of the Pullum Center can empower students to understand their true value, to become positive role models for their communities, and expand their dreams about who they can become.”

– Eve Plumb,

donor, friend, and actor in the original The Brady Bunch

anthem for the U.S. Tennis Open, another performed on The Voice, the choir recorded with John Legend, and the Jazz Band performed at the Billboard Music Awards. The center estimates its performances reached in excess of 12 million people between 2019 and 2020 alone.

“Applause is really empowering” Pullum says. “It’s the strongest motivator you could possibly have. I want to use that to raise kids’ self-esteem. Because if they know their value, they aren’t going to join gangs.”

Central to Pullum’s work is building young people’s life skills: courage to perform publicly, self-confidence, accountability, and time-keeping, so they can be used outside of the arts.

“I’m using the arts to save lives,” he says. “I just want to make sure all kids get a chance.”

| Los Angeles |

“I

grew up at the Pullum Center, and they have shown me life outside of the ‘hood.’ I have shared the stage and the classroom with musical giants such as Sheila E., Earth Wind and Fire, Kamasi Washington, and Wynton Marsalis. I have experienced success through discipline, commitment, loyalty, and giving back to the community. I have found a safe place to express myself and make lifelong friends. Thank you, Mr. Pullum, for showing me that with hard work I can achieve anything I put my mind to. Thank you so much for the many life lessons learned and dreams realized.”

– Ronnie L. Heard III, student

Exponential Audience Growth for Rising Stars

P

ullum’s students have already performed to millions, but the leader of the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center wants to give them a chance to build their own fan bases through livestreaming and creating original content.

The center hopes to raise $100,000 to buy video, sound and streaming equipment, as well as hiring tutors to train students to expand their audiences, produce their own performances, and become storytellers. With the money, kids will be trained in technical aspects of the business, including recording, filming, and editing, to equip them with as many life skills as possible.

“They’re already doing this all day long,” says Executive Director Fernando Pullum, recalling a phone video of John Mayer jamming with students at a birthday party that had over 100,000 hits on social media. “Why not take it up a level and give them something tangible they can walk away with?”

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through June, 2022, the first $50,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Zegar Family Foundation

Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center

www.pullumcenter.org 3351 West 43rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90008-4521

Contact:

KEY SUPPORTERS Jackson Browne Rickey Minor John Mayer Eric Idle Jim & Judy O’Brien Steve & Agatha Luczo Amy & John Peer Ilene Resnick Howard & Cathy Stone Zegar Family Foundation The Music Man Foundation The Ahmanson Foundation Rheuben Allen Music Education Foundation Roddenberry Foundation Sony Music Group Kawai America The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Berklee College of Music City & County of Los Angeles

Fernando Pullum, Executive Director (323) 449-0128 fpullum@pullumcenter.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

James Bancroft, Chief Operating Officer (310) 748-2308 jbancroft@pullumcenter.org

47

Helping Students Make Sense of Dollars and Cents

C “At City National we believe it is critical that financial literacy is taught in schools. That’s why we’re dedicated to doing all we can to increase financial literacy and reduce inequity in our communities.”

ity National has always been about doing business differently, one relationship at a time. The company always places people and relationships before numbers, from their clients to their workforce to the communities in which they do business.

That connection to uplifting communities runs deep, including among the bank’s colleagues. Nearly 80 percent of employees participate in their workplace giving program annually, with $1.6 million donated in 2020, a clear reflection of City National Bank’s P.R.I.D.E. values: People, Relationships, Integrity, Dedication, Entrepreneurs & Excellence. Since 2001, the bank itself has donated over $102 million to charities and civic organizations.

– KELLY COFFEY

City National Bank CEO

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| Los Angeles |

With a long history in California dating back to 1954 when its first offices were opened in Beverly Hills and it became known as the “Bank to the Stars,” City National Bank now has offices across the U.S., but still prides itself on feeling like the community bank of its roots.

It’s with that community mindset that the company decided to create and offer its Dollars + Sense program, an initiative to bring financial education to school-aged youth from kindergarten through high school, and beyond. In 2009, City National Bank introduced a new way to help people of all ages understand how to manage money, build wealth, and pursue their dreams.

Through Dollars + Sense, City National Bank colleagues volunteer their time to teach children financial education in classrooms and the community.

“T

hat’s the real value of Dollars + Sense.

It’s part of breaking the cycle of poverty, creating equity and access for marginalized communities. We can see how this curriculum helps students increase their financial knowledge and improve their financial habits.”

– JENNIFER NICKERSON

City National Bank Senior Vice President of Corporate Citizenship

“At City National we believe it is critical that financial literacy is taught in schools. That’s why we’re dedicated to doing all we can to increase financial literacy and reduce inequity in our communities. Our successful digital Dollars + Sense program is one of our most effective ways to help in this effort, providing instruction and resources to students to help them develop skills and confidence around financial matters,” says City National Bank CEO Kelly Coffey.

In 2019, City National Bank partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District – the second largest school district in the country, serving 600,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade – to bring a web-based Dollars + Sense program to high school students and their families.

This interactive online program allows teachers to integrate the curriculum into their classes and measure their students’ knowledge in the field of financial education. Students who complete the course receive a certification in financial literacy. During the 2020-2021 academic school year, nearly 13,000 students from 125 schools in Los Angeles completed the financial literacy program.

“It’s a core value of our company to help people be educated about how to save and budget money,” says City National Bank Senior Vice President of Corporate Citizenship Jennifer Nickerson. “We’re

putting our money where our mouth is. We are helping to lay a foundation for success for multiple generations.”

There are multiple free programs offered to students that teach a mix of saving, investing, credit scores, and identity protection, and they are offered in both English and Spanish. Other specific classes focus on the stock market and one, created for 7th through 10th graders, focuses on entrepreneurship whereby students write their own business plan to try to get a virtual product to market.

The Dollars + Sense program is focused largely on students in underserved communities. The focus is to offer students economic empowerment and to set them up for future financial success.

“That’s the real value of Dollars + Sense,” Nickerson says. “It’s part of breaking the cycle of poverty, creating equity and access for marginalized communities. We can see how this curriculum helps students increase their financial knowledge, and improve their financial habits.”

SCAN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CITY NATIONAL BANK www.cnb.com (800) 773-7100

Member FDIC

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| Los Angeles |

The Fourth Estate “The idea was to create a community news project where the students produce the work and have all of the authority on what stories they want to cover that are meaningful in that community.

Boyle Heights was primed for a project like this. It is a community that is rich in immigrant history and the arts. It was also the center point for the Chicano Movement in the 1960s and remains a low-income and low educational attainment community that is 97 percent Latino.”

– Kris Rivera, Editor and Executive Director, Boyle Heights Beat | www.thegivinglist.com |

51

Jihee Huh and Her Uniquely American Philanthropic Legacy

by Joe Donnelly

H

ope is what Jihee Huh started with and hope is what she continues to call on through hard times.

Huh, now a successful businessperson, activist, and philanthropist, found hope early, as a South Korean whose family fought for every rung of the ladder to success.

“All we had was hope, because we couldn’t speak the language, we didn’t have money, we had each other,” Huh says.

“We didn’t have anybody else to rely on but ourselves… I think most immigrants who come to this country have similar experiences and, 50 years fast forward, I’m afraid we are losing hope. And that is the biggest thing; we cannot lose hope.”

Aware of how far she’s come and how fortunate her journey has been, Huh is almost relentless in giving back, whether it’s her work with public service journalism, human rights, or political activism that has her rubbing elbows with the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Her late father, Hyung Ki Kim, immigrated to the United States in 1964. He had been a liaison with American servicemen in the early days of the Vietnam conflict and got invited to the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens. Kim started a business that helped immigrant Korean Americans get their feet on the ground and start small businesses. Huh, along with her mother and brother, followed Kim to New York in 1970.

Huh attended St. John’s University in the roaring ‘80s, when Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, and Walter “The Truth” Berry led upstart St. Johns to the NCAA final four. She met her husband, Pete Huh, while visiting her brother at Amherst in 1987.

“Against my brother’s wishes, I dated his roommate,” she laughs.

Despite her brother’s admonitions, some 34 years later things have clearly worked out. Pete and Jihee’s two kids also attended Amherst “and hopefully our grandchildren will go there. We love the college,” Huh says.

Her husband’s story is just as fascinating as hers. Pete’s father Joe Huh was a journalist by trade when he came to the U.S., but his English was limited so he took jobs as a cleaning person and as a painter. He realized he had a passion for cooking and got a job as a sous chef. Then, Joe was introduced to the wholesale seafood business. Joe started selling seafood to Kore-

52

an Americans and Joe’s Seafood opened an office in downtown Los Angeles in 1975, which begat Pete’s Seafood, which begat the Pacific American Fish Company – a global, full-service seafood company providing more than 5,000 fresh and frozen seafood products and overseeing the Oceankist, Pacific Surf, Pete’s Seafood, and PAFCO brands.

As was the case with Jihee, Pete Huh’s family came here with very little, but they didn’t have nothing. They arrived in an arguably more favorable landscape for immigrants and dreamers – one that provided subsidized housing and a Small Business Administration Loan that was enough to get Joe up and running before the dream of a seafood empire had taken root.

Jihee would like to see more of this kind of dream seeding.

“How are we able to give access to capital? How are we able to give opportunity?” she asks. “Instead of being easier for people, it’s now becoming a bigger barrier.”

| Los Angeles |

Huh has been a generous and consistent Democratic Party donor and was recognized in 2007 for her work in getting House Resolution 121 passed. The resolution called upon Japan to recognize and apologize for the coercion of Asian women into sexual slavery (so-called “comfort women”) during Japan’s occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands in the ‘30s and through World War II. In 2018, the Anti-Defamation League honored her with its Deborah Award.

Over the years, Huh has compiled a staggering portfolio of philanthropic and community activism. She joined the board of Southern California Public Radio in 2005 and chaired numerous committees before serving as Chair of the Board and retiring as Life Trustee in 2012. Huh has long believed in the necessary function of journalism in a healthy democracy. Not lost on her is the nature of the epistemological crisis that is currently dogging our nation’s civics.

“I think the biggest challenge in all of this is that when you have 60 percent of journalists’ job having been eliminated in the past 16 years, you don’t have the third eye that is watching over those people who are in power,” Huh says. “For me, the number one priority is public-service journalism.”

She has also served on the board of Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles as Vice-Chair of the Saban Research Institute and joined the executive committee of Human Rights Watch of Los Angeles in 2018. Huh recently joined the Board of Trust-

ees of the California Community Foundation, which, in 2015, pledged $1 billion in 10 years to Los Angeles-area nonprofits that, according to its mission statement, “are driven to find long-term, systemic solutions addressing the root causes of the most pressing issues facing Los Angeles County.”

Huh is also active with the Council of Korean Americans, a national organization, and co-founded the Los Angeles Coalition Foundation Embrace Unity, a nonprofit supporting education around civic engagement and empowerment in diverse, underserved communities.

Huh is unabashed in her love and appreciation for what Los Angeles represents, not just for Korean Americans, who after decades of struggle now occupy a central place in the politics, culture, and identity of the city, but for the entire country.

What Los Angeles has meant to her family is what sustains her hope and keeps her engaged in the community, both as the place she lives and the things to which she aspires.

“We can go to Europe, we can go to Italy, we can go to all these places and it’s lovely and we love it, but what we find ourselves doing is coming back home and saying, ‘Thank goodness we live in Los Angeles, because we are so lucky and fortunate to have all these cultures and embrace the diversity,’” Huh says. “Los Angeles is an amalgamation of humanity’s best and if we’re able to harness all of that, then we are just so blessed to have the impact of it all.”

Though Huh and her family have lived the American dream, she says her basic philosophy of giving has always been the same.

“For us, that’s always been, we would get paid, and then we would take this portion of our money and we would give it back. If it were $100, then it would be a portion of that. If it was $1,000, it was a portion of that. So, our mindset never changed from when we were little in terms of when we first got married,” Huh says. “So, for us, giving was always a part of us, and not something that suddenly started when we were well off or doing really well. The real core of everything is our future generations and we want to leave a place better than we found it. “ This past year, Huh welcomed her first two grandchildren to the family fold. It is their futures that she feels obliged to look out for. “The basis for all of this is our children and the fact that we are only here for a short time,” Huh says. “This is our last chapter, and we started this work of philanthropy and giving, I think, because we felt that those who were given the capacity to do well for themselves also have the capacity to do well for others.”

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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CALMATTERS:

Building a Better Democracy through Unmatched Reporting

BY MARCIA PARKER AND KATE LOOBY

Publisher

Chief Development Officer

Smoky skies in San Diego Smokey skies during wildfire season left San Diego overcast

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Governor Gavin Newsom delivered his State of the State address virtually last March

alMatters was founded to fill the gap left by a shrinking press corps in order to empower people to engage on key issues, hold the powerful accountable, and create a better California for all. CalMatters has established itself as a trusted brand and “go-to” hub for in-depth news and information on statewide issues. Our office is in Sacramento, but our team of award-winning reporters and photojournalists are found throughout California.

We measure impact by the effects our stories have on Californians, public policy, and civic conversation. In the past year, we saw engaged readers Venmo funds to those in need after reading our eviction stories; repeatedly heard lawmakers cite our journalism during the legislative session; and had major national news outlets distribute our work to their expansive audiences, increasing our impact. Here are a few examples of how we’re making a difference: • Our investigation of virus outbreaks among agricultural guestworkers uncovered that more than 350 workers had been sickened and at least one died. Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes of San Bernardino cited our work and introduced a “Right to Know” bill to require California employers to notify employees of COVID-19 cases and to alert county health officials.

• Our work tracking evictions in every county during the pandemic showed more than 2,000 California households were evicted between March and August 2020, many in apparent violation of eviction moratoriums. Capitol staff said an amendment to the eviction moratorium bill adopted by the legislature was added because of our work and Riverside City Councilmembers reached

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Reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn covers higher education with our College Journalism Network Fellows on their campuses

out to help a single, 24-year-old mother of two whose eviction was described in our story.

• Our database tracking the growing number of school closures for wildfires, shooting lockdowns, and infrastructure failures has been widely cited and copied. The U.S. Government Accountability Office cited the data. The chair of the Assembly Education Committee introduced a bill that would give state education officials two years to create a database modeled after the one produced by CalMatters.

We reach one in 10 Californians across the state by posting our work online and by sharing our stories at no cost with more than 200 media partners. Our work is regularly cited by The New York Times, Politico, Axios, and others. We have readers and listeners across the state in every major metropolitan area and hundreds of smaller towns and cities.

| Los Angeles |

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alMatters is an independent, non-partisan, and free press that keeps Californians informed about our government through electronic media. They have excellent reporters who report the legislative process and the impact of legislative decisions. An investigative unit uncovers questionable activities and behaviors to expose wrongdoing and better inform voters. Our democracy is well served by their reporting.”

– Becky Morgan

Former Republican California State Senator, and co-founder of the James and Rebecca Morgan Family Foundation

CalMatters explains complex bills that we all need to know about

“T

hat’s why SoCalGas supports CalMatters. CalMatters is committed to explaining how policies are made and provides inclusive perspectives on complex issues such as environmental regulation, energy, housing, economic inequality and more. They educate voters on ballot measures to help even the most inexperienced voter better understand what’s at stake. CalMatters shares their content among other publications to help ease the burden and cost of responsible journalism.”

– Trisha Muse

Director, Community Relations, SoCalGas

Our California Divide team covers poverty and inequity across the state

The News is Essential

W

ith state and local officials leading the response to climate change, the return to school, and the economic recovery, our role as the primary newsroom covering California government is more vital and essential than it’s ever been.

As a nonprofit news organization, CalMatters relies on your donations to deliver free, fair, and accessible information to all Californians. We believe that our robust coverage of state issues is essential to a healthy, inclusive democracy. We hope you agree and will support our work by making a tax-deductible donation to CalMatters.

We’re happy to direct your donation to support coverage of topics you care about such as education, housing, environment, poverty, healthcare, justice, and our economy. By supporting CalMatters, you’re making a meaningful contribution to journalism that informs and empowers Californians to engage with our state government and holds those in power accountable for their decisions and actions. Thank you.

CalMatters

Contact:

Housing reporter Manuela Tobias explores the housing crisis and co-hosts the popular Gimme Shelter podcast with LA Times reporter Liam Dillon Fans were ecstatic to return to the stands in April when baseball season reopened

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CALMATTERS

https://calmatters.org Major Donors: Kate Looby, Chief Development Officer 1303 J Street, Suite 200, kate@calmatters.org Sacramento, CA 95814 (415) 933-0480

KEY SUPPORTERS In Los Angeles: Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation California Community Foundation California Endowment Goldhirsh Foundation Ralph M. Parsons Foundation USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy Southern California Gas JPMorgan Chase Edison International Michelson Center for Public Policy

Foundations, Companies and Institutions: Marcia Parker, Publisher marcia@calmatters.org (925) 518-9882

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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FOSTERING MEDIA CONNECTIONS:

Holding Youth-Serving Systems to Account Through Journalism and Youth Voice

T

he best journalism often tells the stories that no one else sees. Stories that have the power to change minds, move legislation, and save lives.

And when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of children, youth, and families caught up in this nation’s child welfare and youth justice systems, Los Angeles-based Fostering Media Connections tells these stories better than anyone else.

When John Kelly, Fostering Media Connections (FMC) coexecutive director, got a tip that the state of California had chartered a plane to shuttle its foster youth home from an out-ofstate facility during the early months of the pandemic, he had a notion that something strange was afoot.

Then, Fostering Media Connections’ team of reporters started poking around…

In fact, the facility in question – Michigan’s Lakeside Academy – had come under fire a month before when, in May of 2020, staffers restrained and suffocated 16-year-old Cornelius Fredericks to death after he threw a sandwich in the cafeteria.

Many of those facilities, Fostering Media Connections found, were operated by a for-profit company called Sequel Youth and Family Services. Fostering Media Connections uncovered that California – despite reforms favoring home-based care for kids over putting them in institutions – had relied on a network of outof-state facilities with abusive practices, which went against their own policy of only contracting with nonprofits.

“We get from this weird plane story,” Kelly says, “to reporting that California is using for-profit, out-of-state facilities to house kids.”

When the team of reporters, including FMC’s Sara Tiano, presented questions about this practice to the state’s child welfare department, “they announced in their response to us that they had

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begun to freeze the policy of allowing counties to use out-of-state facilities,” Kelly says.

The story, which ran in both the San Francisco Chronicle, and FMC’s flagship news site, The Imprint, had both immediate and longer-term impact. California brought home the 133 kids in outof-state facilities within four months of the story’s publication.

Sequel was forced to close multiple facilities that had relied on California’s business to remain profitable.

And the state legislature took notice. In July, it banned the use of out-of-state facilities altogether, and also allocated $140 million to improve California’s capacity to care for youth with complex mental health needs, who historically had been sent out of state for treatment.

While this win is significant, FMC’s work to lift up the young people that appear in its stories goes much further.

Its Youth Voice Program trains young people who have lived experience in foster care, the juvenile justice system, or homelessness on the basics of reporting, and how to craft an op-ed. That’s an important step toward driving accountability in the systems that these young people know all too well.

| Los Angeles |

“T

ogether we can change the narrative around transition-age foster youth,” shares Peter Laugharn, president and CEO at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. “We are proud to support the important work Fostering Media Connections is doing to work with and lead the conversation around children, youth, and families across the United States.”

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eing a Youth Voice Contributor made me appreciate journalism and the role it plays in social movements. Before, I didn’t realize the scope of the research and editing that goes into a relatively short article. Whether a reader agrees or disagrees, using your voice matters.

Whether you survived foster care, homelessness, juvenile justice, or any other trial life throws at us – your opinion is valid and important and people should listen.”

– Tessie Ottaway-Chung,

Youth Voice Contributor 2021

Have a Hand in Hard-Nosed Reporting and Fund the Next Generation of Journalists

KEY SUPPORTERS

F

ostering Media Connections pulls back the veil on a corner of our world that spends too much time in the shadows. To do so, the L.A.-based nonprofit has successfully expanded its work nationally, hiring reporters dedicated to illustrating the full story of what children, youth, and families caught up in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems face.

But the nonprofit newsroom doesn’t endeavor to speak for them. Its Youth Voice Program not only teaches but publishes and pays young journalists who know the system first-hand. And Fostering Media Connections, dogged as their reporters are, knows that young people who SCAN TO MAKE have lived the system know it best of all.

A DONATION...

Every Youth Voice contributor receives a $2,000 stipend for three months of training and writing. Whether through funding Youth Voice or directly supporting the addition of national reporters to the news team, your donation to Fostering Media Connections will fuel its focus on untold stories.

Fostering Media Connections

www.fosteringmediaconnections.org www.imprintnews.org P.O. Box 861928, Los Angeles, CA 90086

Contact:

John Kelly, Co-Executive Director (202) 487-7312 jkelly@fosteringmediaconnections.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT FOSTERING MEDIA CONNECTIONS

Christie Renick, Co-Executive Director (213) 507- 0853 crenick@fosteringmediaconnections.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Aileen Adams, Board Chair, Weingart Foundation Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption ECMC Foundation Fund for Investigative Journalism Lisa Ling, Journalist, CNN May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Raikes Foundation Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Reissa Foundation Richard Robbins, CEO, Wareham Development The Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation The California Wellness Foundation The Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation The Henry and Lindsay Ellenbogen Charitable Fund The Redlich Horwitz Foundation The Tow Foundation Walter S. Johnson Foundation Zellerbach Family Foundation

Thalia Henderson, Development Director (949) 307-8382 thalia@fosteringmediaconnections.org

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BOYLE HEIGHTS BEAT:

Empowering Youth Through Community Journalism

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or the past 11 years, Boyle Heights Beat has offered a unique brand of bilingual journalism in an often neglected, yet critically important community within Metropolitan Los Angeles. From its early days as a home to many Japanese and Russian Jewish immigrant families to its current status as a beacon of Southern California’s Latino community, Boyle Heights has a long history as one of L.A.’s most diverse and culturally rich neighborhoods.

Noted by both The New York Times and the Columbia Journalism Review as a crucial part of the city’s journalistic landscape, the nonprofit news platform is predominantly staffed by young reporters, most of whom are first-generation residents.

Boyle Heights Beat has an innovative approach that includes quarterly public meetings to gather story ideas and provide a platform for community concerns. Beat Publisher and Executive Director Kris Rivera, a bilingual former television writer and producer, joined the project shortly after it was launched in 2011 by Michelle Levander, director of the Center for Health Journalism at USC, and Pedro Rojas, then-executive editor of the nation’s most widely read Spanish daily newspaper, La Opinión.

“The idea was to create a community news project where the students produce the work and have all of the authority on what stories they want to cover that are meaningful in that community,” Rivera says.

Boyle Heights, which consists of 100,000 residents coexisting within just six square miles, was an obvious choice for a new approach to community-based journalism.

“It was primed for a project like this,” Rivera continues. “It is a community that is rich in immigrant history and the arts. It was also the center point for the Chicano Movement in the 1960s and remains a low-income and low-educational attainment community that is 97 percent Latino.”

The Beat, or Pulso de Boyle Heights, comes out in English and Spanish, both online and in print. The Beat recently launched a podcast called Radio Pulso, which offers a deep dive into the neighborhood’s vibrant culture, featuring interviews with local chefs, musicians, artists, poets, educators, and community activists.

Nearly all of the hundreds of high-school-age reporters who have worked for the project in the past decade have gone on to college, Rivera is proud to point out.

One former Beat reporter, Carol Martinez, is a 2019 graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School. Now attending UCLA, she says joining Boyle Heights Beat gave her the opportunity to discover a passion for reporting.

“I’m happy to say because I found the Beat,” Martinez says, “I have been able to gain the skill set I need and will step into the

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VOLUME 09

NUMBER 01

Black Lives Matter para los Latinx P.20 Jóvenes activistas se unen a protestas mientras lidian con ‘colorismo’ en sus propios hogares

Black Lives Matter to the Latinx Young activists join protests while struggling with colorism in their own families.

Entrevista: Kevin de León P.08

El concejal electo dice que está listo para arremangarse y hacerse cargo del Distrito 14.

Q&A: Kevin de León The Councilman-elect says he’s ready to roll up his sleeves and take over District 14.

www.boyleheightsbeat.com

EDICIÓN DE VERANO/SUMMER EDITION

COVID-19

2020 PANDEMIC

CORONAVIRUS GOLPEA A BOYLE HEIGHTS Mientras la pandemia de COVID-19 arrasa el país, las infecciones entre latinos sobrepasan las mismas entre otros grupos. Según el departamento de Salud de California, los latinos conforman el 56% de todos los casos y el 46% de los decesos, aunque son solo el 39% de la población.

El coronavirus ha tenido un efecto devastador en Boyle Heights, que tiene más casos confirmados que cualquier otro vecindario en Los Ángeles y una de las tasas de infección más altas de la ciudad.

Para muchos residentes locales, no hay opción de trabajar en la casa y algunas familias deben arriesgarse para sobrevivir. Los latinos están representados de forma desproporcionada en las áreas del trabajo esencial, que incluye los centros de cuidado de salud, las fincas, fábricas y tiendas de abarrote y el transporte público, y mucho de los que trabajan en éstas tienen mayor riesgo de exposición.

En este número damos una mirada al impacto que la pandemia ha tenido en la comunidad, y de la misma manera celebramos a aquellos que trabajan para mejorar sus vidas, a los que ofrecen ayuda a otros y a los que luchan por la equidad racial.

HITS BOYLE HEIGHTS While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage throughout the country, infections among Latinos have outpaced those among other groups.

According to the California Department of Health, Latinos make up up 56% percent of all cases in the state and 46% of deaths, while just 39% of the population.

The coronavirus has had a devastating effect on Boyle Heights, which has more confirmed cases than any other neighborhood in Los Angeles and one of the highest infection rates in the city.

For many local residents, there is not an option for working from home and families must risk infection for survival. Latinos are disproportionately represented in many essential work settings including healthcare facilities, farms, factories, grocery stores, and public transportation, and many who work in these settings have more chances of being exposed.

In this issue, we look at the impact the pandemic has taken on the community but also celebrate those working to improve their lives, those helping others, and those fighting for racial equality.

La salud mental en tiempos de pandemia l P4 l Mental health during a Pandemic BH: Un día en fotos l P10 l BH: A day in the life Julio Salgado usa el arte para hacer el bien l P12 l Julio Salgado uses art to contribute Casa Fina alimenta a los sin hogar l P16 l Casa Fina feeds the homeless.

study of journalism with the tools for a passion I wholeheartedly enjoy.”

Andrea Galdamez, who served as a youth reporter during her sophomore, junior, and senior years in high school and is now attending University of California, Irvine, says: “Boyle Heights Beat was one of the highlights of my high school career.

Not only did I learn to become a better writer, I became aware of my culture, traditions, and community. This program helped shape me into a curious young journalist.” | Los Angeles |

“B

oyle Heights is a special neighborhood, rich in immigrant history and alive with activism for social justice. I got to know Boyle Heights through my grandmother, an immigrant from Mexico who lived in the neighborhood for 40 years. It frustrated me when I saw Boyle Heights portrayed negatively and unfairly by people who didn’t know the community. So in my role as a media grant-maker at The California Endowment, I was thrilled to support the creation of Boyle Heights Beat as a new forum for storytelling by and for the community. I love that youth reporters continue to be at the heart of Boyle Heights Beat, bringing fresh energy and ideas.

“It’s rare for independent local news outlets to thrive in these challenging economic times, especially in places like Boyle Heights that don’t receive their fair share of investment. That’s why it’s so important to continue supporting Boyle Heights Beat as a vital news source for the community and an innovative model for the nation.”

– Mary Lou Fulton

Communications Consultant for Social Justice Organizations, Former Program Director, The California Endowment

“B

oyle Heights Beat (BHB) helped introduce me to the power of media, journalism, and communications in high school, without knowing it was going to be the field I was going to pursue in college and in the future.

I think BHB is making a difference through storytelling and always sharing compelling and informative stories. This program is important for the community because students from low-income communities like Boyle Heights are the trailblazers of the future – future engineers, doctors, journalists. Bringing these resources to students gives them opportunities and shows them what they are capable of.”

Support Local Journalism, Essential to the Community’s Landscape

B

oyle Heights Beat is seeking $250,000 to continue to train and mentor local high school students as community journalists, allowing them to explore and uplift issues such as social injustice and racial disparities. The Beat is the only nonprofit bilingual news platform serving L.A.’s historic Eastside neighborhood; the project has been hailed by The New York Times for serving “an ever-greater need” for immigrant communities to have their stories heard.

Professional journalists teach youth how to become agents of social change, while providing a pathway to education and career possibilities to those from an underserved community.

The Beat sustains its youth development and community news project entirely from foundations and individual support.

With your help, it can continue its mission to provide news “por y para la comunidad” – for and by the community.

To learn more or to donate, please visit boyleheightsbeat.com.

THE FIRST $1,500

TGL MATCHING CHALLENGE!

WILL BE MATCHED

Boyle Heights Beat

www.boyleheightsbeat.com 2900 E. Cesar Chavez Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90033

Contact:

Kris Rivera kris@boyleheightsbeat.com (818) 516-1138

| www.thegivinglist.com |

– Guadalupe Lazaro

Former Boyle Heights Beat reporter; Bachelor of Communications, UCLA 2020; Currently USC Annenberg Communications Mgmt. student

KEY SUPPORTERS California Community Foundation California Humanities CalMatters Daniela Gershon Goldhirsh Foundation Institute for Nonprofit News Jesse Hardman Jessica Perez KCRW LAist/KPCC Miami Foundation Pedro Rojas Pilar Marrero Samuel Vasquez Snap Foundation The California Endowment USC Good Neighbor Campaign Willa Seidenberg Yerba Buena Foundation YR Media

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STANFORD SOCIAL INNOVATION REVIEW:

The Social Sector’s Preeminent Source of News and Knowledge

By Frank Nagle

HOW SCIENCE PHILANTHROPY CAN BUILD EQUITY

By Elizabeth Good Christopherson, Emily L. Howell, Dietram A. Scheufele, Kasisomayajula Viswanath & Norris P. West

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, STRENGTHENING NEIGHBORHOODS

By Seth D. Kaplan

FALL 2021 VOLUME 19, NUMBER 4

By Johanna Mair & Thomas Gegenhuber

THE MANY ROADS TO REVENUE GENERATION

MOBILE INNOVATORS

A SURGICAL ROAD MAP FOR GLOBAL PROSPERITY

By Marya Besharov, Jean-Baptiste Litrico & Susanna Kislenko

By Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff & Benjamin A. T. Graham

By Kristin A. Sonderman, Isabelle Citron, Alexander W. Peters & John G. Meara

BUILDING AN AMERICAN OWNERSHIP SOCIETY

By Elwood M. Hopkins

FALL 2019 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 4

EIGHT MYTHS of US Philanthropy

PLUS

KIVA

Reinvents Itself

By Faculty of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

THE PROMISE OF SOCIAL SECTOR FRANCHISING

BUILDING CITIES’ COLLABORATIVE MUSCLE

By Greg Starbird, Fiona Wilson & E. Hachemi Aliouche

By the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative

SPRING 2021 VOLUME 19, NUMBER 2

Philanthropy’s Rural Blind Spot / Building an American Ownership Society / The Promise of Social Sector Franchising / Building Cities’ Collaborative Muscle

A new approach orchestrates multiple stakeholders to tackle social problems.

Eight Myths of US Philanthropy / The Many Roads to Revenue Generation / Mobile Innovators / A Surgical Road Map for Global Prosperity

Open Social Innovation / The Problem of Social Benefit / Building Relationships, Strengthening Neighborhoods / How Science Philanthropy Can Build Equity

Open Social Innovation

Stanford Social Innovation Review

Stanford Social Innovation Review

THE PROBLEM OF SOCIAL BENEFIT

Philanthropy’s Rural Blind Spot

The most economically distressed communities are the least likely to apply for funding and the least likely to have the local resources to address inequity.

By Robert Atkins, Sarah Allred & Daniel Hart

Fall 2019 / Vol. 17, No. 4

Fall 2021 / Vol. 19, No. 4

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he year was 2003, and the philanthropic sector was going through a period of significant evolution. Every day, new technologies were emerging that changed the way that people were engaging with one another and learning about issues that mattered to them. Many of these same new technologies were also bringing newfound wealth to the people who were pioneering them, who in turn, started looking for new ways to apply their talent and treasure to address societal and environmental challenges.

At the same time, traditional philanthropists and grantmaking institutions began exploring new methods for achieving greater impact on the issues they were addressing, and nonprofits and social enterprises (still a relatively new idea) were adopting successful strategies and approaches from the for-profit world to make their work more effective and efficient.

These converging forces inspired a group of individuals at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business to launch a quarterly print publication that would inform and inspire the emerging field of social innovation: Stanford Social Innovation Review.

As the first Editors’ Note explained, the publication would be “dedicated to presenting useable knowledge that will help those who do the important work of improving society do it even better!”

SSIR’s approach “is based on a philosophy of dissolving boundaries and brokering a dialogue between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors…” The publication still takes this “cross-sector” approach, bringing together ideas and insights from philanthropists and foundations, nonprofits, and NGOs, businesses and social enterprises,

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policymakers, academics, and leading thinkers and doers.

In 2010, SSIR became a part of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy & Civil Society, the preeminent academic research center dedicated to expanding the body and reach of quality research on, and improving the practice and effectiveness of, philanthropy, civil society, and social innovation. It was at that time that the leadership of SSIR decided it was necessary to live the ideals that the publication espoused, becoming itself a social enterprise of sorts.

SSIR receives no funding from Stanford University, relying instead on earned revenue from subscriptions, conferences, webinars, and other editorially-related products and services to provide the income needed to cover its ongoing operations.

Today, that quarterly print magazine – which at one time was mailed out by hand – has grown into a modern media enterprise, reaching a global audience of nearly three million people each year. With five foreign-language editions (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish), SSIR produces print and online articles daily, along with webinars, conferences, podcasts, and an array of educational and informational resources to help inform and inspire those who strive to make the world a better place.

The first Editors’ Note said it best: “‘Social innovation’ stands in our name for a reason: to remind our authors, our audience, and ourselves that this journal’s purpose is to lead in the search for new and better ways to redress social problems… We invite you to join with us in exploring new ideas and thinking more broadly about these issues.”

| Los Angeles |

“I

ndividuals are the backbone of the philanthropic and nonprofit world… people who are willing to give of their time, talent, and treasure to make things better! SSIR’s job is to help provide people with the insights and inspiration they need to be more effective, and realize the change they hope to see in the world.”

“S

SIR isn’t here to tell you what or how to think. We’re here to provide you with the latest information and perspectives on innovative solutions to social and environmental issues so that you can make your own decisions and achieve greater impact on the issues that matter to you.”

– Eric Nee

– Michael Gordon Voss

Editor-in-Chief, Stanford Social Innovation Review

Publisher, Stanford Social Innovation Review

or nearly two decades, I have counted on SSIR to present the cutting edge ideas and the key debates of our field. The Stupski Foundation has valued the opportunity to partner with the team at SSIR to explore critical ideas with foundation leaders and renowned experts.”

C

...$44.95 DISCOUNT PRICING ($10 OFF DISCOUNT PAGE) AND BECOME A SUBSCRIBER TODAY

| www.thegivinglist.com |

THE ETHICS OF DESIGNING DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

By Lucy Bernholz & Lyndon Ormond-Parker

By Mary Kay Gugerty & Dean Karlan

SUMMER 2018 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 3

The Rise of Philanthropy

The for-profit limited liability company is poised to become the preferred vehicle for the nation’s elite philanthropists.

BY DANA BRAKMAN REISER

LLCs

DESIGN THINKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

CAN MEASURES CHANGE THE WORLD?

HOW FIELD CATALYSTS GALVANIZE SOCIAL CHANGE

By Clark G. Gilbert, Michael M. Crow & Derrick Anderson

By Christopher Nelson, Anita Chandra & Carolyn Miller

By Taz Hussein, Matt Plummer & Bill Breen

WINTER 2018 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1

The

Investment Gap To stave off drastic climate change, we need philanthropists to invest more in nascent solutions ignored by traditional capital markets.

That Threatens the Planet

BY SCOTT P. BURGER, FIONA MURRAY, SARAH KEARNEY & LIQIAN MA

Winter 2018 / Vol. 16, No. 1

hange starts with individuals. Whether you’ve been a donor for years, or are just starting on your philanthropic journey, you need up-to-date information to help you make informed decisions about your giving. Stanford Social Innovation Review provides readers with the latest research and practice on social issues and solutions, giving you the tools you need to be a better partner in social change. With a cross-sector approach that includes perspectives from philanthropists, foundations, nonprofits, social enterprises, government, business, and academia, SSIR is the preeminent global publication for anyone looking to be more effective and efficient in helping to support positive change.

SCAN TO GET...

The Investment Gap That Threatens the Planet / Design Thinking for Higher Education/ Can Measures Change the World? / How Field Catalysts Galvanize Social Change

SSIR Discounted Subscription Offer for The Giving List (2021)

Stanford Social Innovation Review

– Glen Galaich

CEO, The Stupski Foundation

By Patrick Guerriero & Susan Wolf Ditkoff

Summer 2018 / Vol. 16, No. 3

“F

The Rise of Philanthropy LLCs / The Ethics of Designing Digital Infrastructure / Ten Reasons Not to Measure Impact / When Philanthropy Meets Advocacy

– Lindsay Louie

Program Manager, Effective Philanthropy Group, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

Stanford Social Innovation Review

“S

tanford Social Innovation Review is one of my top ‘go-to’ sources for the latest thinking, research, ideas, and innovations happening in the social sector – both in the U.S. and around the world. Audience engagement with people working in foundations, corporate philanthropy, NGOs, government, and business steadily grows year-over-year as more people find, and contribute to, this top-notch content and share it in their networks. The cross-pollination of six different language issues of the magazine – English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean – has also added to the richness of the SSIR content.”

TEN REASONS NOT TO MEASURE IMPACT—AND WHAT TO DO INSTEAD

WHEN PHILANTHROPY MEETS ADVOCACY

Stanford Social Innovation Review www.ssir.org

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A Personal Commitment to Philanthropy

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“One of the important benefits of having a generous and robust charitable giving program in Capital Group’s mind is that it helps position our associates, particularly the next generation, to be civic leaders,” says John Armour, president of Capital Group Private Client Services.

“We want our legacy to be more than just giving away money.”

hen John Armour joined Capital Group Private Client Services more than 20 years ago, one of his first assignments was to help manage The Rape Foundation’s endowment.

In that role, Armour provided thoughtful financial management services and helped establish key policies aimed at the longterm growth and preservation of the foundation’s assets.

But as is so often the case with Capital Group Private Client Services and its associates, Armour’s relationship with the organization and its founder, Gail Abarbanel, grew. Abarbanel, a social worker by training, was a pioneer in offering support for victims of rape.

“I was so impressed with the work that Gail and the foundation were doing for victims of these terrible acts,” Armour says. Taking advantage of Capital Group’s generous matching opportunities for its associates and the nonprofit organizations they champion, he was able to amplify his donations to the foundation.

But that was only the start. Abarbanel soon invited Armour to join the board, a position he has held for years.

“I started as an advisor,” Armour says. “But it became much more personal than that.

I suspect I will be on the board long after I retire.”

For Abarbanel, Armour’s service on the board’s executive committee has been exceptional.

“John’s knowledge, insights and guidance as a board member have been very helpful to the foundation,” Abarbanel says. “The relationship with Capital Group has been outstanding. Their contributions have helped make it possible for the foundation to respond to critical needs in our community, including meeting the special needs of rape victims and sexually abused children during the pandemic.”

Today, Armour is the president of Capital Group Private Client Services, which at the end of August 2021 had 192 associates and managed $36.5 billion in assets for highnet-worth individuals and their families, charitable foundations and nonprofits.

The company is an integral part of Capital Group, which was founded in Los Angeles in 1931, when the Depression was only two

“S

o much of our business is working with wealthy families who have very strong philanthropic interests. We help them plan for how much they can leave and how they can make their charitable gifts. We spend a lot of time educating the next generation, or even two, helping them write their family mission statements and working to solidify future generations’ commitment to philanthropy.”

– BOB KELLY

Capital Group Private Client Services’ Los Angeles Regional Director

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| Los Angeles |

years old and the drought-ravaged Southern Plains had been dubbed the “Dust Bowl.”

The firm has since grown exponentially, with 8,000-plus employees around the globe at year-end 2020 and more than $2.6 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2021.

Beyond its investment and financial services, Capital Group has a focus on philanthropy that empowers its associates to give to charities that matter to them, serve on nonprofit boards and become the civic leaders of today and tomorrow. In the past decade, the firm gave away more than $250 million through direct grants, matching gifts stewarded by its associates and volunteer hours.

And in the pandemic year of 2020, when the need was greatest, Capital Group doubled down, deploying more than $30 million – a commitment that rivals the generosity of some of the nation’s larger charitable foundations.

“Supporting philanthropy is in our DNA at Capital Group and has been throughout our 90-year history,” Armour says.

Beyond direct work that necessitates a deep understanding of philanthropy, Capital Group Private Client Services associates are encouraged to join nonprofit boards and make donations, which the firm matches.

Some 450 Capital Group associates sit on nonprofit boards.

“One of the important benefits of having a generous and robust charitable giving program in Capital Group’s mind is that it helps position our associates, particularly the next generation, to be civic leaders,” Armour says, adding that the company may be Los Angeles’ largest “exporter of next-generation board members.”

“We want our legacy to be more than just giving away money,” Armour notes.

This emphasis on service also creates a veritable think tank of shared experiences that are deployed when serving social sector clients, whether nonprofits, charitable

foundations or philanthropically engaged individuals and families.

In Armour’s view, nonprofits should be run like for-profit businesses, where financial risk and reward are weighed and farsighted planning helps promote sustainability and growth. “But a problem for nonprofits and their long-term financial stewardship is rotation of board members, and especially the finance committee,” he says.

When those committees roll over, Capital Group Private Client Services and its associates are there to help nonprofits stick to their existing financial plans. Maintaining this focus can help organizations grow their endowments and reassure donors that their gifts are being used wisely.

Bob Kelly is Capital Group Private Client Services’ Los Angeles regional director. Like so many of the associates he has managed and worked with throughout his 16-year tenure at Capital Group, Kelly is deeply engaged in nonprofit service – notably as a board member of the Los Angeles County Regional Food Bank. ”My board service makes me a better person,” Kelly says. “It humbles me to be living in Los Angeles and the United States with people who have had unfortunate turns

SCAN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CAPITAL GROUP PRIVATE CLIENT SERVICES Bob Kelly Executive Vice President, Regional Director Bob_Kelly@capgroup.com (213) 452-2294

| www.thegivinglist.com |

in life that make them have basic needs. My focus keeps my feet on the ground.”

With the firm’s clients, Kelly and his team take the long view: a deep focus on helping families maintain their philanthropic legacy during intergenerational transitions.

“So much of our business is working with wealthy families who have very strong philanthropic interests,” Kelly says. “We help them plan for how much they can leave and how they can make their charitable gifts.

We spend a lot of time educating the next generation, or even two, helping them write their family mission statements and working to solidify future generations’ commitment to philanthropy.”

He has several clients who have been working with Capital Group for three generations. In fact, Capital Group Private Client Services’ client retention rate was 97% as of December 31, 2020.

When the pandemic hit, it “severely tested” the financial assumptions that some clients had made, Kelly says. He and his team were able to help guide their nonprofit clients, from private schools to major art institutions, via the models of different economic scenarios and potential financial responses to them that Capital Group Private Client Services constructs for their clients.

“A big part of wealth management is planning,” Kelly says. “With every client, nonprofit endowment or charitable foundation, we create a visual road map that looks out over decades.”

That thoughtful approach to long-term planning aligns with Capital Group’s culture as a whole. It is a place where giving back is not only celebrated and reinforced, but pumps through the veins of the firm’s employees, from young associates to the highest levels of leadership.

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| Los Angeles |

For The Children “This is a fight that has been happening for over four decades, to end the war on poverty. We know it takes a lot of political will, but it also takes individuals and advocates fighting and having a movement to ensure... children have the ability to grow and live and play. We can only do that by investing in our communities early on.”

– Shimica Gaskins President and CEO, GRACE/End Child Poverty in California

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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A Children’s Advocate Who Created a Virtuous Cycle of Giving Circles

by Jonathan Karp

J

acqueline Caster remembers the eureka moment that changed her life from career woman to full-time philanthropist and juvenile-justice advocate. It was in the late ‘90s, and she was taking a bath.

An urban planner at the time, Caster also served on some nonprofit boards, mostly focusing on children and their welfare. But she was frustrated and didn’t think she was having enough impact. The reliance on annual fundraising galas made her feel like all she and fellow directors were doing “was planning parties. We weren’t being used to our highest and best potential.”

What’s more, one recent gala had netted nothing. “I must have been staring at the drain thinking about all the checks I had written over the years,” Caster recalls.

There had to be a more efficient way. She mused about forming a group whose members would contribute the same amount and use the pooled funds to award a single, large grant each year. No more arm-twisting to sell gala tables or seating donors according to the size of their gifts. Everyone would sit at the same metaphorical table and have an equal say on which nonprofit would receive the grant.

“From the start, we were learning about critical unmet needs in the community that we could shed light on and looking for the best people who were going to bring about change.”

Caster didn’t yet know the term, but she was envisioning a giving circle. She quit her day job and founded the Everychild Foundation in 1999 to alleviate “suffering of children in the Greater Los Angeles area, whether due to disease, disability, abuse, neglect or poverty.” She has headed the organization since inception on a volunteer basis.

Caster decided to recruit only women and started by hosting bagel-and-coffee klatches. She hired a grant consultant because

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“I had raised money but never given it away on any largescale basis,” and selected the launch project: a mobile dental clinic to treat poor, largely immigrant, children. Experts were invited and told the women that, among other problems, lack of dental care could cause heart disease and each year, 50,000 days were lost at L.A. public schools due to tooth pain.

Immediately, Caster received a chorus of “count me in” pledges from women willing to pay $5,000 to join the giving circle. In 2000, Everychild was able to donate $230,000 to QueensCare, a nonprofit community health service, to cover most of the clinic’s cost. By 2006, there were enough members to reach Caster’s goal of a $1 million grant. Everychild has maintained that level every year since, supporting initiatives that tackle issues ranging from health risks, like toxic stress and

| Los Angeles |

asthma, to juvenile justice and foster care.

“We decided we were only going to fund innovative prototype projects that could be replicated in order to leverage the grants,” Caster says. “From the start, we were learning about critical unmet needs in the community that we could shed light on and looking for the best people who were going to bring about change.”

Caster’s civic conscience developed during childhood in Kansas City. Her father and his father were doctors; her mother was active in the community, leading various charity boards as had her grandmothers. Caster, too, aspired to have a “career helping people.” Witnessing urban blight in the ‘60s, she saw city planning as her pathway to service. After graduating from Pomona College, she simultaneously earned degrees in law from Boston University and city planning at Harvard’s Kennedy School.

“We’ve been able to open people’s eyes to the fact that these are not bad kids. These are kids who have been put in bad circumstances, and most can really change with the right guidance.”

Returning to California, Caster first practiced real estate law, but hated it. She pivoted to her original passion and began conducting feasibility studies for urban renewal projects, eventually opening her own firm. Along the way came marriage, children and nonprofit work before she embarked on a second “career” as a philanthropist.

Her passion for improving young people’s lives spawned a veritable third career as a juvenile-justice activist. Caster has worked with fellow advocates to craft widely emulated solutions and change not only public policy but perceptions as well. Particularly in the delinquency system, she says, “We’ve been able to open people’s eyes to the fact that these are not bad kids. These are kids who have been put in bad circumstances, and most can really change with the right guidance.”

This journey began in the mid-aughts when an Everychild member invited her to tour a local juvenile-detention facility.

Caster was shocked by the Dickensian conditions, collective punishments and camp director’s adamance that rehabilitation wasn’t his job. Afterward, she led a trip for L.A. officials to study a pioneering program, ironically in Kansas City, that had cut youth recidivism. In 2017, L.A. County’s Probation Department opened a facility based on the model, where detainees live in small group cottages, wear their own clothes

and learn skills like teamwork and anger management.

Next came state-wide activism. She advocated for a landmark 2012 California law that gave juveniles sentenced to life without parole the possibility of reduced terms. Then-state senator, now U.S. congressman, Ted Lieu says Caster converted him from an opponent of the law. He cast the deciding vote and has become a juvenile-justice advocate himself.

That campaign led to Caster’s appointment to the L.A. County Probation Commission and deeper insight into a vicious cycle: Incarcerating juveniles increased the odds they would return to prison as adults. To shut off this pipeline, she says, “I became an advocate for keeping kids out of the system at all costs.”

Toward that end, she applied lessons from a program Everychild had funded in 2011 in which juvenile-court judges could drop all charges and “divert” offenders to counseling, including mediation with victims. The Centinela Youth Services’ Everychild Restorative Justice Center has earned national recognition for slashing one-year recidivism rates compared with youths incarcerated in L.A. County, and at a fraction of the cost.

Even better than “judicial diversion,” Caster thought, would be an “arrest diversion” program that empowered police to refer suspects to counseling before their cases ever reached court. She persuaded the LAPD to launch a pilot program in 2013, which has since been adopted by numerous L.A.-area police departments. It also inspired the County to create a division for Youth Development and Diversion, which Caster finds encouraging but is eager to see become more robust.

Caster’s work on behalf of L.A. children isn’t done, but it’s consistent with a promising national trend. In the juvenilejustice world, she notes, “There’s now an even bigger push to do away with incarceration and treat kids in the community.”

At Everychild, too, grantees’ programs are growing and being replicated. Some of her members are starting their own children-centered philanthropies. And daughters are joining or succeeding their mothers in the Everychild family.

Figuratively and literally, Caster’s giving circle has created several virtuous ones.

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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THE CHILDREN’S PARTNERSHIP:

Putting Children and Families Front and Center

M

ayra E. Alvarez – who leads The Children’s Partnership (TCP), where she works to put California’s children front and center – wants to dismantle the systemic injustices that she came to know as a child.

“Ever since I was a kid, I knew that there wasn’t a level playing field,” says Alvarez, one of four daughters born to Mexican parents who “worked Monday through Sunday.” Despite this, she adds, “My parents never owned a house, never had a 401(k), and rarely had insurance. Something was wrong.

“This isn’t equality,” she remembers thinking.

It is this inequity – experienced by so many Brown and Black Americans – that serves as a motivating force in a career where Alvarez would advocate for health and wellness first while staffing a Junior Senator named Barack Obama, then while rolling out the Affordable Care Act for the Obama Administration, and now serving as the president of The Children’s Partnership. Into 2022, the young first-time mother is focused on helping those California children, youth and families who are bearing the worst of the pandemic’s fallout build back stronger and become healthier and more empowered than before.

“Children are a priority and a shared value for us all,” Alvarez says.

“But when it comes to budgets and policy, children are not front and center. We [at The Children’s Partnership] fight to put them first.

If you believe children are the future, you should know that we are fighting for them every day.”

The Children’s Partnership is a statewide Los Angeles-based policy advocacy nonprofit driving forward equitable health policy that benefits children and their families. The group’s efforts range from ensuring that information about the COVID-19 vaccines reach all communities in California to sharing a series of policy briefs showing how racism impacts every stage of a child’s development across institutions like law enforcement, healthcare and tech.

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Another key aspect of TCP’s forward-thinking work is giving young people most affected by policy decisions the power to make policy themselves. For Alvarez, who traveled the country informing community members that look like her how to access the Affordable Care Act in her twenties, this is deeply personal.

She recalls that after these town hall meetings, “Latina women would say, ‘I was so proud watching you; you felt like you could be my daughter.’”

Alvarez realized “that people are watching,” and that it “matters when government looks like the people it’s meant to serve.” Alvarez reflects the same value in the makeup of TCP’s nonprofit staff, “hiring people who have these stories – who carry these stories and experiences with them, who are the kids we’re fighting for.”

With funding from Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures and in partnership with the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, The Children’s Partnership in 2021 launched the Hope, Healing and Health Collective to, as the press release announcing it states, “expand the availability and accessibility of culturally competent and gender-responsive mental health and well-being services to youth of color, particularly Black girls, Indigenous youth and Latina girls.”

Through the program, 15 youth advocates and adult allies from around the country are setting recommendations to inform TCP’s 2022 policy agenda, which will be a fundamental part of collective advocacy work here in California.

But in Alvarez’s mind, this goes far beyond policy change. Advocacy is a key driver in promoting young people’s mental health and overall wellness – something she has experienced in every career choice she has made, culminating at TCP. “There is a direct connection to one’s own agency and power,” she says.

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“M

y hope for The Hope, Healing and Health Collective is for young BIPOC individuals to have a safe outlet, without having to pay for it themselves, where they can learn from each other and share their experiences on mental health. Communities of color need better resources that make them feel safe and comfortable like this.”

– Genesis C.

(H3 Collective Member), Youth Media Sanctuary

A $200,000 Goal

F

MATCHING CHALLENGE!

or the hope, healing and health of BIPOC youth, systemic change is the only way forward.

TCP supports the BIPOC youth-led policy council, known affectionately as the H3C, in reforming the mental health landscape for their communities.

With funding for the council to deliver recommendations through 2021, we need your help to put their agenda into action.

Policy implementation takes advocating to legislators, building public will, and staffing resources that require us to raise $200,000.

THE FIRST $20,000 Our Board will match up to 10 percent.

WILL BE MATCHED In 2020, as the pandemic worsened mental health crises, Black and Latinx children were 14 percent less likely than white to receive treatment for depression. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for Native youth – nearly 3.5 times higher than the national average.

We need your help to not only empower the voices of 15 youth leaders, but also get their ideas to the finish line, creating policy change that impacts millions.

The Children’s Partnership

Mayra E. Alvarez, President malvarez@childrenspartnership.org (213) 341-1222 www.childrenspartnership.org 811 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1000, Los Angeles, CA 90017

“I

give to The Children’s Partnership because I believe in the power of communities. When I invest in the work they do, I know that children’s voices are being heard and their health is being protected. The Children’s Partnership is an organization I trust to ensure children and families are safe.”

– Luis Ayala

Vice President of Government Relations & Community Affairs, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

TCP SUPPORTERS Genoveva Arellano Virginia and Austin Beutner Chiquita and Allyn Brooks-LaSure Ken Chawkins and Lan Nguyen-Chawkins Dennis and Lauri Crane Shari Davis and Michael Dubin Susan Herman Susan Fleischman Wendy Lazarus and Harley Frankel Laurie Lipper and Lawrence Kirk

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Donna and Greg Lucas Burt Margolin Rebecca Medina-Pleitez Stephen and Jesse Nathan Jessica Perez Anthony Perez Robert Phillips Tamara Ritchey Powers Cindy and Jake Winebaum Lauren and Kyle Wulfe

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EVERYCHILD FOUNDATION:

A Better Future for Every Child A larming numbers of children in South Los Angeles were suffering from asthma and lead poisoning, and a community clinic needed funding for an inventive program to treat the symptoms and root cause: health hazards in slum housing.

In 2008, Everychild Foundation delivered. With a $1 million grant, St. John’s Well Child & Family Center and its nonprofit partners grew the initiative, which included medical care, in-home environmental assessments and legal assistance for tenants. Disease rates fell, and slumlords were put on notice, if not trial.

Soon, more foundations donated, enabling St. John’s to expand to adult patients, other communities adopted the program, and the federal government recognized it as a model for environmental healthcare.

In other words, this was just the type of multiplier effect Everychild seeks in its mission to reduce illness, abuse, neglect and poverty among L.A. County’s most vulnerable children. “We want to fund projects that can be replicated so they can have more bang for the buck,” says Jacqueline Caster, Everychild’s founder and president.

Since 2000, Everychild has funded high-impact programs that, for example, doubled high school graduation rates for at-risk students; trained medical staff to detect and treat toxic stress from chronic exposure to family violence; created housing for youth transitioning out of foster care; and built centers for primary and mental health services and after-school activities. Its advocacy work has shaped public policy on juvenile justice, youth homelessness and early childhood healthcare.

Unlike traditional nonprofits, Everychild is a giving circle. Members – who are all women – donate their time, pay the same annual fee (now $6,000), and have an equal vote on where to donate the pooled funds. The model is highly efficient: It operates without paid office space and, other than a grant consultant and part-time bookkeeper, has no staffing costs. It also gives members flexibility.

“Everychild is designed for contemporary women who are super busy,” Caster says. “You can be as involved or uninvolved as you want. There’s no guilt associated with just writing the check.”

Since 2006, membership has surpassed 200 women, and those checks have enabled Everychild to award $1 million every year, usually a single grant to one of two rigorously vetted finalists.

Often, members donate personally to the runner-up, one of which even received a $2 million gift. In 2019, Everychild began adding a $100,000 grant to the runner-up.

As public needs soared and charitable giving ebbed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Everychild pivoted and gave multiple emergency relief grants. In 2021, four organizations were awarded $250,000 apiece, and four runners-up received $25,000 each. Everychild plans to resume the pre-pandemic model in 2023.

Organizations funded by Everychild say the nonprofit’s imprimatur validated and catalyzed their programs. As it brings visibility to children’s needs, the Foundation has also spawned the growth of other giving circles, inspiring the formation of some 30 similar groups – and counting.

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| Los Angeles |

“I

remember being a new Founding Member and thinking a lot about my daughter, who at the time was a two year old. I thought, ‘Wow, in 20 years, with this model, we would have given away 20 million dollars!’ I thought about the pride I could possibly have and the legacy our group would leave to the city of L.A. Well, the pride I have for what we have accomplished is enormous. It has far exceeded my expectations. Everychild has changed the landscape of grant giving. We are such a formidable group of women with such a highly respected vetting process that now even our ‘runner-up’ project each year has clout in this city. I will always be grateful to be a part of this group that is making such a difference for vulnerable children in Los Angeles.”

– Michelle Richman

A longtime member, Everychild Foundation

Help Los Angeles’ Youngest Population Meet Critical Needs

E

verychild is a group of passionate women dedicated to easing the suffering of Los Angeles-area children. The organization eschews costly, timeconsuming fundraising events, focusing instead on results and leveraging resources. It does so by making a $1 million targeted grant to a single carefullyvetted project selected by vote of the entire membership each year. Funds are amassed from annual member donations.

SCAN TO MAKE Operating costs are tightly controlled A DONATION...

– Everychild pays no rent or salaries.

Members are provided the opportunity to learn about effective grantmaking and about the critical unmet needs of Los Angeles’ youngest population.

Committee participation is optional.

Everychild is designed for busy women who simply want to make a difference.

However, the organization does provide a continuum of opportunities for those who do want to get involved – some with ...AND LEARN MORE a large time commitment and some with ABOUT EVERYCHILD just a bit. To join or simply donate, please FOUNDATION visit www.everychildfoundation.org.

“W

e were humbled and thrilled to receive this significant grant award from one of the preeminent philanthropic organizations in Los Angeles during its 20-year anniversary. Together, Homeboy Industries and Everychild Foundation have more than 50 years serving the youth of Los Angeles, and we will stand in kinship with the most demonized and forgotten youth to build a model for the nation with a re-entry center that will provide every child hope, safety and healing.”

– Thomas Vozzo

CEO of Homeboy Industries

SUPPORTERS OF EVERYCHILD Everychild Foundation

Jacqueline Caster, Founder & President (310) 367-6300 jcaster@everychildfoundation.org www.everychildfoundation.org P.O. Box 1808 Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

To view a list of current supporters, please go to https://ecf.to/2021newsletter to link to Everychild's most recent newsletter

WOMEN REINVENTING PHILANTHROPY © SINCE 2000

Everychild Foundation’s 2020 COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grants In April of 2020, it became clear that Everychild Foundation’s Grant Screening Board’s (“GSB”) process of vetting agencies for our annual $1 million grant was becoming seriously challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our applicants were finding themselves in the overwhelmingly difficult two-fold position of struggling for available funding resources while also witnessing an ever-increasing need for their services.

So as it became increasingly evident that COVID-19 would be devastating to non-profits, it also became clear that the GSB would need to follow a different direction in its granting procedure for 2020.

As a result, the Everychild Executive Board, along with our grant consultant, made the crucial decision to change course. Instead of giving a single $1 million donation, we would select eight agencies from the pool of candidates to each receive a $125,000 “Everychild Foundation 2020 COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant”.

These grants would be unrestricted and, therefore, could be used at each agency’s discretion.

Dedicated to easing the suffering of children in the Greater Los Angeles area

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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GRACE:

Bringing Hope to California Children

C

alifornia is the world’s fifth-largest economy, but it is also the state with the largest number of children living in poverty, and the End Child Poverty in CA Education Campaign by GRACE is changing that.

“This is a fight that has been happening for over four decades, to end the war on poverty,” says Shimica Gaskins, president and CEO of the nonprofit GRACE, which has spearheaded enormous government investments in children and families. “We know it takes a lot of political will, but it also takes individuals and advocates fighting and having a movement to ensure... children have the ability to grow and live and play. We can only do that by investing in our communities early on.”

GRACE, which stands for Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage, was founded in 2013 by the Daughters of Charity in their tradition of humility, simplicity, and charity in service to those living in poverty.

GRACE established the End Child Poverty in CA Education Campaign in 2016 to focus on enacting legislative and policy changes in California to address the gaping inequalities between children of color who are disproportionately impacted by poverty, many living in families who make less than $32 a day. In California, almost two and a half million children live in poverty.

Gaskins joined the Pasadena-based organization in 2021 following a role heading the Children’s Defense Fund’s California office.

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She also previously served in the Obama administration’s Justice Department, which shaped her work in policy advocacy.

Through its extensive work with community-based organizations and state policymakers, the End Child Poverty in CA Coalition in 2019 helped push California to adopt its first in the nation Young Child Tax Credit, an initiative which enables low-income families to claim up to $1,000 for children under six. That same year it also championed successful state legislation that gave $4.2 billion towards implementing the End Child Poverty Plan that they hope will be fully utilized towards cutting child poverty in half by 2030. Other goals of the organization include expanding California’s young child tax credits and increasing cash assistance and access to childcare.

“Poverty is created, and poverty can be eliminated if we had the right systems in place to support families,” Gaskins says.

It’s critical that California ensures children and families have access to equitable education, housing, economic opportunity, nutritious food, healthcare, childcare, and workforce development. That’s why the organization focuses on comprehensive, evidence-based strategies that not only strengthen social safety nets for families, but also create pathways to abolishing intergenerational poverty.

“It’s important to ensure families have economic opportunity and support to ensure all children are healthy, housed, and fed,” Gaskins says.

| Los Angeles |

“I

am proud to support GRACE in pursuit of this funding opportunity. GRACE has been a true accelerant for equitable change in California, addressing childhood poverty. GRACE has led a collaborative of partner organizations in using fact-based advocacy to support programs which directly address the root causes of persistent and generational poverty. GRACE has used their End Child Poverty Coalition’s collective strength to push California to implement policy changes that are now pulling children and their families out of deep poverty.”

– Josh Davis

Vice President of Policy and Partnerships, Strive Together

“G

RACE has been a leading organization in the fight against child poverty in California. GRACE sponsored anti-poverty research, with Stanford University, and galvanized hundreds of organizations to fight for investments that sought to lift children and their families out. The over $4.2 billion in state investments has helped programs and organizations like ours, St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, to increase services for children and has already started to pay dividends with impacts across the state.”

– Jim Mangia

Join the Movement to Lift California Children and Families Out of Poverty

MPH, President & CEO, St. John’s Well Child and Family Center

C

alifornia bears the social and racial injustice of having over 1.7 million children and their families live in poverty in California. Poverty has life-long and intergenerational impacts that cost individuals and the state billions in lost opportunities each year.

GRACE and the End Child Poverty California education campaign is building a movement to lift California children and families out of poverty. GRACE has galvanized 174 partner organizations and thousands of individuals to advocate for investments in systemic reforms that provide more cash assistance, childcare, housing, cradle to career opportunities, and nutritious foods so children and communities can thrive, resulting in billions of state dollars invested in the past two years.

The impacts on families due to the pandemic require us to double down on our efforts to advance public awareness and support for transformational policies that not only help families today but also create intergenerational change. Our goal is to raise $200,000 to enhance our digital communications to constituents, organize rallies and listening tours, and update groundbreaking research conducted in partnership with Stanford University that is tracking the progress of the dollars invested. “We built a cross-sector coalition that is breaking down the silos and we need to be able to communicate with them regularly to keep them informed, active, and engaged,” says CEO Shimica Gaskins.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT GRACE

GRACE/End Child Poverty CA

http://grace-inc.org ECPCA: www.endchildpovertyca.org 85 S. Grand Ave., Pasadena, CA 91724

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KEY SUPPORTERS Casey Family Programs Daughters of Charity Foundation Liberty Hill Foundation National Community Renaissance of CA Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Resnick Family Foundation Ring-Miscikowski Foundation Rosenberg Foundation Sisters of the Holy Family Spencer Foundation Strive Together Weingart Foundation

Contact:

Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO (626) 356-4205 shimicagaskins@grace-inc.org

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FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN:

Mentors Breaking the Cycle of Foster Care for Los Angeles Kids

W

hen Friends of the Children approached foster youth advocate Thomas Lee for help launching its mentoring program in Los Angeles, he was apprehensive — at first.

“A mentoring program?” Lee, a Los Angeles native and former high school teacher, recalls thinking when he first heard of Friends of the Children. “We already have hundreds of mentoring programs, and few are really impactful.”

For Lee – who now serves on Friends of the Children’s National Board – his thinking on mentorship programs was that they rely too heavily on volunteers. And when life gets in the way, volunteers come and go, making it hard to build long-lasting relationships with children.

But Friends of the Children has a different approach. It hires full-time, salaried, professional mentors (known as Friends) whose only job is to focus on helping children in the home and classroom four hours per week to reach their hopes and dreams. The idea was to begin young — kindergarten age — and commit to mentoring the children for 12-plus years, all the way until they graduate high school. Since the organization’s beginnings in 1993, their model has yielded impressive outcomes, with the vast majority of youth who are mentored going on to earn a high school diploma, enroll in college, and get a job all while staying clear of the justice system and waiting to become a parent until after their teens. With years of data, Friends of the Children have been expanding nationally, demonstrating to communities and funders the organization’s model is scalable and provides meaningful impact not just with children, but also their parents.

Friends of the Children has been around for nearly three

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decades and has 24 locations in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

All the sites use the same mentoring model, but address different populations of youth.

In Chicago, the organization focuses on children impacted by gun violence. In some rural communities, the program mentors Native American children as well as those exposed to the opioid epidemic. In San Francisco, the program helps children living in Hunters Point.

Its aim in L.A. is to keep kids out of foster care. Los Angeles County is home to the largest locally administered child welfare system in the country, serving roughly 33,000 children and their families. Friends of the Children mentors are focused on mitigating trauma for children who’ve come in contact with the child welfare system while also supporting parents. To increase impact, the nonprofit seeks out mentees whose parents had been in foster care because those children have a 50-70% increased risk of being placed in foster care compared to other kids, Lee says.

“This could make a huge difference in disrupting the cyclical nature of foster care,” Lee remembers thinking.

From 2018 through late 2021, Lee served as Friends L.A.’s executive director. Today, the fast growing chapter serves 256 children and families in South Los Angeles and the Antelope Valley, which has the highest rate of children going into foster care in the area.

But by providing social support through professional mentors, Lee said they are creating a “village of believers around the child and the family” and by doing so are making foster care intervention unnecessary.

| Los Angeles |

“T

he Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation believes every Angeleno regardless of neighborhood or zip code should have the opportunity to thrive. Our investment into Friends of the Children – Los Angeles was an investment in our vision. As a member of their village of believers, we are proud to say their innovative mentoring program addresses all four of our priority areas: education, youth development, health care, and preventing homelessness – for 12-plus years, no matter what!”

– Nichol Whiteman

CEO of Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation

“S

ince Friends of the Children – Los Angeles has come into my family’s life, I now know and understand the meaning of taking a village to raise a child. It has been an honor to be a part of the program because my child has another person they can count on, somebody to give a little extra help wherever we need it whether it be with school, making friends, learning about life, or trying new ways. Not only do both my children have mentors, but they have new friends – literally.”

– Brianna, mother

Partnering with Families to Keep Children Safe

F

riends of the Children – Los Angeles has the goal of raising $25 million by 2025.

This funding will shore up their reserves and go a long way in providing a mentor to children who could benefit from one for 12-plus years, no matter what.

“Now more than ever, Friends of the Children – Los Angeles needs to grow its village of believers,” says Thomas Lee, Friends of the Children board SCAN TO MAKE member. “Because right now there are over 2,500 A DONATION... children that could benefit from the support of a full-time, salaried, professional mentor. The funding would give us the chance to be able to operate, not from a place of lack, but from a place of innovation,” Lee says.

... AND LEARN MORE ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN

Friends of the Children

https://friendsla.org 672 S. Lafayette Park Place, Suite 33 Los Angeles, CA 90057

Contact:

Jorie Das (213) 378-0704 jdas@friendsla.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Foundation California Community Foundation Cigna Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Davis Wright Tremaine LLP Doheny Foundation Earle Enterprises EIF Foundation Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation L.A. County Department of Mental Health Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect MassMutual Foundation Panzer Family Foundation Paul Hastings LLP Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Reissa Foundation Rose Hills Foundation Umpqua Bank Weingart Foundation

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PARA LOS NIÑOS:

Forever Changing Children’s Lives

I

n 1979, an article appeared in the Los Angeles Times depicting how unsupervised children growing up on Skid Row were playing in hallways of hotels and on streets with broken glass. When social worker Tanya Tull read the story, she and a small circle of friends raised $5,000 to establish a safe space for children to “just be a kid” while their parents were laboring in the nearby garment or flower district.

The center became the inaugural project of Para Los Niños (PLN), which over four decades later continues to provide a safety net for Los Angeles County’s most at-risk children, families, and youth.

“It was a safe space for kids to be kids; to grow up and have positive experiences and support,” says Drew Furedi, the nonprofit’s president and CEO. “We quickly became a leader in this field and today are proud to be the only provider of mental health for children on Skid Row.” Today, the organization continues to operate that original site and has added sixteen locations across Los Angeles County. PLN proudly serves over 6,000 children, youth, and families across 200 zip codes including a primary, elementary, and middle school, seven early education centers, as well as several facilities in MacArthur Park, Hollywood, Burbank, Cypress, and Skid Row. Para Los Niños partners with Head Start and Early Head Start, programs of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, to provide comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families starting as young as six weeks old.

Additionally, PLN partners with the city of Los Angeles for community groups like Best Start and youth support. “We work with children as young as six weeks old, through their first years in college. For our youth aged 14 to 24, our staff provides strong relationships to help them navigate their academic and career goals. This program – through a partnership with the Mayor’s office

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and the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development – connects youth with internships, education, and training, plus case management helping youth get on track and stay on track.”

The internship program currently provides more than 500 paid placements at different businesses and organizations within Los Angeles via partnerships with corporations like Bank of America and Grifols, a European biotechnology firm with offices near California State University, Los Angeles.

What truly makes Para Los Niños unique though is the integrated support – all programs and schools incorporate social-emotional skills and mental health care in their curriculum and approach. “We started working with mental health professionals and social workers to partner with families in need and share resources so they can reach their goals – we strongly believe in supporting children within the context of their family and community, so we incorporate families and communities in our work,” Furedi says.

The families served by Para Los Niños constitute L.A.’s most economically and socially vulnerable. Ninety-seven percent are Latino, with incomes less than $20,000 per year, and less than half have more than a high school education.

One alumna of the organization’s very first early education classes, Rachel, credits PLN for giving her the foundation to succeed.

“Growing up on Skid Row, I never knew I was poor,” says Rachel Galdamez. “If you ate once a day that was a good day. All our food came from soup kitchens. For me that was just how things were.”

After being introduced to Para Los Niños, everything changed for Galdamez, a mother of three who now enjoys a full-time job and two houses.

“For me, Para Los Niños was my second home,” she says. “I learned how to ride a bike, play board games, how to read, how to create and how to trust. That was 40 years ago. It was the beginning of something that was going to change my life forever.”

| Los Angeles |

“S

ince day one, Para Los Niños has welcomed me with open arms and provided me with guidance and a support system to fall back on. They have become a staple in ensuring I strive academically and professionally. Guiding me to countless opportunities that allow me to financially support myself and my family. Their support eased my college application process and assured me that if I took all the necessary steps, I could be the first in my family to attend a university.

“Now as a first-generation college student, and Para Los Niños employee, PLN has become family and I am so grateful.”

– Alma Canales

Instructional Assistant at Para Los Niños Gratts Primary Center, Youth Workforce Services Alumna

“E

verything in life is about having an opportunity, and my wife and I believe strongly that every child should have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. At Para Los Niños, it’s one child at a time, it’s one family, but they’re giving kids great hope and that opportunity.”

– Rick Caruso

Real Estate Developer, Philanthropist, Para Los Niños Board Member Emeritus Rick Caruso (far right) with family at Para Los Niños Tina and Rick Caruso Early Education Center in Skid Row

Lift Up L.A.’s Vulnerable Children and Families

F

or over 40 years, Para Los Niños has provided a crucial safety net for the most vulnerable families in Los Angeles County.

As an integrated service organization, PLN brings together education, early intervention, mental health, public health, community engagement, and leadership development to serve the whole child, whole family, and communities in which families reside.

Every dollar goes a mile to make it all happen for the over 6,000 served each year across 200 zip codes. Donate today and double your impact: Tina and Rick Caruso will match all gifts up to $50,000 through the end of 2021 – you can be the difference in advancing the opportunity for thousands of children, youth, and families to thrive.

To donate or volunteer your time, please visit paralosninos.org.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Para Los Niños:

Dan Nieman, Vice President, External Affairs (646) 729-6358 (213) 250-4800 ext. 505 dnieman@paralosninos.org www.paralosninos.org

Through December 31, 2021, the first $50,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from Tina and Rick Caruso

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS The Ahmanson Foundation Albertsons, Inc. The Ballmer Group Philanthropy Andrea and Blake Brown The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation The Carol and James Collins Foundation Ann Daly and John Gustafson Barbara and Roy March Adria and Pedro Martí Netflix Nickelodeon Studios Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald Charitable Foundation Rhino Entertainment Ann and Robert Ronus The Rose Hills Foundation The Sam Simon Charitable Giving Foundation Steinmetz Foundation Kira Snyder and Allen Blue Weingart Foundation Cindy and Jake Winebaum

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| Los Angeles |

For The Youth “We’ve learned that the continuity of care is important for young people who are in foster care, and that they need to feel a part of something bigger than themselves because so much of their lives can be transient as they move from home to home and from place to place.”

– Zaid Gayle Co-Founder and Executive Director, Peace4Kids

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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Not Letting Life Circumstances Inhibit his Ambition

by Jonathan Karp

W

hen a Minneapolis policeman killed George Floyd in 2020, William J. Briggs II, like millions of Americans, was appalled. But he wasn’t entirely surprised. Growing up Black in South Central Los Angeles in the 1960s had given him an early education in police mistreatment of minorities.

Days later, he agreed to accompany his daughter to a Black Lives Matter protest in Santa Monica, figuring it would be peaceful. And it was. The sit-in ended after someone shouted, “Defund the police!” and officers told the crowd to disperse.

On the drive home, Briggs got a call from his brother, an LAPD officer, informing him that looting had erupted elsewhere in Santa Monica. “It was devastating,” Briggs says. Racial unrest convulsed L.A. for days.

Another call came about a month later. This time, a friend and former member of the Board of Police Commissioners asked him if he would consider joining the powerful civilian panel that oversees one of the largest forces in the country.

Briggs, a civically active, successful entertainment lawyer, was skeptical. He didn’t support defunding the police, but he came around because he supported other reforms he believed could heal L.A. by benefiting both the police and the community.

He accepted Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination and joined in December 2020.

“It’s my way of giving back to the city that raised me and made me who I am,” Briggs says.

Police discrimination wasn’t the only social ill he witnessed in his youth. Alcoholism, drug addiction, domestic abuse and, yes, crime tore families apart and starved children of stability.

His single mother recognized the importance of education and sent him to parochial school until 10th grade, when she could no longer afford it. Public school was a step down, but he resolved to succeed, nevertheless.

Fortunately, Briggs had some guardian angels. His biology teacher spotted his talent and helped him get a job in a UCLA laboratory. His boss there opened his eyes to Armenian culture and the idea that “you don’t have to let the circumstances of your life inhibit your ambition.” Briggs’s aunt, the civil rights leader Dorothy Height, steered him to Bethune-Cookman College, a Historically Black College in Florida. Then, two lawyers in Washington, D.C., encouraged Briggs, their young paralegal, to apply to Georgetown Law School, where they

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were adjunct professors.

As he built his career as a trial lawyer representing high-profile entertainment and sports figures, Briggs stayed connected to his inner city roots, particularly interested in issues like the plight of children. For more than 20 years, he has been active with the Alliance for Children’s Rights, a nonprofit that focuses on adoption and foster care for at-risk youth.

Briggs was introduced to another organization that spoke to him on many levels, starting with its name: “I Have a Dream” Foundation. It provides underprivileged elementary school students with mentors, activities and reinforcement they don’t get at home – and sticks with them through high school. Students helped by the foundation have a remarkable 90% graduation rate. They often struggle with culture shock in college, so the nonprofit has extended its mentorship program to ensure they don’t drop out.

As a member of the Venable Foundation, the charitable arm of the firm where he is a partner, Briggs has championed both nonprofits, supporting them through grants and his own and Venable’s pro bono services. He now chairs the foundation’s L.A. branch, overseeing dozens of local grants a year. The pandemic prompted large, emergency gifts to address racial justice and food insecurity. “It was just heart wrenching to see people in food lines,” he says.

Violent crime has also surged since the pandemic began. That has strained the police and renewed demands to reform a force with a track record of, among other shortcomings, racial profiling and brutality. Mixed messages after George Floyd’s murder complicated the task of repairing rifts with communities of color: LAPD Chief Michel Moore knelt in solidarity with BLM protestors, but later equated rioters with the officers responsible for Floyd’s death. Public backlash forced him to apologize.

Briggs got to work as vice president of the five-person Police Commission, a time-consuming and intellectually challenging volunteer position. He committed himself to visit all 21 LAPD field divisions, starting in South L.A., the most active – and his most familiar – turf. As a teenager, he had suffered a common humiliation, dubbed Driving While Black. A white cop (not with the LAPD) pulled him over, handcuffed him, sat him on the curb and eventually released him. No ticket was issued, only an order to never return to that area.

Visiting South L.A. as a commissioner, Briggs was ap-

| Los Angeles |

(photo by Richard Reinsdorf)

“It’s my way of giving back to the city that raised me and made me who I am.”

– William Briggs

proached by a young officer, who appealed for more after-school activities that would keep youth out of trouble and give police a support role to develop positive interactions.

“This is a white guy in a Black neighborhood,” Briggs says emphatically. “That told me there is hope.” Many officers in other divisions expressed a similar desire to play a constructive role.

A top priority for Briggs is expanding the LAPD’s Community Safety Partnership Bureau, a program to build trust in minority communities.

He’s not naïve about the hurdles to changing LAPD culture and operating practices, but he says there has been progress on measures to hold officers accountable and reduce their role in incidents involving the mentally ill and the homeless. Crucially, he is advocating for more training so, when possible, officers can de-escalate armed confrontations without using deadly force and reduce non-lethal force when, say, breaking up protests.

Enhanced training is expensive. But over the long run, it may save the city grief and money, Briggs argues. It might

have prevented a rash of lawsuits seeking damages over officer shootings and actions during the BLM protests. “We can either spend millions of dollars now to train officers or hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements later.”

Despite the pressure and public scrutiny, Briggs enjoys serving on the Police Commission, saying, “I want to be a partner in the effort to make long-lasting changes that I think will be impactful.”

Securing a safer, more-just future requires rectifying indignities of the past. In 1900, the LAPD fired its very first Black officer, after a white teenager accused him of sexual assault. He was acquitted in 1907, but the LAPD didn’t take him back.

Until more than a century later. In March 2020, the Police Commission reinstated Robert William Stewart – thanks to an effort spearheaded by none other than William Briggs.

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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READY TO SUCCEED:

Helping Foster Youth Live their Dreams F ormer film executive and entrepreneur Romi Lassally’s children were in high school when she began envisioning a career mentorship program for young adults.

In the spring of 2015, a friend introduced Lassally to Patrick McCabe, a former Sports Channel executive who co-founded New Roads Elementary School in Santa Monica. McCabe, who had previously worked with homeless foster youth as Executive Director of Covenant House, had also been thinking about such an opportunity for foster youth.

When the Los Angeles natives met over coffee, it was “work love at first sight,” Lassally said. By January of 2016, the duo had joined forces and leveraged their deep networks to create Ready to Succeed, which connects college-aged foster youth to mentorship and coaching, paid internships and high-quality career opportunities.

“Transition-age foster youth don’t have to be homeless, unemployed, pregnant or in jail,” Lassally said. “With the right support at the right time, they can work at Google.”

While there are more than 100 organizations in Southern California that help underrepresented youth get into college, Ready to Succeed is one of the only organizations dedicated to helping young adults with foster care experience succeed in life and focus on their career paths once they are already in college, McCabe said. The organization offers their “Scholars” an intensive and early personalized career focus along with life coaching, connections to industry professionals, and a host of resources and partners providing everything from school supplies and professional clothing, to scholarships and mental health counseling.

“We’re providing unique opportunities and access and helping

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build social capital for these young people who really need it, absorb it and run with it.” Lassally said. “It’s really thrilling. We are more than service providers; we become fierce advocates for our Scholars and engage others to do the same. We are hoping to create a movement where more people start opening up their network to people outside their own networks – helping build community and connections for those who need them the most.”

Ninety-three percent of their Scholars in the last year have gotten paid career-track internships with companies including Boeing, Disney, HBO and TikTok. Others have landed full-time jobs with Fortune 100 and 500 companies.

One of Ready to Succeed’s success stories is that of 24-yearold Brendan. When he was a boy, his father was incarcerated for life. Brendan’s mother then died when he was 18. He helped raise his two younger siblings while in high school and was taken in by relatives as a young adult.

Brendan connected with Ready to Succeed as a college freshman in 2017, got career coaching and several paid internships and is now participating in Penske Automotive’s management training program in Florida.

“It’s having the feeling that I have a family-like environment backing me,” Brendan said. “It really helps me achieve my goals and helps me be confident.”

Ready to Succeed went from helping five college-aged foster youth become career ready in 2016 to helping nearly 65 youth and more than 45 program alumni today. But they hope to at least double that in 2022.

“All our students are acorns and they’re all growing up to be oaks – not Ficus trees but oaks,” McCabe said. “They already have the motivation and the talent, it’s just about fulfilling their potential and we provide an avenue for them to do that.”

| Los Angeles |

“F

or the past four years, I have served as a pro bono mental health counselor for the Ready to Succeed Scholars. I consider it a privilege to get to know these students, listen to their stories, and offer a safe place to hold their pain and grief. In sharing, healing begins. The Ready to Succeed program is truly life changing.”

– Brenda McDonald

Marriage and Family therapist with a private practice in Santa Monica, California

“R

TS has been more than a program, it has been a community of friends. The value I have gained through RTS is and will remain immeasurable. I look forward to the future, and it seems a bit brighter because of your efforts. I do not know what I would have done without you.”

– Brandon C.

A $100,000 Goal

UC Santa Cruz, ‘21

TGL MATCHING his past year, Ready to Succeed recently launched two industry CHALLENGE! pathway programs – the She Ready Internship program focused on entertainment and media careers with actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish, who herself was raised in the foster care system. The second, a fellowship program connecting RTS scholars interested in public service work to internship opportunities at nonprofits across Los Angeles. Ready to Succeed THE FIRST $1,500 also partnered with UCLA to provide dorm room supplies to 80 incoming WILL BE MATCHED freshmen impacted by foster care.

Now, RTS needs to raise $100,000 in funds to support its newest class of 25 Scholars. Your support will directly fund RTS’s unique programming and connect these Scholars to high caliber mentorship, training and career opportunities, enabling them to believe in and live out their dreams.

T

Ready to Succeed

1514 17th Street #205 Santa Monica, CA 90404 www.readytosucceedla.org

Contact:

RTS Team (424) 581-6296 rts@readytosucceedla.org | www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS Anthony + Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation The Len Hill Family Foundation Ralph M. Parsons Foundation The Angell Foundation The Conrad N Hilton Foundation Segal Family - United World Foundation The Reissa Foundation The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation LA2050/The Goldhirsh Foundation Johnny Carson Foundation Dwight Stuart Youth Fund Aramont Charitable Foundation Elizabeth + Glen Friedman Catherine + Robert Beyer Sharon Hall + Todd Kessler Herb Kendall Foundation Joseph P Drown Foundation HBO Netflix Walt Disney Gallant Capital Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth LLP Simple Practice 3 Arts Entertainment United Talent Agency

Romi Lassally, Co-founder Romi@readytosucceedla.org

Patrick McCabe, Co-founder Patrick@readytosucceedla.org

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CALIFORNIA YOUTH CONNECTION:

Empowering Foster Youth to be Change Agents

J

anay Eustace found herself in the foster care system as a new high school freshman, juggling her duties as class president and rally commissioner – all on her birthday week in 1999.

As her mother battled addiction, Eustace was first sent to an intimidating children’s receiving home in Sacramento, and after a few weeks, was placed with her grandmother on the other side of town.

After hearing other foster youth talk about having gone to a concert of R&B singer Usher through the California Youth Connection (CYC), she joined the nonprofit as a youth member at the age of 14.

“I wasn’t thinking about advocacy. I wasn’t thinking about leadership development. I was thinking about Usher,” Eustace, today the executive director of the California Youth Connection, admits with a laugh. But the nonprofit helped her find support, community, and empowerment during a traumatic time in her life.

“Without CYC, I would have been really isolated and confused.”

The statewide California Youth Connection is a current and former foster youth-led organization that focuses on transforming the child welfare system through policy, practice, and legislative change. That Eustace, who experienced the system itself, now leads the organization is a testament to just how much youth leadership is programmed into CYC’s DNA. “Our vision is that every young person [in the system] be a part of all decisions made in their life so that they can grow up into thriving adults,” Eustace says.

CYC, which has some 33 chapters throughout the state including

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in Los Angeles, works to change local, statewide level, and even federal policy. As a high school student some 20 years ago, Eustace visited Congress members and advocated for extending the foster care program and benefits to youth until age 21. In 2008, Congress did just that and two years later the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 12, which now offers thousands of California foster youth benefits past the age of 18.

Many organizations center youth voices and partner with young people experiencing the foster care system, Eustace says. But CYC is “completely unique in the way our members decide and develop and bring to life organically the issues that are facing system-involved youth who are experiencing foster care.”

Ricardo Ortega joined CYC several years ago as a foster youth and high school junior. That allowed him to travel outside his community for the first time, connect and network with statewide policy makers, and get valuable advocacy and legislative experience.

Today, the Cal State Dominguez Hills political science student is active on CYC’s Member Executive Commission, which helps the nonprofit’s administrative staff make decisions about its operations. He works for another nonprofit supporting mental health clients in Los Angeles County, serves on the L.A. County Youth Commission and is an immigration commissioner for Assemblyman Mike Gipson.

“CYC encouraged me to go outside of my comfort zone,” Ortega says. “It allowed me to feel empowered, and even though I was young, to create impact for foster youth across the state.”

| Los Angeles |

“A

mong the organizations doing great work supporting foster youth, CYC uniquely stands out because the advocacy comes from the youth themselves – in their own voices, by choosing their own initiatives, and through their direct leadership. I am so proud to be in a community with these outstanding young people because they are shaping the future of the foster system, informed by their own personal experiences, and doing so to improve how their future brothers and sisters experience foster care. I find this passion and commitment to be incredibly selfless, and an integral and important perspective for transforming foster systems in California, across the country, and worldwide.”

– Nora Kim

Associate Philanthropic Advisor, San Francisco Foundation

Help CYC Meet Its $150,000 Fundraising Goal

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted CYC members (current and former foster youth ages 14-24) – creating feelings of social isolation, cutting off lifelines of support and making it incredibly difficult to build community during a time when it was needed more than ever. So as CYC thinks about a return to in-person community building for its young people, it is planning to make its two in-person conferences (Day at the Capitol and Summer Leadership & Policy Conference) more effective than ever.

As a youth-led organization with over half of its staff having experienced foster care, CYC members are leading the way through their own empowerment and advocacy. One of CYC’s core programming pillars is its conferences where the organization brings young people together at universities throughout California (Summer Leadership & Policy) and at the state capitol (Day at the Capitol) for three days of skills-building workshops, meetings, and community bonding. These conferences are springboards for youth development and empowerment.

SCAN TO MAKE But the lights have been turned off on these life-changing A DONATION... experiences for nearly two years. In 2022 and beyond, CYC hopes to bring these young advocates together again, providing them with the sense of community that they have missed for so long. $150,000 in charitable gifts will allow CYC to bring all its members to these seminal events, and also support its youthdriven policy change agenda.

Be a part of empowering California’s foster youth.

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CALIFORNIA YOUTH CONNECTION

California Youth Connection www.calyouthconn.org 1311 63rd Street Emeryville, CA 94618

Contact

KEY SUPPORTERS The Zellerbach Foundation California Wellness Foundation California Community Foundation Weingart Foundation The Stuart Foundation The Center at Sierra Health Foundation Orange County Bar Charitable Foundation May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Tipping Point Community Walter S. Johnson Foundation Edward W. Hazen Foundation W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation

Marissa Miller, Development Director (603) 247-4511 mmiller@calyouthconn.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Janay Eustace, Executive Director (916) 752-1861 janaye@calyouthconn.org

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THE RIGHTWAY FOUNDATION:

Forming Foster Youths’ Futures “I

F

ranco Vega knows the hardships kids in South Central Los Angeles often face, because he himself went through it. Growing up, Vega had an abusive mother and an alcoholic father. The experience is what propelled him to begin The RightWay Foundation, which helps young adults in L.A. build themselves up after aging out of the foster care system.

“I understand where they come from. They are hopeless and hurt,” says Executive Director Vega.

RightWay provides mental health treatment and job training to transitionaged youth who have or are about to “age out” of the foster care system.

Established in 2011, the Foundation’s main center welcomes foster youth on the ground floor of the sprawling Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Mall. There, Vega, along with six Licensed Clinical Social Workers, work tirelessly to find employment for the youths and offer therapy and life skills training along the way. Their mindset is that employment alone isn’t enough.

Vega’s saying: “It’s not your fault, but it is your life,” rings true in what the organization does. It utilizes a hands-on approach to help children coming out of the foster care system chart a path to their own futures. “No one else is mixing therapy into employment services and helping to find housing, all under one roof,” says Vega.

None of the young adults who work with RightWay ever had the chance to join the Girl Scouts or to have paper routes as children. So they are learning about entry-level employment much later in life. RightWay helps them learn what to expect from their jobs and what’s expected of them. It also works closely with companies across L.A. including TJMaxx, Bloomingdale’s, and others based at LAX to train the businesses how to best work with employees with traumatic backgrounds.

That relationship has shown results. About 90% of participants reported an increase in social support and a decrease in social isolation, and 70% secured and retained employment or paid internships.

Another goal of the organization is to end the foster care-to-prison pipeline.

Nearly 25% of California’s foster youth are incarcerated within two years of emancipation. The incarceration rate for RightWay alumni is less than 1%. Vega says RightWay’s biggest measure of success is its retention rate. The program

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| Los Angeles |

wholeheartedly support the work of The RightWay Foundation and its Founder/ Director Franco Vega. They intimately understand the intricacies, problems, and prejudices in the foster care system, and utilize multidimensional programs to prevent more youth from entering into the cycle of trauma produced by it. For the youth aging out of the system, RightWay provides therapy, job training, traumainformed community support, and connections to opportunities in the workforce. Every single day, RightWay proves that with stable employment, housing, and support, former foster youth can indeed thrive and achieve personal goals.”

– Whitney Leigh Morris

Creator of The Tiny Canal Cottage and sustainable small space living author, designer, and consultant

welcomes kids back again and again and aims to continue to work with them as they grow.

“We created a model that makes them feel welcome. We don’t downgrade them or judge. We are taking people where they are at,” he says.

Recently, the organization has shifted to also help its kids secure affordable housing, knowing that the best way to set them up for success is to make sure they have a roof over their heads. COVID-19 put that sharply into focus. Many kids had previously been couch surfing and living with friends but found themselves forced onto the streets and unable to presentably show up to work. RightWay’s new project pays half the rent for their first year, to help its kids navigate the working world.

“M

y name is Shamyia. I’m 26 years old.

At the age of one I became a ward of the court. Most of my childhood I felt as if I was being raised by the system. As I grew older, I felt as if I was numbered and stamped. Between my teenage years and adult life I had no family support, emotional support, or financial support, no guidance or knowledge on what the real world holds. At the age of 16, I completely took on the responsibilities of protecting, providing for, and supporting myself and my one-year-old son. At the age of 18, I emancipated out of the system.

“My fear of failure was my motivation. The most important strength that got me through it all was faith. In 2018, I entered a life-changing organization, The RightWay Foundation. I was struggling financially on probation and without a home for more than two years. This program is not just only for general helping purposes; this program has supported me with all of my pain, depression, excessive stress, and emotional breakdowns. I had one goal when I entered the program which was to obtain full-time employment. Over the years they have supported me beyond what I expected. I participated in many events and workshops, such as financial literacy, acting, internships, life skills workshops, mentoring, etc.

“The RightWay Foundation has demonstrated what a supportive family feels like. In August 2021, The RightWay Foundation moved me into my own apartment. One take away: No excuses! As I continue my walk of life.”

Building Stability

KEY SUPPORTERS

T

he RightWay Foundation’s goal is to help foster care youth transitioning out of the system build their own futures through employment and therapy. But in order to do that, they also need stable housing.

During the pandemic, the need for that stability amidst California’s high rental market became apparent. That’s where “Operation Housing First” comes into play. Rightway is hoping to raise a seed fund of $250,000 to go towards the new project.

The program pays the security deposit and half of each month’s rent for program participants to live in their own apartment for one year. It’s also mindful of each person’s specific needs and chooses rentals located in safe neighborhoods close to their jobs so they can walk or take advantage of public transportation. A donation of $21,600 can help house three young adults working with RightWay for one full year.

Thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching THE FIRST $1,500 program, all donations of up to $1,500 will be matched.

TGL MATCHING CHALLENGE!

WILL BE MATCHED

The RightWay Foundation

(323) 903-5021 www.therightwayfoundation.org 3650 West Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Suite 195, Los Angeles, CA, 90008 Instagram: @therightwayfoundation Twitter: @therightway Facebook: @therightwayfoundation

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Amy Adams & Darren Le Gallo Angell Foundation Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation April Gargiulo / Vintner’s Daughter Aspen Institute Bad Robot Capital Group Capital One Crail-Johnson Foundation FHI 360 Jonathan Louis Furniture Justina Blakeney Ken & Shelley Goldstein Lance Gross May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Nick Buford Crews / Crews 1972 Reissa Foundation Rose Hills Foundation Sierra Health Foundation Tiffany Haddish Tyler, the Creator Weingart Foundation Whitney Leigh Morris / The Tiny Canal Cottage

Contact:

Franco Vega, Executive Director franco@therightwayfoundation.org Nell Rutledge-Leverenz, Development nell@therightwayfoundation.org

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PEACE4KIDS:

Youth in Foster Care Find ‘Community is Family’ ZAID GAYLE, PEACE4KIDS CO-FOUNDER

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ince 1998, South Los Angeles nonprofit Peace4Kids has connected youth in foster care to a community they can count on – in short, a family.

Youth participation in Peace4Kids is twice as long as the average foster care placement. Youth often have more history with the organization than with any foster family, group home, or similar entity.

“We’ve learned that the continuity of care is important for young people who are in foster care, and that they need to feel a part of something bigger than themselves because so much of their lives can be transient as they move from home to home and from place to place,” says Zaid Gayle, Peace4Kids cofounder.

Gayle started the organization with Marni Otway in honor of the Season for Nonviolence, a nationwide campaign to promote peace. It all began 23 years ago when Gayle and Otway set out to plant a peace garden at the 99th Street Elementary School in the Watts area of South L.A. Students wrote letters about the need for such a garden, detailing how violence had shaped their lives and underscoring their longing for family and community.

“So many kids that were coming [to the garden] were young people who had a foster care experience,” Gayle says. “And that was something that was incredibly important to me because my mom is someone who had a lived experience with foster care, and my dad, in addition to being a minister, worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. My thought was, ‘I can do something that honors my parents.’”

That’s why Peace4Kids embraces a “Community as Family” model. Preschoolers through young adults build relationships

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with a community of dedicated volunteers, a third of whom experienced the child welfare system themselves. Now, many Peace4Kids alumni are giving back to a new generation of youth coming up through the program.

Following a strength-based model, youth have an opportunity to focus on their talents through the Peace4Kids Core Saturday Program offering creative and educational courses, field trips, life skills, and mentorship opportunities.

Connecting to mentorship is one of the top requests of Peace4Kids youth. The nonprofit employs a group mentoring concept, where connections are relevant and relatable to the explicit needs of the youth. This yields support of one or more volunteers simultaneously, in collaboration or successively – and encourages youth to expand their support network.

“So many times, when people work with young people in foster care, they come at it from the deficit perspective,” Gayle said.

“Well, we want to lift up what works.”

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“P

eace4Kids was a safe and special place for me. I really cultivated my gifts, and built lifelong relationships. I feel strongly that my professional success is directly related to what I gained from my time at Peace4Kids. It’s for that reason that I continue to invest my time and money to support the youth currently coming through their programs.”

– Angelica Nwandu

Peace4Kids alumna and founder of The Shade Room

Successful Transitions into Adulthood

“R

especting the lived experience of youth impacted by the Child Welfare system is foundational to the work of Peace4Kids. From their innovative research projects to leadership development programs, every aspect of the work is designed to be responsive to, and lift up the voices of, their youth. We could not be more thankful for Peace4Kids and the supportive community they provide for current and former foster youth in Los Angeles.”

– Scott Koch

Executive Director, Reissa Foundation

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ovid-19 has had a compounding effect on transition age youth (TAY) exiting foster care. The financial impact of unemployment has impacted their housing stability, and food security. In addition, months of isolation due to the safer-at-home order has also strained their mental health and well-being. Peace4Kids is launching its own TAY Recovery Initiative to support the 18-24 year olds in their community in successfully emerging from the pandemic. They are seeking to raise $50,000 that will provide direct financial assistance, mentorship, coaching, and peer-to-peer mediation support.

Peace4Kids connects youth in foster care in South Los Angeles to community leaders, volunteers, and peers in a nonclinical setting.

SCAN TO MAKE Rather than focus on the disadvantages of beA DONATION! ing in the child welfare system, the organization teaches young people how to identify and activate their talents and strengths.

Young adults in the program can also receive individualized coaching, leadership development, housing, and support as they transition out of the child welfare system.

The needs of Peace4Kids’ transitional youth services program have become urgent during the coronavirus pandemic. This global crisis has increased the barriers to employment, housing, MATCHING food, healthcare, and other necessities that CHALLENGE! young people leaving foster care typically face.

Your gift to Peace4Kids would help it direct reThrough January 15, 2022, the sources to youth aging out of foster care with first $1,500 donated will be few resources to support their transition.

matched thanks to the Giving List’s novel matching program

Peace4Kids

www.peace4kids.org 1339 East 120th Street Los Angeles, CA 90059

Contact:

Zaid Gayle, Executive Director (323) 569-2034 x 4 zaid@peace4kids.org

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KEY SUPPORTERS Annenberg Foundation The Ahmanson Foundation William I. Smith Foundation S. Mark Taper Foundation The Green Foundation Pritzker Foster Care Initiative Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Los Angeles County Development Authority Angelica Nwandu Barry Meyer and Wendy Smith Meyer ESPN / Disney HMS Host Foundation Amgen Foundation Jordan Corngold and Susannah Blinkoff Reissa Foundation Dwight Stuart Youth Fund Rick and Susan Theder Darrell Blocker Buscaino Community Grants Community Partners / Transforming L.A. Through Partnership

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Family Ties “Not every child wants to be adopted, but they all need someone they can count on – both now and after they leave the system. We give our kids a voice and choice in what kind of relationship they want, who they get to know, and who might ultimately become their family.”

– Randi Thompson CEO and President, Kidsave

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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Money as Medicine As told to Daniel Heimpel

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n 2018, a Native American philanthropy professional dropped a bomb on the industry. In his book, Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, Edgar Villanueva laid bare the inequities rife throughout philanthropy and the financial system.

Now in its second edition, Decolonizing Wealth is the central text for what Villanueva simply describes as “modern philanthropy,” one in which capital is used for reconciliation and reparations through wealth redistribution.

To move that effort forward, Villanueva launched Liberated Capital, a donor community and intermediary that is working with more than 350 individual donors and charitable foundations to support nonprofits across the country that serve or are led by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.

In this conversation, Villanueva and I discuss topics ranging from using charitable foundations’ corpora for public benefit, the likelihood that legislation will be required to ensure that donor-advised funds are used for charity, and whether the philanthropic changes following the murder of George Floyd will be lasting.

Why did you feel compelled to write Decolonizing Wealth?

I really felt called to do it. I never really saw myself as an author or a writer before, but I felt like I had a story inside that I just had to get out.

It almost felt like it wasn’t a choice, but mine was a story that really needed to be told. As a Native American person from the South with multiple, intersecting identities that are not seen in the space of philanthropy, I faced a lot of challenges in working to move money to communities and remain my authentic self.

I began to see there were contradictions and challenges that we were uncomfortable discussing in the space.

I also wrote the book because I love this sector, and I wanted to call us into a deep and honest conversation. I got exhausted from hearing about diversity, equity, and inclusion all the time and not really seeing the numbers change in terms of what leadership in the field looked like or where dollars are going.

Finally, writing the book was a part of my own healing.

Being a person that did not come from wealth and working in such a privileged space and dealing with microaggressions, I faced a forced assimilation to be and represent something that I wasn’t – that was really hard. And I began to see this

was an experience I shared with a lot of people who were from marginalized backgrounds, including women, LGBTQ folks, other people of color.

I became consumed with the idea and practice of healing and thinking about how I can bring that Indigenous worldview, experience, and wisdom about healing to this sector to repair what was broken.

A through line in the book is this concept of healing.

What does philanthropy need to heal from?

What I’ve come to understand through this Indigenous worldview is that the trauma of inequality or the trauma of white supremacy has hurt all of us in this country. We all need healing: Indigenous, Black, and white people. And the only way to get there is to do that through a collective process.

We all have to take ownership of this country’s history, have

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truth and reconciliation around it, and understand what must be repaired to support collective healing.

Through the donor circle you established, Liberated Capital, you have invited funders to support Black-, Indigenous-, and people of color-led nonprofits.

You said this could help them find healing and liberation.

What does that mean?

Using money as medicine is really about understanding that the hurt is the most in communities of color. It’s about prioritizing and moving money to Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the form of reparations or reparative giving.

That is what our fund, Liberated Capital, is all about. We move untethered capital to Indigenous and Black and POCled organizations. And we only accept money from folks who want to give it freely without any type of strings attached or forced assimilation on our part. It is a place where you’re giving through a reparative justice or reparations lens, where we’re trusting communities to take that money and to use it as they see fit.

Money is energy, and we are liberating that energy to communities because it’s the right thing to do. And we see that the act of giving is in and of itself a step toward healing and repair: Using money as medicine is not a charitable act of altruism.

Despite your clarion call, the concept of impact investing – or at least mission-focused investing – has been slow to gain significant traction across philanthropy. You still have foundations that may fund environmental activism, which have investments coming out of their endowments wormed up with fossil fuels. What is the opportunity for change here?

I love this question because this is so much more transformative than just talking about grantmaking. Because you’re right, the majority of philanthropic capital is sitting in banks or invested in Wall Street.

The truth is the incentives in this industry are currently structured to favor the hoarding of wealth versus giving away money. And the 5% minimum payout rule that was put in place in 1976 is, I think, a blemish on the history of philanthropy.

It’s a sad thing that there had to be an act of Congress to force foundations to actually give money to the community.

Donors do a little bit of good with that 5% that goes to the community, but the vast majority of the wealth is often not aligned with the mission. And in fact, we know from data, most of it is invested in harmful and extractive industries. For example, funders who support criminal justice reform through grantmaking while they’re invested in private prisons in their

“ If we are to escape the insidious hold racism has on our society, we must be intentional about truth and reconciliation. In Decolonizing Wealth, Edgar lays a foundation that not only explains the history of wealth and racism but also provides a pathway to healing that we all need.”

– Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist

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endowments. My work is not about shaming or calling people out necessarily, but it is about being honest. It is what it is.

There’s a lot of contradictions. Philanthropy exists because it is a byproduct of a system of inequality that has favored the wealthy, a capitalistic system that allows for so few people to build wealth and create foundations.

If we can be honest about it, then we just might be able to have some reforms that are people- and communitycentered, shifting things away from hoarding wealth and those scarcity mindsets that come from fear, which are byproducts of colonization. Money as medicine is helping us understand that something is broken and that we can shift this paradigm towards using all our resources, including endowments, towards healing people and the planet.

Let’s own up to that and apologize for how we’ve harmed others. Let’s step up to the plate to do things differently, especially for communities of color, who have played such a critical role in building wealth in this country and have been marginalized.

OK, but there are also vast sums of capital locked up in donor-advised funds. There have been rumblings around legislation that would make that money move out of private markets and into the social sector, like the 5% rule in institutional philanthropy. Do you think that policy change is needed?

Regrettably, I will say yes.

Philanthropy has been an industry that prefers to be selfregulated and to be self-reliant on implementing best practices.

We’ve known for decades that giving general operating,

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“ Due to years of detrimental federal Indian policy and discriminatory economic systems, Native American communities have been marginalized and left out of the economic opportunity experienced by other Americans. Edgar Villanueva offers a new vision and an Indigenous perspective that can put us on a better path. Everyone should read Decolonizing Wealth, especially those who control the flow of resources in government, philanthropy, and finance.”

– LaDonna Harris (Comanche), politician, activist, and founder of Americans for Indian Opportunity

unrestricted support to nonprofits is both what they ask for and want and is best-practice philanthropy. Yet so few foundations are doing it, and there is actually a decline in general operating support from funders.

My work has ushered in an era of truth telling and reckoning about what’s going on. And there’s an invitation for philanthropy to adhere to the moral imperative to do the right thing.

But unfortunately, power is not often ceded. It has to be taken.

External pressure may be considered, including legislation, to

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force philanthropy to adhere to the moral imperative to do the right thing. It’s really hard for me to reconcile that you can get a charitable deduction off of money that is then put into private markets and has zero public benefit. On behalf of the American public, folks are just asking for fairness – if you’re getting that tax break, there should be some demonstrated public benefit.

“ By anchoring the solutions to America’s ills in the wisdom and knowledge of its original people, Edgar challenges all of us working in the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors to analyze how our nation’s history of racism and disenfranchisement has infected its financial and giving institutions. I strongly recommend this book as a key resource for funders and advocates to ensure their investments are truly equitable and benefiting the lives of people and communities of color.”

– Heather McGhee, author, political commentator, and former president of Demos, a progressive think tank

While it can be argued that philanthropy is prone to follow news cycles, it feels like there will be some lasting change from the double blow of the pandemic and George Floyd.

What should the field take away from these painful years?

Some of the progress that I see funders making is not just coming from the radical left.

I’m seeing middle of the road, regular foundations step up and do what some may have considered to be radical. It’s not radical, it’s modern philanthropy. It’s just how we do our work now. So, I am inspired.

I think that folks like MacKenzie Scott are changing the weather on this. And she in her writing has acknowledged that it’s the right thing to do because she benefits from a system of privilege and accumulated benefits.

We’re at a place where there’s a movement. I’m not the only one saying these things.

There’s an army of folks, including donors and philanthropists and white folks who are demanding that we not go back to business as usual. This is the new way we’re going to do our work. We’re going to continue to bend the arc towards justice and reparations, because that is the opportunity. This

way will not only help communities and support closing this racial wealth gap, but it’s the only way to freedom for all of us because our systems are broken. Our communities are broken and torn apart.

There’s so much pain and trauma everywhere, especially after 2020, the only way out of this is healing, and the only way that we will all thrive and heal is if we come together and accept the collective responsibility of our history and future.

“ Edgar Villanueva has broken through the tired jargon of philanthropy-speak and written a fresh, honest, painful, and hopeful book, grounded in his own truths and Native traditions, about his experiences in foundations, a powerful sector with too many vestiges of colonialism and white supremacy. He offers some radical thinking about what it would take to bring about a world where power and accountability shifted and communities controlled the resources vital to their strength and futures.”

– Gara LaMarche, former president, Democracy Alliance; former president, Atlantic Philanthropies; and former vice president and director of U.S. programs, Open Society Foundations You now have your second edition out.

What is next for Edgar?

I don’t want to sit in this sad place forever and dwell on these things forever.

I want to get to the other side of this, but I know the only way to do so is to step into the truth of it all.

And that’s why we’re really going to continue to elevate the work around reparations. We will keep supporting groups on the front lines and using the power of storytelling to bring us all into the conversation and to inspire us to join this movement for truth reconciliation and healing.

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VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PROGRAM:

Keeping Children Home

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he Violence Intervention Program (VIP) was founded in 1984, as the Center for the Vulnerable Child, the first Child Advocacy Center in the U.S. that was medically based.

This child abuse focused program rapidly grew into a clinic that provides medical and mental health services for all victims of family violence and sexual assault. Importantly, VIP provided 24hour response to children, youth, women, and elderly.

While sitting in a child death review case, founder Dr. Astrid Heppenstall Heger, a professor of clinical pediatrics, realized that protecting children in Los Angeles would require a 24-hour center where her highly trained team could assess any child referred for possible abuse or any child at risk for foster care, and where VIP with social services would determine the appropriate and best intervention. This access to expert evaluations help cut foster care numbers in half, and likely prevented hundreds of children’s deaths at the hands of abusive caretakers.

Heger began VIP with a handful of staff in a room she said was smaller than her current guest bathroom. Through her pioneering work in the field of child abuse and sexual assault, VIP has changed interventions and outcomes. Because of VIP’s groundbreaking work, Heger received the highest U.S. honor for service to crime victims, accepting the Crime Victim Service Award from the Department of Justice.

Today the organization has more than 200 employees and offers dozens of services. The 24-hour multidisciplinary clinic evaluates 70% of all child abuse cases in L.A. County and is the only 24/7 clinic for abuse and assault in the county.

It also has specialized clinics that include the Elder Abuse Forensic Center, the only one of its kind in L.A., and an LGBTQ

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focused clinic named in partnership with The Alexis Arquette Family Foundation. Altogether, VIP fills a key need in the county by helping 20,000 people a year move past abuse, neglect, and assault.

The group’s mission is to act and build programs where the welfare system fails.

“I personally believe that when issues come up that impact our patient population or the community, and no one is [solving] it, we should be doing it,” Heger says.

With that same attitude, VIP and Heger have ambitious goals ahead. That includes transforming L.A.’s foster care system by helping families living below the poverty line prevent in-home violence and providing the support they need to retain their children within the nuclear family. Some funds will go directly to supporting families as they struggle to keep their children in their homes.

VIP’s new program “No Kid Graduates to the Streets” will be part of its mentoring program and community outreach efforts housed at its Leonard Hill Hope Center on the campus of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in East Los Angeles, and will emphasize a need to change the desperate course that is set out for most foster children and youth. The program will provide a coordinated approach to “each child has a mentor” and hopes to build an IT system to streamline information sharing and easy access to County services, activities, and apprenticeships.

“We want to stop homelessness where it starts, when the child is small and loses the true concept of home,” Heger said. “I really want to focus on the children and see the world through their eyes, their expectations, and provide a lens of hope.”

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ithout the Violence Intervention Program and its staff, I would have dropped out of school and begun to work. I would have ruined my life completely. From the bottom of my heart, you saved my life. VIP has been, in a way, like an older sibling who is there to provide guidance and support; I no longer feel alone on this road. Because of your help, I have the opportunity to succeed and I am taking full advantage of it.”

– Kevin N., age 17

“B

ones heal and bruises fade, but hope and dignity require more to restore than surgery and stitches.”

– Eve Somer

No Kid Graduates to the Streets

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

L

ooking to forestall the foster care to homelessness pipeline, the Violence Intervention Program is seeking to fund their new “No Kid Graduates to the Streets” program.

With a fundraising goal of $20 million, VIP hopes to revitalize an antiquated foster care system, by building out IT networks and establishing more access to services for children who have been moved out of home placements.

Donated funds will also be used to supplement families who enter the system primarily due to poverty that results in a fundamental inability to care for their biological children.

VIP’s board has generously contributed $100,000 to its ongoing fundraising campaign. Every donation will be doubled, with 90% going straight to children and families.

MATCHING CHALLENGE! The first $100,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from VIP’s board

Violence Intervention Program

https://violenceinterventionprogram.org 1721 Griffin Ave Los Angeles, CA 90031

Contact:

Anne Nadel, Development Director (323) 221-4134 anadel@vip-cmhc.org

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KEY SUPPORTERS In-N-Out Foundation Diller-von Furstenberg Foundation Elaine P Wynn and Family Foundation Jewish Community Foundation Smidt Trust Taper Foundation Ralph M. Parsons Foundation The Ballmer Group Unihealth Foundation USC Good Neighbors James and Sue Femino Foundation Julie Jaffe Family Foundation Watson Foundation David Vicker Foundation Kaiser Permanente Foundation Good Hope Medical Foundation Weingart Foundation The Green Foundation Ahmanson Foundation The Brotman Foundation

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KIDSAVE:

Finding Foster Youth Forever Families

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nspired by their experiences adopting children and visiting Russian and Kazakhstani orphanages in the early 1990s, Randi Thompson and her friend Terry Baugh saw how difficult life was for children growing up without families. And one disturbing fact struck them above all: The older the child, the less likely a family was to choose them for adoption.

“There were so many older kids we saw languishing in orphanages, with no chance for family,” says Kidsave CEO and Co-Founder Thompson. “It made no sense to us – as people who believed every child needs a family to grow and thrive. And it seemed the world had forgotten these kids. We first saw the problem in Eastern Europe, but soon realized it was everywhere, including at home in the U.S.” Thompson and Baugh were compelled to help solve the problem. “There was no organization with the single focus of getting older kids out of orphanages and foster care and into families,” Thompson says. “So in 1999, we created Kidsave.”

For 22 years, Kidsave, an adoption-focused nonprofit, has helped more than 14,300 children by approaching this chronic issue with out-of-the-box thinking. “We bring older children out of the shadows and into the community through connection events and visits with prospective families in their homes,” Thompson says.

“Once people meet these kids, they want to help. Some adopt, some become mentors, and others become lifelong champions for children without families.”

Internationally, Kidsave has built programs for children in Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Sierra Leone, and Ukraine. Today, Kidsave’s primary focus is close to home, connecting older kids in U.S. foster care to families through its Weekend Miracles program.

“We’ve seeded programs in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., Colorado, and Texas,” says Thompson. “We run our flagship program right here in Los Angeles County, the largest child welfare system in the country.”

Weekend Miracles has helped nearly 600 kids in Los Angeles –

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hen I was in foster care, I moved around a lot. I think I was in 11 homes. Through Kidsave, I met my parents, Andy and Trish. For so long I wished for a new family and a home. And now that I have it, I wish that same feeling for other kids.”

– Celia, who found her adoptive parents at one of Kidsave’s Weekend Miracles events

77% of the young people who participated now have a permanent family or mentor. For Kidsave, success isn’t only measured by adoption, but also by the lifelong connections forged. “Not every child wants to be adopted, but they all need someone they can count on – both now and after they leave the system,” says Thompson. “We give our kids a voice and choice in what kind of relationship they want, who they get to know, and who might ultimately become their family.”

Take Celia, who is now 18 years old and came to Kidsave when she was 12. “Like many kids, after years of trauma, loss, and moving from home to home, Celia was ambivalent about adoption and hesitant to trust adults,” Thompson says. “Andy and Trish met Celia at a holiday event and felt a connection immediately to this shy, smart, and resilient kid. Celia got to know them at her own pace, spending time with them at events and later, at their home on weekends.”

After six months, Celia moved in, and 18 months later, her adoption was finalized. Celia is now a proud Bruin scholar, studying at UCLA.

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CEO Randi Thompson with Rosa, who found a lasting connection with Kidsave

Help Change Local Foster Children’s Lives Forever

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he work done by Kidsave to find families for older foster youth is humbling and awe-inspiring. Starting with the most basic human interaction – connection – they are building opportunities that will change the course of lives, as mine was. I was adopted when very young and raised by loving parents. They not only rescued me from an unknown future, they gave me two sisters in whose eyes I have always felt seen, understood, and safe. I can tell you, to adopt a child, at any age, is nothing short of saving a life. I salute Kidsave for its work to literally save kids.”

– Karey Burke

President of 20th Television and Kidsave supporter

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hat can you do for a child who has no one? If you are interested in adopting or mentoring a young person in need or simply supporting the program financially, visit Kidsave.org.

Over the next three years, Kidsave will expand in Los Angeles and throughout California, where the need for families for older kids is critical.

To train another county on the program next year and serve 100 kids through Weekend Miracles in L.A., Kidsave needs $150,000 to hire a full-time staff person and execute communications and family recruitment campaigns. The goal is to recruit at least 100 qualified families in Los Angeles to meet the demand for local older kids and teens looking for a family, a support system, someone in their corner.

Thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program, all donations up to $1,500 will be matched.

TGL MATCHING CHALLENGE!

THE FIRST $1,500 WILL BE MATCHED

Kidsave

Kidsave.org (310) 642-7283 100 Corporate Pointe, Suite 380 Culver City, CA 90230

Contact:

Randi Thompson, CEO and Co-Founder Randi@kidsave.org (310) 642-7204

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KEY LOCAL SUPPORTERS Susannah Blinkoff and Jordan Corngold Karey Burke and Michael Duggan Wrenn and Bill Chais Thomas Donohue and Amy Rochford John Gogian Family Foundation Green Foundation Mark and Alessandra Green David and Lisa Gulezian George and Kathryn Hicker David and Janyce Hoyt Foundation James and Sandra Kilcourse Scott and Melissa Klein Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation Frances and Richard Moreno Joni Noel Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Jerry and Jennifer Porter Christopher Reid and Randi Thompson Michael Roster Tim and Michelle Somers Venable Foundation

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ECHO:

Breaking Free from the Legacy of Trauma through Compassion and Understanding

BY LOUISE GODBOLD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ECHO

E

cho offers a unique trauma-informed, compassionate lens to better understand ourselves and others. We celebrate the resilience of trauma survivors while providing tools to chart a path to recovery.

The organization I lead, Echo, is helping chart that path by giving people – whether parents ensnared in the child welfare system or the professionals who witness the impact of trauma daily – the tools to overcome the adverse experiences that so many of us have endured. As a trauma survivor myself, I celebrate resilience and post-traumatic growth, and yet I am also acutely aware that without education on the impact of trauma, we can remain mystified about the forces that sometimes conspire to throw us off course and, most worryingly, resurface in our own children.

Trauma, of course, is not new. Human beings have survived horrible ordeals throughout our history, and it does not seem our current era is going to be any exception. A recent study in Philadelphia found that 83% of the population there had experienced at least one form of childhood adversity, which is causally related to later physical or mental health issues.

Although trauma is not a recent phenomenon, we do now have new science that helps us better understand trauma’s impact on the body and brain. This science is what informs Echo and our trainings.

So many problems that society used to lay at the door of character defects or even genetics – such as addiction, some forms of mental illness, anger issues, lack of parent/child bonding – can now be understood as purely biological adaptations to trauma. In essence, humans adapt to survive danger but sometimes we don’t adapt back once the danger has passed. Not only do these adaptations often no longer serve us, but without education on how to interrupt the cycle, we can also pass on these non-life-serving adaptations to

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cho has been a pioneer for the past 20 years in applying a trauma-informed lens to strengthen individual and community resiliency. Echo provides people with the tools and support needed to develop healing-centered, compassionate relationships by reframing the way in which we view and engage with each other. Their vision serves an inspiration for what can be achieved by centering empathy, wellness, and humanity.”

– The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation our children. The new science of epigenetics has shown us that the transference of generational trauma can happen even at a cellular level, with trauma overwriting our genetic code.

The good news is that whatever has changed, even at a cellular level, can be changed back through safe, nurturing relationships and environments. Not all of us experienced those relationships in our own childhoods, which makes it harder for us to create the relationships we need to heal and to provide our own children with optimal parenting.

However, Echo believes in the capacity of humans to do better once we have the information and skills we need. Our online training courses are easy to navigate and use simple language so that trauma survivors and parents (as well as survivor-serving professionals) can identify the legacy of trauma, including its influence on how we interact with the world. Echo’s courses cover trauma science as well as emotional regulation and nonviolent communication skills.

We also offer a specially tailored training for educators since they are critical to the development of our children.

We invite you to visit Echo’s website, where you can find free infographics and videos that have been adopted by universities, schools, child welfare, and other settings around the world.

| Los Angeles |

“I

was determined to find a very good parenting class. It was court ordered, but the county was not helping me find a place. And so I kept looking and looking for a solid parenting class that I could get something out of. I didn’t want to just do it for court. I wanted to actually get something from the parenting class. Most places I called were mainly focused on the child and very un-empathetic to the situation of me being court-involved. I finally found Echo and this was the place that I knew was for me and my family.”

– Kenia Charles

A mother reunited with her two small children after completing Echo’s parenting course

“E

cho has historically nurtured families with healing-centered training. Knowing we are harmed in relationships, and we are healed through relationships, Echo embeds cutting-edge science on trauma and resilience with survivor wisdom guiding the development of every training. Your investment with Echo epitomizes prevention by helping children, youth, and families gain tools and practices for nourishing themselves and future generations.

“Creating safe and stable relationships supports community healing within families, neighborhoods, and transforms the cycle of generational trauma. Every investment with Echo exemplifies opportunities for individuals and families gaining practices on humanizing where they live, work, pray, and play. Help Echo reverberate throughout Los Angeles County and beyond.”

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

– Dana Brown

Board Chair, Echo Training

Help Eradicate Trauma’s Legacy, One Family at a Time

R

ecovery from trauma takes courage and a lot of support. Please help us in providing knowledge and skills to trauma survivors as well as parents wanting to break generational cycles of abuse.

With each $100 donation, we can assist one family eradicate the legacy of trauma and ensure the mental health and well-being of generations to come.

Echo

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through January 15, 2022, the first $1,500 donated will be matched thanks to the Giving List’s novel matching program

www.echotraining.org 1000 W. Sunset Blvd, Suite 201 Los Angeles, CA 90012

Contact:

Louise Godbold (213) 484-6676 info@echotraining.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS Linda Keston Dana Brown Carol Melville Ghen Laraya Long Bridget Gordon Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Rose Hills Foundation Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation Orange County Community Foundation Mark Taper Foundation The California Endowment Menard Family Foundation Gary Saltz Family Foundation The City of Vernon Dr. Erica Holmes Dr. Kate Truitt Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles Kaiser Permanente LAUSD PACESConnection.com

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| Los Angeles |

Fostering Care “It doesn’t matter how well-intentioned you are or how much you care, if you don’t understand from a culturally competent lens about what’s going on, it’s impossible to lead and serve as you need to.

That’s why in addition to organizing volunteers of color, CASA L.A. is ensuring that all volunteers, regardless of race and socioeconomic status, are trained and coached on implicit bias, how to be anti-racist and how to show up for youth of another race.”

– Charity Chandler-Cole CEO, CASA of Los Angeles | www.thegivinglist.com |

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The Untiring Upstander

by Jonathan Karp

B

y her own description, Leslie Gilbert-Lurie had a sheltered middle-class childhood in suburban Los Angeles.

Her family ate dinner together most nights, and her mother liked her to be as close to home as possible.

But her mother did crack open a window on a wider world, one filled with personal trauma. One that Gilbert-Lurie would channel to contribute widely to society as an author, lawyer, educator and prominent advocate for children’s and human rights.

Early on, she sensed a sadness about her mother. When Gilbert-Lurie was seven, she overheard the word “Holocaust” during a visit by her mother’s cousins. Like many survivors, her mother wouldn’t bring up the subject, but she would answer questions. Gilbert-Lurie soon learned that in Poland, her five-year-old mother and 14 family members had hidden from the Nazis in an attic for two years and that her grandmother and an uncle (then a toddler) had died there.

In her late twenties, Gilbert-Lurie visited Poland, met the family that had shielded her mother and climbed into the very attic. In her forties, she and her mother, Rita Lurie, wrote Bending Toward the Sun, a memoir about the wartime experience and the emotional legacy passed down from mother to daughter and granddaughter.

Not surprisingly, youth and intergenerational trauma are at the heart of Gilbert-Lurie’s prodigious nonprofit and educational work. “I’ve always had a thing for kids,” she says.

After graduating from UCLA, Gilbert-Lurie stayed for law school, motivated by idealism (changing the world) and realism (future financial security). She quickly decided practicing law wasn’t for her and gravitated toward the entertainment industry, where her friends actually enjoyed their work. Gilbert-Lurie spent a decade as an executive at NBC, including two years running her own television-production company.

Her legal training paid off as she entered civic life. While at NBC, Gilbert-Lurie collaborated with a law school classmate who wanted to launch a public-interest law firm to represent indigent children. That led to the founding in 1992 of the Alliance for Children’s Rights, a nonprofit legal- and social-services provider for foster youth – trauma victims of neglect and abuse. Gilbert-Lurie joined the original board and has served ever since, including two stints as chair.

The immediate challenge was to tackle a backlog of tens of thousands of adoption cases mired in Los Angeles County

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courts. The Alliance mobilized pro bono lawyers and even got judges to hear casework on Saturdays. Following L.A.’s lead, juvenile courts across the country have opened on designated Saturdays for National Adoption Days.

The Alliance also secured improvements in health services and education rights for foster children and equal pay among relative and non-relative foster parents. Over 30 years, the group has helped more than 150,000 youth and families, and Gilbert-Lurie has worked closely with each Alliance CEO. After leaving NBC to spend more time with her young children, she continued her child-focused community work.

Gilbert-Lurie served on the L.A. County Board of Education for over a decade, including three terms as president, and as vice chair of a county blue-ribbon commission to improve the foster-care system. Despite progress, it remains an uphill battle to improve children’s mental health services, a key to treating trauma and reducing or preventing its transmission.

Gilbert-Lurie’s book came out in 2009, bringing attention to her broad humanitarian interests. When Human Rights Watch sought her out, she didn’t think she had time to serve on another board. But then she happened to read A Problem from Hell, Samantha Power’s critique of U.S. inaction during 20th-century genocides. The then-professor, future diplomat, later coined a term – “upstander” – to describe those who tried in vain to persuade Washington to intervene. It resonated.

“Okay, I have to do more,” Gilbert-Lurie recalls thinking.

She first joined the L.A. Committee of Human Rights Watch and since 2017 has also served on the International Board.

Education was her next frontier. Asked – at short notice – to teach a class on the Holocaust at her son’s high school, Gilbert-Lurie turned to an organization, Facing History and Ourselves, which trains educators to teach about racism, antisemitism and prejudice through case studies. Impressed with its curriculum and mission, she reciprocated by joining Facing History’s leadership council.

The missing piece was UCLA, her cherished alma mater – and, coincidentally, where she got her first taste of board service as the student member of the UC Board of Regents. In quick succession, Gilbert-Lurie was invited onto the boards of the UCLA medical center, law school and foundation.

She brings passion, vision and intellectual rigor to each nonprofit she serves. “I’m a very experienced board member,” Gilbert-Lurie says. “I think I stir things up. I ask difficult ques-

| Los Angeles |

(photo by Thomas Wasper)

tions, I know how to help a group set and achieve goals, and I have a good eye for talent.” She regularly recruits new board members to add youth, diversity and fresh ideas.

Gilbert-Lurie’s impact extends beyond the boardroom and into the classroom. More than a decade after Bending Toward the Sun was published, she and her mother continue to speak frequently to student and adult groups.

To her surprise, the less the students have in common with her family history, the more captivated they seem to be. A few years ago, she and her mother spoke at Jordan High School in Watts – one of L.A.’s lowest-performing schools in one of its poorest neighborhoods. As they drove up, her mother asked, “Why would these students be interested in my story?”

Yet 250 to 300 students packed the library for a 90-minute talk and asked sensitive, probing questions. Afterward, many crowded around because “they wanted to tell my mother their own sad story, to give her a hug,” Gilbert-Lurie recalls. A teacher, who had doubted it would be worth bringing books to give students, reached out days later to request more copies.

Underprivileged Black, Latino and other minority students relate to her mother’s childhood trauma and to Gilbert-Lurie

as, like many of them, an immigrant’s child who made good. “I think young people who have experienced trauma feel a connection with my mother and are inspired by the way she managed to thrive,” she says. “It gives me such hope for the future that we’re able to tap into this common humanity.”

Moreover, the lessons of the Holocaust are still relevant, as the rise of autocrats, racism and threats to democracy highlight “the importance of being an upstander rather than a bystander,” she says. “I always ask students: ‘Who were the upstanders in my mother’s story?’”

“I want them to see that heroes are not born heroes. They’re ordinary people who one day decide to do one good thing,” Gilbert-Lurie adds. That, in turn, often leads to another. “I encourage people to just pick a day and say you’re going to do one thing that makes a difference.”

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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CASA OF LOS ANGELES:

From Lived Experience to Leadership, Charity Chandler-Cole Charts Bold Path

C

harity Chandler-Cole was locked up in juvenile hall twice – once for stealing underwear for her baby sister and again for violating the terms of her probation. Her latter transgression: having a job.

The now CEO of CASA Los Angeles’ Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program was sent to a Lincoln Heights group home, where she had “a horrible experience,” witnessing illicit drug use and various kinds of child trafficking, she said.

“We were used to being used and abused and having to survive,” Chandler-Cole says.

She ran away from the group home, became pregnant and vowed to give her son a different life.

Had Chandler-Cole had an advocate like CASA L.A., which provides for 1,300 foster children, her adolescent life could have been much different, she says.

“If I had a CASA, I highly doubt I would have been in that group home for long.”

CASA L.A. pairs children with trained volunteers who advocate for young people during the often-fraught child dependency hearings that are a hallmark of the foster care system.

“We come in and provide that context to humanize the children and families we work with, to share their experiences and their background... so that judges can incorporate that into their decision-making process,” Chandler-Cole says.

Chandler-Cole, who took the reins in April, is the first person of color – and likely the first person to have experienced the child welfare system – to lead the 36-year-old Los Angeles nonprofit.

Chandler-Cole is focused on building awareness of CASA L.A. in diverse communities and has an aggressive strategy to recruit and organize volunteers of color so that they are more reflective of the youth they serve. Black and Latinx children make

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“W

hen I met my CASA LaTanya, she completely gave me a different perspective on life. Without her I wouldn’t be here today. She’s my educational rights holder, she was that advocate for me. And that’s the reason why I went from having low grades in my sophomore year to getting straight A’s in my junior year. Kids in the foster care system are not all sad and broken. We all want to do good for ourselves and need the support to get there.”

– Kim, age 19

up about 85 percent of the population in the foster care system in L.A. County, while about the same percentage of their volunteers are currently white.

“It doesn’t matter how well-intentioned you are or how much you care, if you don’t understand from a culturally competent lens about what’s going on, it’s impossible to lead and serve as you need to,” she says. “That’s why in addition to organizing volunteers of color, CASA L.A. is ensuring that all volunteers, regardless of race and socioeconomic status, are trained and coached on implicit bias, how to be anti-racist and how to show up for youth of another race.”

| Los Angeles |

“I

Three Years, 3,000 Children

have been a CASA for 35 years working with many children. Every child deserves a childhood even if they are a part of the child welfare system. That’s where we come in, to support them and help them navigate the system to make sure their needs are met. We are proud supporters of CASA of Los Angeles because we not only believe in the volunteers’ impact on the foster care system, but also their work as champions for the most vulnerable children in our community.”

C

ASA of Los Angeles organizes the community to act and advocate for children and families in L.A. County’s overburdened child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Through an intentional, restorative and culturally responsive lens, CASA L.A. organizes, trains and supports committed, consistent and caring adults who take action by providing strengths-based advocacy, equitable access to resources and lifeaffirming connections. CASA L.A. strengthens our community, ensuring that children and families have what they need to thrive.

CASA of Los Angeles serves about 1,400 foster youth out of some 35,000 in the county. The nonprofit has identified 12,000 high-risk and vulnerable youth most in need of a screened and trained Court Appointed Special Advocate to mentor and get to know them and their circumstances, research what they need and fight to ensure they get the best possible outcomes in dependency court and in their lives. To help close that gap, CASA L.A. has launched its Three to 3,000 Campaign to raise a million dollars a year, enabling them to support a total of 3,000 children in the next three years. “When you have someone showing up for you every month, you’re probably not going to get abused, harmed or hurt. People know someone is asking questions, cares about you and is checking on your well-being,” CASA L.A. CEO Charity Chandler-Cole says.

– Renne and Bruce Bilson

KEY SUPPORTERS SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CASA OF LOS ANGELES

CASA of Los Angeles

www.CASALA.org 201 Centre Plaza Drive #1100, Monterey Park, CA 91754 Contacts: Charity Chandler-Cole, Chief Executive Officer cchandlercole@casala.org | www.thegivinglist.com |

Anthony & Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Annenberg Foundation SHARE Inc. The Eisner Foundation Our Little Light Foundation Carolyn and Lou Lucido LA2050 The Ahmanson Foundation Reissa Foundation Everychild Foundation Deena and Edward Nahmias NBC4/Telemundo Atlas Foundation The Hearthland Foundation PricewaterhouseCoopers Capital Group Focusing Philanthropy Cindy and Sheldon Stone Heather and Paul Haaga

Marie Carpenter, Chief Development Officer (323) 859-2888 x6328 mcarpenter@casala.org

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HAPPY TRAILS:

Happy Trails for Kids offers L.A. Foster Kids a Summer Camp All Their Own F or the millions of American kids who get to go year after year, summer camp exists on its own special timeline: As you grow older, camp stays the same. Campfire songs are impossible to forget, and the lifelong memories retain a bonfire glow. For foster kids bouncing between homes, often separated from their siblings, nothing is that consistent. And a week of camp can make all the difference.

Happy Trails for Kids was founded 11 years ago with 60 kids, ages seven to 12, in its first summer – by Susan Abrams, a lawyer for children in foster care and now the policy director for the Children’s Law Center. Now, Happy Trails serves as many 400 campers starting at age seven through adulthood each year. Abrams had seen countless cases and knew how profoundly beneficial camp could be.

“I realized just working directly in the system that that was something really lacking for our clients,” Abrams says. “We came back after the summer and talked to our clients about what they did that summer — and it was a lot of nothing, or TV.” Happy Trails for Kids prioritizes sibling reunification: They have a waitlist in the hundreds, but do everything they can to bring siblings who have been placed in different foster homes together at camp.

“Even if that’s tracking down social workers and caregivers, sending Uber rides for registration, we make it work,” says Lindsay Elliott, Happy Trails for Kids executive director and a former child welfare lawyer herself. Seeing kids’ anxiety lift and their sense of belonging grow while settling into a cabin or being by the lake was exceptionally powerful, she recalls, after the pandemic made camp impossible.

It also reinforced the ongoing need for accessible virtual programming to keep campers consistently connected and engaged

throughout the year. More than 100 campers return over the holidays for Winter Camp – a festive interlude from what’s often a lonely time of year in foster care. But now virtual hangouts make the reunions far more frequent. They’re an hour and fifteen minutes every Thursday, with a special guest (a pro athlete, a Disney Channel actor, a martial arts expert) and time for virtual mingling and games or crafts. In-person camp was able to pick back up in the summer of 2021 after being canceled the previous year, but the virtual hangouts continue.

Happy Trails started offering junior counselorship to teenage campers five years ago, training campers to become counselors.

Carolina Wolf was referred to Happy Trails back in 2018 as she was aging out of foster care. Now, she and her siblings are counselors together every summer – role models for campers – affectionately known as the Wolf pack. And Carolina is now a full-time employee, overseeing the year-round Trails to Success program, which offers college readiness workshops for campers. There’s no “aging out” of Happy Trails for Kids.

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| Los Angeles |

“L

os Angeles County has the largest foster care population in the nation.

Happy Trails for Kids provides thoughtful, unique, and unparalleled programming that creates lifelong bonds between campers, their staff, and the program graduates. Happy Trails not only addresses the need in the moment, but offers long-term support and solutions for the challenges that lie ahead for children in foster care. Actual impact is tangible and feedback from the children and caregivers involved in the program is incredibly positive. From a funder’s point of view, the staff creates communication channels that are individualized, clear, and meaningful. Professional reports coupled with testimonials from program beneficiaries underscore the value and quality that this nonprofit offers to vulnerable children in our community.”

– Kate and Ross Dworman Tailwinds Charitable Foundation

Send Separated Siblings to Camp

T

he stark disparities foster kids face were clearer than ever in 2020.

“When we arrived at camp, a significant number of our campers self-reported that they hadn’t been in nature since the pandemic started,” says Happy Trails for Kids Executive Director Lindsay Elliott. That’s 16 months stuck indoors, and 16 months without seeing your brother or sister in many cases.

SCAN TO MAKE Happy Trails for Kids rents accredited sumA DONATION! mer camp properties – they don’t have their own campus. The sense of belonging and continuity foster kids get at camp would only deepen with a campus to return to.

Expanding programs for older campers and continuing weekly hangout sessions also promote that much-needed sense of consistency.

In a normal – non-COVID – year, one week of camp costs $75,000. Meaning that every $1,500 donation sends a pair of siblings to camp together for one week.

MATCHING CHALLENGE!

Through January 15, 2022, the first $1,500 donated will be matched thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program Happy Trails

(310) 452-7979 www.happytrailsforkids.org 2525 Ocean Park Blvd., Suite 104 Santa Monica, CA 90405

Contact:

Lindsay Elliott, JD, MSW (813) 507-8484 lindsay@happytrailsforkids.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

“H

appy Trails has allowed me to be my true self.

Since being a part of Happy Trails, I feel like I belong and have the freedom to be the person I was scared to let others know about. The person who grew up jumping from foster home to foster home – scared that the next family would send me away because I was no longer cute. Now as a camp counselor, Happy Trails has given me an opportunity to show other children in my situation what it means to feel accepted and that their past doesn’t define their future. Happy Trails is more than a camp; it is family.”

– Ashley K.

KEY SUPPORTERS S. Mark Taper Foundation Rose Hills Foundation Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Tailwinds Charitable Foundation Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund Salter Family Charitable Foundation William Gumpert Foundation Milken Family Foundation Barry and Wendy Meyer Foundation Harriet Zaretsky Michael and Diane Ziering Louis Lucido Zolla Family Foundation The LightBay Foundation RAILS International, LLC Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill Pom Pom at Home, LLC Corbel Capital Partners Office of Board of Supervisor Holly Mitchell

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iFOSTER:

Moving Fast and Fixing Things

“Helping kids in foster care reach their full potential.”

T

he lightbulb went off, as it often does, during a walk.

It was 2010. Serita Cox was a tech executive, a former VP of strategy at 3Com, and then working with The Bridgespan Group to help promising nonprofits scale. Her husband Reid Cox was an investment banker who had just helped take LinkedIn public. Serita grew up in foster care, and the two of them had long strategized about how to help make the foster care system more welcoming, effective, and connected.

“The system was broken,” Reid Cox says. “Foster care was totally fragmented, and individual nonprofits weren’t big enough to move the needle on structural issues. And one day it just hit us. We know how to build a social network and negotiate resources for the foster care community.”

While Facebook’s early motto was move fast and break things, iFoster’s mission was more like: move fast and fix things.

One of the first problems they set out to solve was the lack of communication and community between foster youth, families, and child and family serving organizations.

“Foster kids, and foster families, didn’t know that there were others like them in their own neighborhood,” Reid says. Their solution? A tech portal where the community could share resources and support.

With a growing national membership, iFoster focused on getting foster kids the resources and opportunities they lacked by tapping the business community. They began negotiating for corporate dis-

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counts on behalf of the foster care community. Among their first calls was to AT&T’s marketing department. “We told them that we had as many people as Boeing had customers, and we wanted to get the same discounts they did.” And that’s exactly what happened. To date, they have partnered with hundreds of corporations to provide thousands of resources and services through the iFoster portal.

The next problem to solve was jobs. Their work with more than 50 corporations (including Starbucks, Hilton, and Raley’s) has created hundreds of job opportunities for foster youth transitioning out of care in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. In 2019, iFoster’s partnership with AmeriCorps, called TAY AmeriCorps, earned them the national agency’s top Innovation Program of the Year recognition.

When COVID hit, iFoster helped more than 20,000 California current and former foster youth with a program to give them access to free smartphones, Internet and computers, along with other basic needs, education, employment and healthcare resources.

Yerimera Rodriguez is one of those recipients. A young mother balancing parenthood with a full-time class load at Los Angeles Tech Trade College, Rodriquez lost access to virtually every support system overnight when society shut down. But with iFoster’s support, she got a phone and Wi-Fi access. She was able to continue her studies virtually, as well as entertain her one-year-old son at home, keeping him connected to others in a time of terrible isolation.

| Los Angeles |

“I

don’t necessarily have a family, but iFoster and TAY AmeriCorps are like a big family to me. They are very supportive, so I’ve learned how to be very supportive to my fosters [peers]. I just feel like I’ve learned to be a better Kristen.”

– Kristen, foster youth,

iFoster TAY AmeriCorps Member

Give Foster Youth the Gift of Connectivity Through Technology

A

donation of any amount will contribute to the iFoster Hope Fund, which provides life-changing resources and emergency funds to foster youth in need.

A donation of $350 will provide a youth a new laptop with donated software that will keep them connected, safe and productive.

A donation of $1,000 will provide a youth with job training and employment opportunities with iFoster’s employer partners, forever changing the trajectory of their life.

If you, or someone you know, are raising a child in place of their biological parents, please join us for free at www.ifoster.org.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

“T

he iFoster program is so critically important to youth in the foster care system that are aging out. Whether it is 18 or 21, they are provided support up until that age, and then the system pretty much says goodbye and good luck. The iFoster program steps in at such a critical life juncture.”

– Congresswoman Karen Bass

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT IFOSTER

KEY SUPPORTERS

iFoster

Reid Cox, Co-Founder & CFO (530) 550-9672 reid@ifoster.org www.ifoster.org

White House Office of Social Innovation Congressional Angels in Adoption AARP Purpose Prize Echoing Green America’s Promise Alliance California Public Utilities Commission Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) California Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) Corporation for National and Community Service AmeriCorps Microsoft Starbucks | www.thegivinglist.com |

T-Mobile Aetna Better Health HealthNet Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Walter S. Johnson Foundation The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation Schultz Family Foundation The Aspen Institute Stand Together Foundation Anthony & Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation Albertsons Company Foundation California Dept of Social Services

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ADVOKIDS:

California’s Foster Care Watchdog

M

argaret Coyne and Jan Sherwood were both attorneys working in California’s juvenile dependency system when they met in the early ‘90s.

Discovering that they had common concerns, they started meeting regularly to discuss legal strategies to try to ensure that county child welfare systems were complying with the laws intended to protect abused and neglected children and were adequately meeting the needs of those children. In 1993, along with co-founders Ricki Conrad Ph.D. and Trish Black J.D., they started Advokids, a nonprofit designed to improve and expand advocacy on behalf of children in the child welfare system in California. They wanted to put child welfare back into a system that too often overlooks the needs of the child it is supposed to be protecting.

“The juvenile dependency court system is a closed system, little to no transparency or sunlight. This makes children vulnerable, without adequate oversight or protection,” Coyne says.

They launched a free hotline, the only one of its kind in the state to field calls from other attorneys, caregivers, relatives, and anyone else concerned about the welfare of a foster child.

“Often the calls concern a young child facing an imminent traumatic event. That hotline provides legal information and support to teach callers how to go straight to the courthouse with their concerns,” Sherwood says. Advokids has been doing just that for almost 30 years. The hotline now receives roughly 1,200 calls a year and that number is growing quickly.

“We are triaging calls all day long but it’s not enough just to help one child at a time,” Coyne says. “We want to fix that problem for all children in California.”

Advokids’ hotline data brings to light the recurring county-wide and statewide failures that harm children. “The hotline is where we found out that many relatives were being ignored by county agencies and not being considered for custody of children in their family,” Coyne says. “They were not being informed of their rights to engage in the system and we were seeing an epidemic of delayed relative placements.” Advokids’ advocacy prompted the state to enforce the laws that require county agencies to prioritize family engagement and ensure every relative the right to communicate directly with the court.

The hotline data also revealed that children’s caregivers in Los Angeles were being sidelined and illegally denied notices of juvenile court hearings and the right to report directly to the court about a child’s progress and needs. Advokids, along with several hotline clients, sued Los Angeles to force it to comply with the law. The case was favorably settled and caregivers with invaluable information about the children in their care are now actively participating in their court cases.

“What we do is essential,” Coyne says. “We are the only foster care watchdog agency in California with a direct ear to the ground every day.”

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| Los Angeles |

APPELLATE PROJECT

DATA

PRO BONO ATTORNEYS

improving the lives of foster children

HOTLINE & ATTORNEY CONSULTATION LINE

TRAINING

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

IMPACT LITIGATION & REFORM

Advokids 2.0

A

dvokids co-founders Jan Sherwood and Margaret Coyne are attorneys, but they also have to be administrators.

Running a nonprofit takes them away from the cases they and their staff attorneys are so expert in tackling.

“Jan and I are really good at the dependency work,” Coyne says. “But what we need is help. What we need is to be able to afford expert executive and administrative staff to ease the pressures on our legal staff.”

“We just need some real partners who will invest in us and the future welfare of foster children,” Coyne says.

In 2022, Advokids’ goal is to raise an additional $250,000.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Advokids

Margaret Coyne advocate@advokids.org (877) ADV-4KID (877-238-4543) www.advokids.org

Through 2022, the first $76,500 will be matched thanks to an anonymous donor and The Giving List’s novel matching program. | www.thegivinglist.com |

“T

he difference between my carefree childhood and the childhoods of any of the over 55,000 California children in the foster care system is just dumb luck.

I didn’t do anything to warrant my supportive and loving upbringing, any more than any child does anything to warrant the stress and anxiety of being placed into foster care. I can think of nothing more beneficial than working with Advokids to reduce the number of children in foster care, to help ensure that the child’s best interests are always pursued, and to minimize the chances that luck dictates the life of children in the foster care system.”

– Adam Brausa

Attorney and supporter

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| Los Angeles |

Teach the Children Well “Our primary purpose is not to create artists.

Our primary purpose is to improve public schools through our programs. The arts are more popular than ever. Schools want them. We need these kids to be catching up, but we also need them to be happy, joyful, engaged and to heal.”

– Kristen Paglia CEO, P.S. ARTS

| www.thegivinglist.com |

115

The Problem Solver

by Jonathan Karp

W

hen Austin Beutner was appointed first deputy mayor and “Jobs Czar” of Los Angeles in 2010, skeptics groused that the former investment banker had never worked in local government. When he became superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District in 2018, critics decried his lack of experience in education. Each time, he simply got to work and let the results speak for themselves.

Beutner wasn’t new to devising innovative educational solutions or to LAUSD. The district had been the test bed for Vision To Learn, a nonprofit that he and his wife, Virginia, founded in 2012 to provide children in underserved communities a basic ingredient for success in school and in life: eyeglasses. No cost, no hassle. Mobile eye-care clinics bring help directly to the students.

The nonprofit has since become the largest of its type in the nation, providing glasses to about 150,000 children in L.A. and another 100,000 in more than 500 low-income communities across California and 14 other states, leading to dramatic gains in learning. (See accompanying article on page 116) Vision To Learn epitomizes Beutner’s back-to-basics, break-the-mold approach to problem solving. What’s more, the organization has evolved into a model for sustainable philanthropy, one that blends the entrepreneurial creativity of nonprofits with the scalability brought by public funding – in this case, Medicaid.

But first, back to the basics of Austin Beutner. He is often typecast because he has earned a considerable fortune, though many have scant awareness of how he rose from humble beginnings. His German-born father worked in factories; his mother taught reading in public schools. Born in New York, Beutner moved four times by the fifth grade, when his family settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Growing up, he had jobs stacking boxes of detergent in the factory where his father worked, cleaning presses in a print shop, and driving a florist’s delivery truck. Beutner credits his family’s work ethic and public schooling for providing him with a foundation for success – and the enduring commitment to public education that led him to Vision To Learn and, later, LAUSD. “I want to help children because many, many moons ago, I was that kid in the classroom,” Beutner says. “My journey is not so different from children we serve at Vision To Learn, in the sense that I grew up in a working-class family.”

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Austin Beutner, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, and a student with his new glasses at Gompers Elementary-Middle School in Detroit

His adult journey gained altitude: Dartmouth for college; at 29, the youngest partner at investment giant Blackstone; a Clinton-administration appointment to work on international economic development; then co-founder and co-CEO of Evercore, a leading independent investment firm which is now a public company with offices around the world. Beutner moved to L.A. with Evercore in 2000.

“I’ve had a lot of good fortune come my way. But mostly the Thomas Edison kind: 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration,” he says.

Misfortune prompted Beutner to change course. After incurring serious injuries, including a broken neck, in a 2007 mountain-biking accident, he decided to step away from business and focus on family and civic interests. Among them was CalArts, where he chaired the board of trustees, endowed scholarships that have since benefited more than 75 students

| Los Angeles |

and led the move – “before it was fashionable,” he says – to forgive many students’ debt upon graduation.

Beutner made a splashy entrance into public life as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s top deputy, at a modest $1 annual salary.

He cut red tape, lured business, and impressed many doubters as a quick study, strong listener, and consensus builder who got things done. A short-lived consideration of a run for mayor in 2013 was followed by an unsuccessful attempt to buy the Los Angeles Times and then a year as the newspaper’s publisher and CEO. Friction with the Chicago-based owners when Beutner refused to cut newsroom staff ended in his dismissal, to the dismay of L.A. civic leaders.

By then, Beutner was immersed in Vision To Learn, an idea that had come into focus after two revelations about access to eye care in poor communities. First, he was stunned to learn that the vast majority of students from low-income families who needed glasses didn’t have them. Second, even efforts to supply free glasses weren’t working, like a university ophthalmologicaltraining program which had been using a mobile eye-exam clinic at places like malls. Students and family members spent time getting to the testing van, but only half of those who left with a prescription ever redeemed the voucher for free glasses.

Beutner flipped the script. To remove any obstacles, Vision To Learn would deliver free, full-service eye care where children are almost every day: their neighborhood school. “That way they can get glasses just like they get a textbook or a school meal,” he says. “All children at school will have access, so it becomes possible to solve the problem for every child.”

Early results in L.A. enabled Beutner to enlist other philanthropists, but public funding would be necessary to scale up. Eager to accelerate the program, then-LAUSD superintendent Michelle King delivered, along with support from the L.A. Clippers Foundation and many others, to help Vision To Learn expand from serving about 5,000 LAUSD students to 30,000 a year. The partnership established a model for other cities, where the program now mobilizes private and local-public support.

Still, Vision To Learn had to find a broader solution to fund its ambition of reaching every child nationwide. The breakthrough came during a lunch with Henry Waxman, the longtime congressman and champion of public healthcare, who has since retired. “He said, ‘Austin, philanthropy may need to be part of this, but the kids you are helping are eligible for Medicaid.’”

That set off a journey to understand the peculiarities of each state’s Medicaid and public-health policies and work to expand eyecare coverage. As its state-by-state efforts gain traction, Vision To Learn is reaching more students and building a sustainable model, one that flips the script again: Publichealthcare funding will be the core, and philanthropy will fill

in reimbursement gaps.

As LAUSD superintendent, Beutner applied his laser focus to address a different challenge: early literacy. Many young students read at below-grade level; a problem made worse by the pandemic. They needed more than just glasses. They needed individualized help, which could be provided by adding reading specialists to assist classroom teachers.

Hence, the Primary Promise initiative, which aims to ensure every student has a foundation in reading and math skills by third grade. COVID-19 forced Beutner to close schools in March 2020, but to prevent struggling students from falling even further behind, he launched a pilot program that August, deploying an additional 200 reading specialists whom LAUSD had hired for Primary Promise. The 2,500 first graders, all weak readers, who participated raised their reading proficiency – measured by a simple, widely used assessment – by a factor of four to near-grade level and caught up with their peers in just 10 weeks. The program had expanded to about 8,000 kindergartens through third-grade students by June 2021.

“It starts with the need to understand the root cause of the problem you’re trying to solve,” he says. “Many have chronicled the importance of early reading and the challenge to make sure all students are proficient readers. We found a way to solve the problem.”

Beutner’s tenure at LAUSD began amid skepticism and the countdown to a teachers’ strike. It ended with widespread praise for his pandemic crisis management. He bought up every available Apple iPad for students and got Verizon to help provide free internet access to every student within days of closing schools. LAUSD operated the largest food relief effort in the nation’s history – providing 140 million meals to hungry children and adults – along with COVID tests and vaccinations for anyone in the community. Beutner authorized hardship pay for front-line workers – from Day 1 and long before other cities followed suit – and health insurance for any of the school district’s 86,000 employees who didn’t have it.

Now out of the maelstrom, Beutner muses about the “book I’ll write someday.” He deflects questions about a mayoral run, but then says that government needs more of the “cando attitude” he brought to LAUSD. Whatever his next step, it won’t be about him.

“I get enormous satisfaction from helping solve a problem that makes someone else’s life better,” Beutner says. “That’s sufficient for me.”

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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VISION TO LEARN:

Bringing Students’ Potential into Focus

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or underperforming public schools across the country, the myriad challenges are plain to see. Too often, for students in those classrooms, however, it’s a challenge merely to see.

Words and numbers on the board, in textbooks, and on test sheets are a blur for some two million students in underserved communities. The revelation that 95% of them don’t have eyeglasses inspired Austin and Virginia Beutner to offer needy students a clearer path to success.

Founded in 2012, Vision To Learn provides free eye exams and glasses from mobile clinics. Launched with a single converted van in Los Angeles, Vision To Learn now has a fleet of 40 and has served 13,000 schools, public libraries, and summer camps in 500-plus cities across 14 states. Its team of optometrists and opticians has screened more than a million children, provided 300,000 with eye exams and 240,000 with glasses – more than 148,000 in greater L.A. alone.

“Vision To Learn helps kids succeed in school and in life,” says Ann Hollister, President of Vision To Learn. “It’s a very simple, costeffective intervention that makes a huge impact.”

A new study by Johns Hopkins on the impact of providing glasses to children at schools shows dramatic gains in learning.

The research is based on the largest controlled study in the U.S., as more than 7,000 children from over 100 schools in Baltimore were included. The children who showed the biggest gains, the equivalent of four to six months of learning, are those who are often the hardest to help – students in the bottom quarter of their class academically and students with learning differences and disabilities.

Vision To Learn has found ready partners in school districts eager

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to boost student engagement and achievement. (Beutner took a direct role in education as Superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District from 2018 to 2021.) Ties with the Los Angeles Clippers and Dodgers, among other teams nationwide, provide financial support and something arguably as valuable: school visits by star athletes, who help destigmatize glasses. Dodger Justin Turner told students that without glasses, he would never have been able to hit a baseball.

“There’s no better way to make glasses cool for kids than having an MLB superstar tell them glasses will help them play ball!” says Hollister. Students are also enthusiastic about choosing their own frames from a wide selection, including brands like Warby Parker, a Vision To Learn partner.

Vision To Learn is also working with state governments to expand Medicaid coverage for eye care. In California, legislation recently gave Vision To Learn the ability to collect Medi-Cal reimbursements for eligible vision services. As this public funding source becomes available, Hollister notes, “our philanthropic donations will go further and help more kids.”

Growth had been soaring: Vision To Learn provided 91,000 eye exams in the school year that ended June 2019. COVID-19 school closures cut that to 56,000 the next year, but Vision To Learn helped in other ways by using its vans to deliver groceries and, in one case, offering coronavirus tests. The organization is poised to grow again, launching service in Washington, D.C.; Appalachian Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; and Connecticut, as well as expanding in California and Pennsylvania, as it aims to deliver 100,000 pairs of eyeglasses this financial year.

Racial inequities exacerbated by the pandemic make Vision To Learn’s mission ever more urgent as it races to give all two million low-income students who need glasses the opportunity for a clearer, brighter future. Hollister looks forward to hearing each kid proclaim joyfully, as invariably happens: “I never knew the world looked like that!”

| Los Angeles |

“O

ur partnership with Vision To Learn is a natural fit. Vision problems keep children from reaching their full potential academically and in sports,” says Nichol Whiteman, Executive Director, Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation. “You can’t play baseball without a bat or a glove, and you can’t do your best at school without good vision. We are thrilled to continue to grow our partnership and help many more students in L.A. County and the Inland Empire.”

F

Help Children Get the Glasses They Need to Succeed

O

ver two million students don’t have the glasses they need to read a book or see the board. Vision To Learn provides glasses to tens of thousands of children in need every year to help them succeed in school and in life. Using our fully outfitted mobile optometry clinics, we bring the eye doctor right to children in schools in low-income communities.

Independent research shows students who received glasses from Vision To Learn significantly improved their math and reading grades. Glasses have become even more important SCAN TO MAKE to help students recover from learning A DONATION... losses due to the pandemic. Every gift of $100 provides one child with a vision screening, an examination, and new prescription glasses.

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT VISION TO LEARN

Vision To Learn

www.visiontolearn.org 12100 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1275 Los Angeles, CA 90025

Contact:

Ann Hollister, President (310) 893-2306 ann.hollister@visiontolearn.org | www.thegivinglist.com |

ive-year-old Izabella was surprised to hear she needed glasses when Vision To Learn examined her. “It’s great that I got glasses because now I can see! School has been easier since getting them.” Ricardo, her father, says Izabella loves her new glasses and is always complimented on her stylish look. “She definitely sees better with them and [they] are the first thing she asks for in the morning!”

Izabella says her glasses will help her achieve her dream of becoming an astronaut one day.

“Glasses will help me see the planets, the stars, the sun, the moon, and everything!”

KEY SUPPORTERS Father Greg Boyle, S.J., Founder, Homeboy Industries The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Patrick Butler, Former Assistant Chief, Los Angeles Fire Department The California Endowment Ned Colletti Jr., Senior Advisor to the President, Los Angeles Dodgers Joseph Drown Foundation Robert Garcia, Mayor of Long Beach Antonia Hernández, CEO, California Community Foundation Mickey Kantor, Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce W. M. Keck Foundation L.A. Clippers Foundation Glenville March Jr., MD, Former CEO, March Vision Care Veronica Melvin, President and CEO, L.A.’s Promise Tim Noonan, President and CEO, Lockton Companies The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Alfred Poirier, Chief Deputy LAFD Emergency Operations Bureau Richard Riordan, Former Mayor of Los Angeles Steve Shafran, Advisory Partner, Centerbridge Partners Brian Wall, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, StoneCalibre, LLC Cynthia Watts, Partner, Blue Waters Research Denita Willoughby, CEO, The Willoughby Group Jake Winebaum, Founder and CEO, Brighter.com

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SENECA:

An Unconditional Education Model Because Every Kid Deserves Educational Success

W

hen Robin Detterman took a job 15 years ago as a special education teacher at Pathfinder Academy – a school of last resort for youth operated by Seneca Family of Agencies – she had no idea she would become an innovator leading the charge in transforming how education was delivered to struggling students.

During those early years as a teacher and then assistant principal at Seneca’s James Baldwin Academy in Northern California, Detterman would often discuss with her colleagues what it would be like if someone intervened earlier in their students’ lives. These were students who were struggling, and often ended up in educational institutions beyond the pale of standard public schools.

Public systems are often reactive, meaning that they only dole out money and resources, to kids who have already been disruptive in school and demonstrated maladaptive coping behaviors.

“We work across special education and mental health and both of those systems require a child to fail before they can get any help,” Detterman said.

From this idea, Detterman and her colleagues at Seneca created a new model of learning called Unconditional Education.

At the time, the program was established through a combination of school funding, philanthropy and subsidization from a Federal

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Investing in Innovation Fund grant through the Department of Education.

Rather than wait for the students to fail, Seneca brings a broad array of services to public schools in order to meet the students and their families where they are at.

That was 2010. Today the Unconditional Education program is currently working with 100 schools in California and Washington with roughly 6,000 students, many of whom are being served right here in Southern California.

Detterman has worked her way up and now holds the title of Chief Program Officer of Educational Services at Seneca where she oversees the program operations, and she is the co-author of Unconditional Education: Supporting Schools to Serve All Students.

“In our early days, we may have erred a little too much on ‘we’ll come in and do this for you,’” Detterman said. “But that’s not a sustainable way to change.”

For Detterman, the most rewarding part is helping teams of educators – who are often at their wits’ end when dealing with struggling students – discover new solutions.

“Sometimes teams can get really stuck: ‘I can’t help this kid. I don’t know what else to try,’” she said. “One of the things I really love about this work is sitting with a team and cultivating hope so that they feel efficacious in the work they’re doing.”

| Los Angeles |

“S

eneca affiliated staff have been instrumental in student socioemotional, behavioral and academic growth. I am confident that they care deeply for our students, and I have personally learned a lot from interacting with these wonderful people.”

– School leader

Help Expand the Unconditional Education Program

T

he next phase for the Unconditional Education program is to conduct a large evaluation to demonstrate its effectiveness.

By learning what works and what doesn’t, they will be able to better help serve their school partners as well as create a scalable model that can be shared broadly among schools.

In Southern California, the study will benefit approximately 5,000 students and families a year across eight schools.

Seneca seeks $1.4 million dollars to conduct a year-long cohort study that follows eight schools in a district and then performs a matched comparison to see what’s different for students in UE versus other interventions.

ver since I started in the Seneca program, I can truly say it changed my life forever in the best way. I have met people that I know truly care for us students. Having a support system like them has helped me in many ways. I have been going to school more because I know that there are people there that will help me in the hard times, my class work, and people I can talk to to resolve my problems. It’s honestly helpful having people there for students in hard times because some of us don’t have anyone to talk to…

And I am now graduating from high school.”

– Current Unconditional Education program student

FRIENDS OF SENECA

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

Seneca

Nathaniel Foster, Chief Advancement Officer (510) 654-4004 dase@senecacenter.org www.senecafoa.org

“E

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SENECA

| www.thegivinglist.com |

California Alliance of Children and Family Services Education for Change Public Schools Irene S. Scully Family Foundation KIPP Bay Area Public Schools Lighthouse Community Schools Oakland Unified School District Room to Breathe Project The Primary School West Contra Costa Unified School District The Witkin Foundation Battery San Francisco Battle Family Foundation Bernard E. and Alba Witkin Charitable Foundation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Chamberlin Family Foundation L. I. Green Foundation Quest Foundation Thomas J. Long Foundation Wells Fargo

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POINT FOUNDATION:

Supporting LGBTQ Higher Education

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hen Point Foundation’s founders, longtime friends, got together in 2001, one alarming statistic rang out: Nearly one-third of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students drop out of high school, derailing countless dreams of higher education.

That rate, three times the national average, is why Point Foundation is focused on making sure LGBTQ students have the financial and community support necessary to go to college or graduate school.

“Although we have made a lot of progress, and the country as a whole is a much more welcoming place, it’s not the case everywhere,” says Chief Development Officer Eddie Pelto. “LGBTQ students still face homophobia, transphobia and racism - the impact of which can make attaining higher education even more challenging. What we are saying to those students is, ‘There are ways we can help.’”

Point Foundation is the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students. Its goal is to empower promising students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential, despite the obstacles often put before them. It provides financial assistance as well as mentorship to students who have nowhere else to turn and who might have otherwise not been able to attend college.

“It’s not just about the financial support, it’s about building a community and the next generation of leaders,” Pelto says. “Leaders in medicine, public health, science, math, the arts and so much more. Where they’ll be able to be examples for LGBTQ young people who can say, ‘Oh, I can now see myself succeeding in that field.’”

The organization began with eight scholarships given in its first year. This coming 2021 school year, it will award 389 scholarships and grants. That’s double from last year, thanks to the generosity of individual, corporate and foundation supporters.

Point offers various scholarships. Their flagship option provides financial help to students as they attend four-year undergraduate or graduate school as well as tailored mentorship. Other scholarships include community college and a newly de-

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| Los Angeles |

veloped scholarship for students who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Point also offers named scholarships, where donors who make a commitment to the Flagship or Community College scholarship can have it named for someone, including themselves, and receive regular updates on the scholar(s) they are helping support.

The mentorship component is an important part of Point’s programming and students are also obligated to take part in community service initiatives. The idea is that students aren’t just financially supported but taught to embrace their community and learn to be civic-minded leaders.

“When the organization was founded, there was recognition that financial help was an imperative but there needed to be someone for that student to talk to for guidance and for networking,” Pelto says. “We want to help create leaders of the future who can take some of this back to their communities.”

“I

am a proud longtime supporter of Point – as a volunteer, Board Chair and donor. I cannot say enough about how impactful the work is – I have had the honor of meeting so many young people who have been able to pursue their dreams because of Point. While our supporters are making it all possible, the scholars are the true heroes. They inspire me and give me hope for the future of the LGBTQ community and the world.”

– James Williams

Chair Emeritus, Point Foundation

Help LGBTQ Students Reach their Dreams

P

oint Foundation has been helping LGBTQ students achieve their dreams for 20 years. It not only fosters a large and loving community but fortifies students’ success by helping to lift them up so they can lead the way for a better future.

Scholarships range from one-time Opportunity Grants to annually renewing scholarships for students attending four-year undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, and professional degree programs. Most recently the foundation has been able to fund 69 scholarships for LGBTQ students identifying as Black, Indigenous or a person of color. It offers specific support for an often overlooked and under-resourced group of students this coming year they will award at least 125 more.

With recent large-scale investments from MacKenzie Scott, Victoria’s Secret, and Wells Fargo, it’s Point Foundation’s hope to continue to expand its scholarship offerings and keep awards at a high level with the help of new donations.

Point Foundation

Eddie Pelto, Chief Development Officer (212) 909-2425 eddie@pointfoundation.org www.pointfoundation.org P.O. Box 60108, Los Angeles, CA 90060

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

“B

ecause of Point’s help I have been able to construct and achieve more goals in my life, both personally and professionally.”

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT POINT FOUNDATION

– Felipe Gomez

Point Flagship Scholar Alum Class of ‘21

POINT FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Peter Lichtenthal, Co-Chair Jen Wohlner, Co-Chair Alan Guño, Chair Emeritus MEMBERS Mario Acosta-Velez Michelle Adams Matt Barbey Brittany Ellenberg Glenn Evans Nathan Friedman Jenna Gambaro Diana Greshtchuk | www.thegivinglist.com |

Brian Dent, Co-Vice Chair & Treasurer Stacy Smithers, Co-Vice Chair Celina Gerbic, Secretary

Ben Harman Jim Holmes Kelly Horton Alexia Korberg Ben Kozub Aaron P. Leifer Sarah Madey Marnie Merriam

Christopher Nizer Seth Persily Jerry Rojas Jake Rostovsky Sean Rourke Eddie Santos Paul Testa Anthony Yu

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P.S. ARTS:

Drawing on Art to Learn

A

nyone who doubts the benefit, nay, necessity of the arts in public schools should meet Dr. Kristen Paglia.

Within minutes, the former-dancer-turnededucator will compellingly connect the dots between arts education and children’s health, well-being and success in school, especially for those affected by poverty and systemic racism.

P.S. ARTS, the nonprofit that Paglia leads, makes the connection explicit by providing arts programming in public schools that encourages creativity and self-expression, and breathes life into all the academic subjects.

A drawing exercise incorporating science.

A dance lesson inspired by social studies.

Literacy and cultural awareness are woven throughout instruction in five art disciplines for every grade level.

Explaining this integrated approach, Paglia says, “Our primary purpose is not to create artists. Our primary purpose is to help public schools and teachers improve the odds of success in college and life for all children.”

Engaging in the arts has benefits well beyond the classroom, particularly for youth coping with hunger and homelessness, racism, disability and trauma. Research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that an arts education supports development of a sense of belonging, a positive self-image, and creative problem-solving.

Having arts in schools also increases parent

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involvement and strengthens communities, which are both key indicators of overall school performance.

P.S. ARTS was founded 30 years ago to fill a void in systemically under-resourced Los Angeles public schools. Even today, most Title I elementary school students don’t have access to arts education, and when they do, it falls vastly short of the level specified in state and federal education codes. Paglia sees this as a violation of young people’s civil rights, and aims, along with the rest of the P.S. ARTS staff and trustees, to restore justice through partnerships with 15 school districts in Southern California that benefit more than 25,000 students through arts instruction, free community events and family programs, and educator development opportunities.

For the last 15 years, Paglia, who holds master’s degrees in dance therapy and arts education from UCLA and Harvard University, respectively, and a doctorate degree in hu| Los Angeles |

man development from Harvard, has worked alongside her colleagues to build a program committed to equity and excellence. The P.S. ARTS model reaches far beyond the occasional short artist residency struggling public schools may be able to piece together. Its full-year curriculum incorporates math, language arts, science, and strategies to support students’ emotional wellness and mental health. P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists receive dozens of hours of training on culturally responsive and anti-racist pedagogy.

Though the COVID pandemic introduced unprecedented challenges, P.S. ARTS nimbly adjusted. It invested in distance-learning teacher training and video equipment and produced some 500 video lessons. Seizing on this “mind shift in innovation and possibility,” Paglia says, “P.S. ARTS responded by providing even more enrichment opportunities for children, including expanding our curriculum to include children’s literature dealing with relevant social issues and featuring artists from under-represented communities.”

P.S. ARTS also added another arts discipline: digital media arts, aptly. It’s a vital skill in a city where one in five jobs is in a creative field.

Paglia says lessons learned during distance-learning will help P.S. ARTS to expand nationally. P.S. ARTS is developing curriculum packages with affordable art supplies and teacher training. She envisions a day when P.S. ARTS can provide rigorous customized arts programs to schools anywhere in the country.

Her immediate focus is meeting the needs of local students who must make up for lost time. “The arts are more popular than ever.

Schools want them. We need these kids to be making up for lost time academically, but we also need them to reconnect, heal and joyfully engage with the world again,” Paglia says, ever connecting the dots. “That’s at the heart of what we all do here at P.S. ARTS.”

“A

s someone who was fortunate enough to attend schools where the arts were part of our everyday curriculum, and as a mother to four young children, I can’t imagine an education without the arts. Now more than ever, our students need an education that fosters learning and empathy, provides a creative outlet, and gives them a competitive edge in a 21st century economy where innovation is essential. P.S. ARTS programs contribute to the health, well-being and success of its students, while making the public schools in our community stronger.”

– Carolyn Giangiacomo

Co-Vice Chair

Celebrating 30 Years of P.S. ARTS

I

n recognition of 30 years of service to Los Angeles students and families, P.S. ARTS is asking supporters to help the organization raise $30,000 through its anniversary campaign: • $250 covers the cost of a full year of arts education for one student.

• $500 supports opportunities for students to experience the arts first-hand through field trips, career day workshops and other remote opportunities.

• $1,000 provides a local public school with a community art making event for students and their families.

• $5,000 sponsors individualized art kits for an entire school.

“B

oth of my kids had the opportunity to participate in P.S. ARTS’ theater program. My daughter was so shy and introverted that I thought she wouldn’t want to participate in something like this, but she surprised me!

The program really helped her come out of her shell. For my son, the program gave him confidence. It reaffirmed what we have been teaching our kids, that it’s ok for them to be themselves. He is silly, ridiculous, and he’s wonderful at making impressions or making up voices. He was able to do all that in the P.S. ARTS program. He was always afraid people would make fun of him, but not in this program. Everyone was so welcoming and supportive, and it was a positive experience for both my children.”

AND LEARN MORE

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

ABOUT P.S. ARTS

– P.S. ARTS Parent

KEY SUPPORTERS

P.S. ARTS

www.psarts.org 2947 S. Sepulveda Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064

Contact:

Kristen Paglia, CEO (310) 586-1017 kristen.paglia@psarts.org

Herb Alpert Foundation Annenberg Foundation Maria Bell Pam and Alan Bergman The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Charlie Day Laura Fox and Ben Van de Bunt Carolyn and Damian Giangiacomo Debbie Gribbon and Winston Alt Phuong Vuong and Chi-Chien Hou Joan and David Kahn

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Sarah Ketterer Leo Marmol Dr. Stephen McCray Melonka McCray Pam Posey Brenda Potter Snap Inc. The Walt Disney Company Weingart Foundation The Wonderful Company

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| Los Angeles |

Accessing Higher Education “​​ When you don’t have someone in your home who has gone to college it creates barriers. We provide direct service work to help young people jump those hurdles, but we also advocate for state and federal policies to eliminate those systemic barriers. We are looking to put ourselves out of a job.”

Alison De Lucca Executive Director and Co-Founder, Southern California College Access Network

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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Nurturing Agents of Change

by Jonathan Karp

D

iana Ingram counts her blessings, big and small. And that has made her a blessing to countless others in Southern California and beyond who strive – against the odds – to reach their potential. Disadvantaged youth, financially at-risk students, job seekers with disabilities, women and people of color are among the beneficiaries of her leadership on nonprofit boards.

Even before she became a successful executive for the likes of IBM and Oracle, Ingram knew she had a responsibility to give back.

“No one succeeds alone,” says the native Angeleno, ever cheerful as she is humble. “Growing up, I was keenly aware of the love and sacrifice that enabled me to have opportunities.”

Ingram’s father, a Mississippi farmer who didn’t have the opportunity to go to college, worked at a Ford Motor Co. plant.

Her mother grew up poor and, like many Southern Blacks, migrated west. Her parents met in Los Angeles, where they lifted themselves into the middle class. Her mother broke the first-generation college barrier in the 1950s, but was thwarted from pursuing her desired profession.

She wanted to major in engineering at UCLA, only to be told that “certain careers were not available to women of color,” Ingram says. Her mother studied math and French instead and later returned for a master’s in education. For 40 years, she taught public elementary school, setting a powerful example for Ingram and her siblings by her passion and compassion.

She went to great lengths to inspire her underprivileged students – even making wake-up calls to kids whose working single mothers weren’t at home to get them up for school.

“Every human being has incredible value,” she would tell a young Ingram, adding that her students could one day be first-generation college graduates. “They may be that agent of change for their family. So, know that that [potential] exists in everyone and respect it.”

Those words grounded Ingram, who didn’t face the same crucible, and would influence her philanthropic priorities. At Stanford, she studied human biology, which blended natural and social sciences and forced her to consider issues from many perspectives. “It challenged you… and was good training for life,” she says. Like her mother, she immersed herself in a foreign language – Spanish, not French. Standing out as a Black woman while studying in Spain reinforced her empathy for “people who don’t conform.” She pursued an MBA at

Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and entered the business world “partly because my mom didn’t get to do what she wanted to do.”

Women’s leadership was Ingram’s entrée into the nonprofit world. While managing Latin American operations for two IBM divisions from Miami, she was invited to join the International Women’s Forum, a global network of diverse high achievers dedicated to advancing women and equality. After moving back to L.A., Ingram served as president of IWF’s Southern California chapter, overseeing programs and annual charitable grants.

“The enormity of the challenge is daunting.

It does concern me that when the problems seem so big, people are like, ‘Well, what can I do but take care of myself ?’ versus, ‘Let me pick something and do something.’”

She dived deeper into community service. “There were so many interesting things to be involved in,” she says, wide eyed.

“How did I ever work?”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles Urban League and Goodwill Southern California provided services to nurture potential and transform the lives of people of all ages in underprivileged and marginal communities. She was warmed by the glow of kids with their mentors and moved

by Urban League and Goodwill programs promoting the dignity of work.

Goodwill typically invites to its board meetings someone who has participated in its career counseling, skills training or job placement programs. Ingram says it’s poignant proof of success and a refutation of perceptions that “people who don’t conform, who have a physical disability or different intellectual capacity aren’t whole. That they don’t want to be independent, that they can’t be independent.”

Ingram, who has been a board member since 2010, says Goodwill’s mission is similarly misunderstood. People know of Goodwill stores, but often don’t realize they are there to help fund the group’s core services. Goodwill’s services, and

| Los Angeles |

“Interventions don’t necessarily require someone to write a $100,000 check.

Sometimes we don’t think about how much potential we each have. Maybe it’s not writing a check.

Maybe it’s giving of our time or talent that has an important impact.”

those of other nonprofits, are needed more than ever after the economic shock of the COVID pandemic.

“The enormity of the challenge is daunting,” she says. “It does concern me that when the problems seem so big, people are like, ‘Well, what can I do but take care of myself?’ versus, ‘Let me pick something and do something.’” Ingram’s advice: Pick something, do something! No matter how small.

From serving on the boards of UCLA Foundation and ECMC Group, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that funds education, she knows that small sums can be the difference between finishing a degree or dropping out. The UCLA Foundation has given emergency grants for things like car repairs so a student can get to a part-time job needed to pay tuition or expenses.

“Interventions don’t necessarily require someone to write a $100,000 check,” Ingram says. “Sometimes we don’t think about how much potential we each have. Maybe it’s not writing a check. Maybe it’s giving of our time or talent that has an important impact.”

Ingram has given generous amounts of all three, though

she self-deprecatingly says it’s “probably not enough.” She has enormous respect for leaders and staffers at organizations she supports, calling them angels who are motivated by their hearts, not wallets.

Over the decades, Ingram has stayed true to her mother’s example. Serving UCLA is a tribute to her. (Ingram’s two sisters are also alums.) And it’s an endorsement of UCLA’s push for first-generation college students – those agents of change invoked by her mother.

An optimist, Ingram sees steps forward elsewhere in her philanthropic work. “We’re making progress, but not fast enough,” she says. “At the same time, I have to believe we will make progress because we’ve seen the impact on individual lives, and that keeps me inspired.”

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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FULFILLMENT FUND:

Striving for Equity in College Access and Completion

J

oanne Reyes knows firsthand how important a college education is in building opportunity and wealth in immigrant and disadvantaged communities.

Born in Manila, Reyes, chief executive officer of Fulfillment Fund, was the first in her Chinese Filipino family to complete college in the U.S. During her time at a high-performing magnet high school in the San Fernando Valley, Reyes noticed that some of her classmates felt supported and found their way to college, while others did not.

“Education is a public good. We all benefit from having a more educated workforce,” Reyes says. “So why aren’t we putting greater resources toward more students having equitable access to postsecondary education?”

Fulfillment Fund, one of Los Angeles’ oldest and largest college access and completion nonprofits, helps students from low-income communities and first-generation households — primarily students of color — get into, finance, and finish college.

It targets high-need high schools and serves some 3,000 students in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area each year.

With an eye toward equity, the nonprofit is open to every student at each school they serve without restrictions on students’ GPA or their family’s financial or documentation status. Unlike other college access organizations, Fulfillment Fund not only helps students get into a best-fit college, but helps them graduate while becoming career ready.

“So many students graduate college with little to no job expe-

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rience in their chosen career field,” Reyes explains. “We want our students to land softly in the job marketplace so that they can take the next step to uplift themselves and their families.”

Fulfillment Fund alumnus Johnny Ruiz was a first-generation college student that the nonprofit worked with throughout high school. He received one of the organization’s scholarships, was accepted to and graduated from UCLA, interned with the nonprofit, and ultimately served on its Alumni Association Board. He was recently inducted to UC Davis’ Medical School donning a white coat and stethoscope.

“To me, he is a huge success story,” Reyes says. “Our impact on him and his family is lasting. He has a younger sister that went through our program as well, who also graduated from UCLA. And, he will go on to be an incredible role model for many other students from similar backgrounds.”

The nonprofit doesn’t only push a four-year college agenda; it also supports those interested in starting out at community college. Since the start of the pandemic, more of their students have had financial pressure to earn money for their household or take care of younger siblings as their parents take on more jobs.

In the next year, Fulfillment Fund will ramp up efforts to rebuild connections with students and reignite their dreams despite their ongoing pandemic losses.

“I think that’s what gets lost in the shuffle of survival,” Reyes says.

“For young people, it’s so important that they dream. It’s our role to help them re-engage in their dreams and help pursue them.”

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“E

ducation is such a critical building block for young people, especially from communities with less access to resources, on their journeys in life. Fulfillment Fund has been creating opportunities with and for students in L.A. for decades.

Their support, expertise, and caring have never been more vital than now when so much has happened to disrupt students’ pathways to their goals and dreams.”

– Eric Esrailian, MD, MPH

“T

he Fulfillment Fund is the absolute BEST!!!

I am so thankful for all of the support that they have given me throughout the years — from helping with my personal statement to providing me with great internship opportunities. I know that I can always depend on the Fulfillment Fund! With their help, I made a successful transition to college and I was able to pay for my books and other school expenses. I don’t know where I would be without the Fulfillment Fund!”

– Ali Barajas

Stanford University Class of ‘15

KEY SUPPORTERS

Making College a Reality

F

ulfillment Fund has launched an end-of-year giving campaign that aims to raise $750,000 for its vital programs. The nonprofit works with high school students as early as ninth grade to build awareness about college possibilities and to teach skills that help them get into college and finance their education. The organization’s College Counselors provide targeted support, helping 11th- and 12thgrade students identify and gain admission to their best-fit schools, while securing vital financial aid and scholarships.

Once enrolled in college, a College Success Advisor works with them one-on-one to ensure they continue making progress toward earning their degree while balancing jobs and responsibilities. They also have access to career readiness workshops and peer mentors, who help them navigate their campus and build community.

“First-generation students not only need practical knowhow to help them succeed in college. They also need to feel connected — to peers, to professors, and their journey,” Fulfillment Fund CEO Joanne Reyes says. “They need a sense of belonging in order to thrive.”

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT FULFILLMENT FUND

Fulfillment Fund

www.fulfillment.org 6100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 600 Los Angeles, CA 90048

| www.thegivinglist.com |

The Ahmanson Foundation Pamela Buffett California Community Foundation The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Conrad L. Hilton Foundation Elephant Eric and Melina Esrailian Cherna and Gary Gitnick, MD Mark Gordon Jana and Randall Greer Johnny Carson Foundation Charlie and JoAnn Kaplan Josh Klinefelter Los Angeles Rams Chip and Kathleen Rosenbloom Bobby Shriver Wendy and Harlan Spinner Mary Ann Todd United Way of Greater Los Angeles W.M. Keck Foundation

Contact:

Joanne Reyes, Chief Executive Officer jreyes@fulfillment.org (323) 900-8721

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BAYAN ISLAMIC GRADUATE SCHOOL:

Educating Leaders for a Pluralistic America

A

name like “Jihad Turk” certainly grabs attention, sometimes even prompting apprehension. Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, he tried using the nickname “Jay,” but his father disapproved. Jihad recounts, “He told me, the essence of my name in Arabic is ‘The struggle to do the right thing,’” and he has tried to live up to that standard ever since.

Born to a Muslim Palestinian father and a Christian American mother, Turk embarked on a journey of self-understanding, spending part of his college years exploring his roots in the Muslim world.

Later, after graduating with a degree in history from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree from UT Austin in Arabic and Islamic studies, he continued at UCLA. He was soon recruited as the forward-thinking religious director of a major Los Angeles mosque.

As a scholar and interfaith bridge-builder, he was approached by the world-renowned Claremont School of Theology to run an Islamic graduate seminary program, and he knew it was so needed.

“Religion when done right can be a force of positivity and healing; that’s how we view the Islamic faith. We want to provide an understanding for Muslims and society at large,” says Turk.

Operating since 2011, Bayan Islamic Graduate School is the United States’ first Islamic higher education institution to offer an accredited Master of Arts in Islamic Studies and a Master of Divinity in Islamic Chaplaincy. To date, 52 graduates serve as imams, chaplains, educators and organizational leaders in American Muslim communities.

Bayan now offers its degrees in partnership with the Chicago Theological Seminary, and its mission is to create a world that understands Islamic values in a modern context.

“Our training isn’t just Islamic; it emphasizes civic engagement, nonprofit management, public speaking. It’s also about interfaith

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“A

t Bayan, we offer a world-class non-sectarian education and produce dynamic and ethical leaders and scholars grounded in the Islamic tradition.”

– Jihad Turk

President

relations and conflict resolution,” says Turk.

Bayan seeks to better integrate the diverse Muslim American community — African American Muslims, immigrants from many nations and converts. Black Muslims comprise one fifth of all U.S. Muslims. About 40 percent of Bayan’s students are African American.

One of the most popular classes at Bayan, “Islam in Black America: From Slavery to Hip-Hop,” explores the historical and contemporary connections of Islam and the Black community, fleshing out an underappreciated aspect of our nation’s history. Enthusiasm for this material was so strong that Bayan made video recordings of the lectures available to the public. For $10 per month, anyone can subscribe to Bayan’s online courses, and the money will go towards a scholarship fund named after boxing legend and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Ali once said his identity as a Muslim was more important to him than his identity as a Black man or as an American. Turk knew Ali personally, and he promised the Ali family he would carry on good works in Muhammad’s honor. His wife, Lonnie Ali, affirms, “His spiritual legacy will be maintained at Bayan.”

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“T

his is an American institution that is firmly grounded in the broad diversity of the Islamic tradition, and also significant experience in different contexts that enriches the development of practical theology, of Islamic ethics, and of really important perspectives on how we can bring our principles and values as Muslims in a meaningful way to the context and communities in which we live.”

– Dr. Ingrid Mattson

Past President, Islamic Society of North America; Professor of Islamic Studies, Huron University

Support Muhammad Ali’s Legacy

B

ayan Islamic Graduate School is doing its part to offer opportunities SCAN TO MAKE to promising and dedicated African American students to obtain graduate A DONATION... education. With the blessing of the family of sports legend and hero Muhammad work in a community that revitalizes a Ali, the donor-supported full-tuition blighted neighborhood. Bayan’s hybrid Muhammad Ali Scholarship for Spiritual model worked wonders for me, as an imam, Leadership provides up to $75,000 to a father and a full-time teacher. Bayan is qualified students working in underserved one of the most flexible and accommodatcommunities as chaplains, teachers, ing programs out there. One of the biggest imams, and nonprofit leaders. Graduates strengths at Bayan is its diversity, and the receive an accredited Master of Arts (MA) ability for you to retain your identity but or Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree. broaden your horizons at the same time.” ...AND LEARN MORE As a nonprofit, tax-exempt organizaABOUT BAYAN ISLAMIC tion, Bayan’s educational programs help in – Imam Hamzah Abdul-Malik GRADUATE SCHOOL the formation of American Muslim leadMidtown Mosque, Memphis, TN ership that is positioned to inspire positive action rooted in the Islamic faith tradition to benefit society at large. In 2021, Bayan received a $1,000,000 grant from the renowned Annenberg Foundation’s explore.org FRIENDS OF BAYAN initiative to contribute to sustainability and growth. Your support will enable Bayan to continue on a trajectory of success as Lonnie Ali - Philanthropist, advocate, wife of Muhammad Ali an American Muslim higher education institution.

Charles Annenberg Weingarten - Philanthropist, director

“I

Bayan Islamic Graduate School

Munir Shaikh, Vice President of Operations and Academic Affairs (714) 862-2926 ext. 5 mshaikh@bayanonline.org Bayanonline.org 2854 N. Santiago Blvd., Suite 201, Orange, CA 92867

Hasan Minhaj - Comedian, actor Rev. Ed Bacon - Author, Former rector at All-Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena Mario Van Peebles - Actor, director, activist Lena Khan - Hollywood writer/director Dr. Omar Ezzeldine - School district director, Bayan trustee Matthew Mengerink - Silicon Valley tech industry leader, Bayan trustee Dr. Asifa Quraishi-Landes - Constitutional law professor, Bayan trustee Preacher Moss - Comedian Dr. Sara Deen - Dentist, interfaith leader, Bayan trustee Saafir Rabb - Business strategist, Obama transition team, Bayan trustee Seyed Hadi Qazwini - Scholar, Bayan trustee Mohannad Malas - Real estate investor/developer, Bayan advisor Dr. Rami Nashashibi - MacArthur Genius award recipient, Bayan faculty

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MENTORS 4 COLLEGE:

Getting into the Ideal College: a Reality for Everyone

A

nne was a senior at Hollywood High School hoping to become a veterinarian. But the daughter of a single mom was overwhelmed by the college application process.

She had a limited list of prospective schools, no understanding of financial aid, and needed essay guidance. So she turned to Mentors 4 College, a grassroots agency that helps students apply to college, free of charge.

“Without you, I wouldn’t be accepted as an Aggie,” Anne says after being accepted at UC Davis, home of a top veterinary school. “Thank you for reaching out and making me feel less alone.”

Mentors 4 College (M4C), now celebrating its 10th year, matches highlytrained volunteer mentors with high school students to help them select and apply to their ideal college.

The volunteer mentors from around the country meet with students and parents multiple times a year, in-person and online, to help them navigate the daunting college application process.

While professional college consultants can charge $10,000 or more per student, M4C services are offered free to every student in need. There are no academic or financial thresholds.

Their services include college counseling; online workshops in essay writing, college interviewing, and career planning; monthly webinars on such topics as financial aid and building balanced college lists; and monthly text messages to remind students of key deadlines.

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In the past decade, Mentors 4 College has trained 120 mentor volunteers, and has assisted more than 1,000 high school students who have been admitted to such colleges as UC Berkeley, USC, Stanford, Occidental, Harvard, and Yale.

The nonprofit, which works in conjunction with local schools and counselors, is the brainchild of David and Lois Zuckerman.

When their children were applying to college, they worked through the process essentially on their own, because public school counselors are absolutely stretched beyond their limits. Meanwhile, they ran into an exceptionally talented student who’d started at community college to

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ensure a free education. After a year of not being challenged, he dropped out. “We could have helped this kid find many financially affordable, academically challenging opportunities if we’d only had the chance! He’s not the only one, there are millions like him.”

With COVID, M4C offers all its services online – and demand has spiked coast to coast.

“It’s just exploded,” David Zuckerman says. “A college education changes lives and improves communities. We can help more kids and more communities, but we’ve reached our limit on how we can fund this.”

Empowering Students

“I

wanted to start off by saying thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all your help throughout my entire college search – a process that continues to become more complicated each year. I want to thank you for the hours you have dedicated to helping me prepare for my future, including the time you spent meeting with me individually AND the time you have spent in training and workshops to stay updated and knowledgeable in the college selection process.

“When I came to you a quarter of the way through my junior year of high school, I was overwhelmed by the college selection process and was scrambling to comprehend all the research and options I had. But you helped me (and my parents) make sense out of it and begin to narrow down the schools I was interested in and would eventually apply to.

With that being said, I’m beyond appreciative of all you’ve done and I cannot imagine where I would be right now if it weren’t for Mentors 4 College.”

– Alyssa T

“I

believe that Mentors 4 College has saved my life and prevented me from becoming a statistic. I remember all too well my final semester of senior year that I had given up on myself. The weight of the loss of mom and the dream that I had always replayed in my mind that she would be in the crowd cheering me on as I crossed the stage at graduation had all come to an abrupt end and that reality was too much to bear. However, your program provided an avenue for me to follow, to not lose hope, and to not give up on myself. I hope that the Mentors 4 College program continues to find those students who need a little inspiration and guidance, who are so close to slipping between the cracks so that they can begin to see themselves in the life that they dream of.”

– Rico B, M.D.

“I

wanted to send you a quick email to thank you for your part in supporting our son during his college application process.

He took the advice offered through Mentors 4 College.

“In December, he was accepted with full scholarships to University of Chicago, University of Minnesota, and Washington State. In March, he was accepted to Duke, Columbia, Yale, and Harvard.

“He has chosen to attend Harvard and received a full SCAN TO MAKE financial aid package. We are truly grateful to all of the colA DONATION... lege mentors.”

– Amy C

Sponsoring Students Mentors 4 College now seeks a range of sponsors so it can help more kids transform their lives, without charge:

$400 – Sponsor a student for 4 years as we help them in their quest for their ideal college $2,000 – Sponsor 5 students for 4 years as we help them in their quest for their ideal colleges $4,000 – Sponsor the training of all our new mentors for a year $8,000 – Sponsor our social media, video, and webinar efforts for a year $10,000 – Sponsor an add-on to our IT system to enhance our student-mentor communications

Mentors 4 College

(314) 434-3232 mentors@mentors4college.org mentors4college.org

Contact:

Vicki Horwits (424) 431-4122

| www.thegivinglist.com |

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $25,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from an anonymous donor

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PROJECT SOAR:

Supporting the College and Career Dreams of Students in Public Housing

I

magine it’s your senior year of high school. You are excited to apply to college. But, you don’t have a college counselor at your school. No one in your family has applied before. And you are unaware of the resources available to help you pay for college.

This is the story of Maria Perez and countless other students from underserved communities across Southern California. Perez grew up in Avalon Gardens, a public housing development in South Los Angeles. The daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, her lifelong dream was to attend college and go into a career that would help people in her community. But, she didn’t know where to start. Her parents were unfamiliar with the college application process, and her school counselor could only spend 10 minutes with her every year.

Fortunately, an L.A.-based nonprofit, One Voice, saw Perez’s potential and provided her with free college counseling. With the support, Perez was accepted to Smith College with a full-ride.

Upon graduation, Perez returned to Los Angeles and became a college counselor with Project SOAR, a new program at the public housing development where she grew up. Since then, she has helped hundreds of students like her pursue their college and career dreams.

Project SOAR is an innovative partnership between the Southern California College Access Network (SoCal CAN) and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles that

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places college counselors on public housing sites. Project SOAR counselors provide one-on-one education advising to residents.

From formulating academic plans, to exploring college and career options, to completing college and financial aid applications, to selecting the right college with the best financial aid package, Project SOAR counselors are with their students every step of the way. Over the past four years, Project SOAR has worked with more than 2,000 students and families at five public housing sites in East and South Los Angeles.

Of the students who have received Project SOAR advising support, 100% have submitted college and financial aid applications; 98% have enrolled in college and 92% have persisted from year to year – blowing away academic outcomes for any student coming out of the public school system. The model’s proven success has led residents at other public housing sites in L.A. to clamor for Project SOAR’s help.

“It’s an honor to spend every day supporting students from my community,” Perez says. “I’d like to think that my story shows them that living in the projects is not the defining obstacle to achieving their dreams. With a college degree, they can break the intergenerational cycle of poverty for themselves and their families. I love this job. What’s next for me? Law school. We need more lawyers in my community.”

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“M

y strengths and abilities will help me achieve my goals [of being a School Psychologist], but I know that I will be challenged along the way. I am constantly learning and know that my strengths and abilities will continue developing as I venture through my educational journey.”

– Marina

Student, California State University, Los Angeles

“T

he Kresge Foundation applauds the extraordinary cross-sector partnership that has been forged between SoCal CAN and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles to ensure that Angelenos in public housing have access to college and career advising. This partnership is a model for the rest of the country.”

– Caroline Altman Smith

Help Students SOAR

Deputy Director - Education Program, The Kresge Foundation

S

oCal CAN needs your help to ensure that students in public housing today, like Maria Perez was before them, receive the support they need to pursue their college and career goals. Project SOAR is currently at five public housing sites in Los Angeles; the goal is to make the program available at all 14. SoCal CAN’s fundraising goal for 2022 is to raise an additional $1,000,000 so that the nonprofit can scale Project SOAR to all 14 sites. The approximate cost per student is $1,556 per year.

All donations of up to $1,500 will be matched through 2022, thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program.

TGL MATCHING CHALLENGE!

Project SOAR

socalcan.org/projectsoar Instagram: @projectsoarla 1000 N. Alameda Street, Suite 240 Los Angeles, CA 90012

THE FIRST $1,500 WILL BE MATCHED Contact:

Alison De Lucca, Executive Director (213) 346-3275 alison@socalcan.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS California Community Foundation The Kresge Foundation Len Hill Charitable Trust Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation Great Public Schools Now LA 2050 S. Mark Taper Foundation The Shay Family Foundation The Ballmer Group College Futures Foundation The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation All Ways Up Foundation The Mayer & Morris Kaplan Foundation ECMC Foundation Council of Large Public Housing Authorities The Los Angeles City Mayor’s Office SOLA I Can Foundation EveryoneOn Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles Council of Large Public Housing Authorities

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On a Mission to ‘Activate’ L.A.’s Charitable Foundations Behind the Tech Needs of Its Black-Led Nonprofits

I “I think what it takes to have real change is funders really caring and doing what’s best for a cause or community. So not just checking a box and moving on when the news cycle has changed, but putting hard dollars behind multifaceted, multiyear programs. It’s going to take more organizations to step outside of their comfort zones and start figuring out how they can help with some of these social issues.

That’s what’s really going to make a difference.”

– DARRELL BOOKER

Corporate Affairs Specialist, Nonprofit Tech Acceleration for Black and African American Communities

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t didn’t take long for Darrell Booker to impact one of the largest tech corporations in the world: Microsoft.

In the weeks after the murder of George Floyd, Booker, who spent most of his tech career in the nonprofit sector, found himself at an all-hands meeting to discuss Microsoft’s response to the wave of racial unrest roiling the nation.

He couldn’t help but speak up, expressing that the company had a duty to do its best to support the Black-led, Black-serving nonprofits that are so woefully underresourced across the country.

“Here we are providing valuable software services built for any nonprofit on the planet, but those that need it the most are unaware of it,” Booker says.

Two shocking data points swam in his head.

The first he found in the pages of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, which found that Black-led nonprofits have – on average – 76% less unrestricted revenue than

“F

those with white leaders. The consequence: Black-led nonprofits are too often caught in a cycle where they can’t adequately invest in taking their work to scale, instead relegated to one-off funding with innumerable strings attached.

The second came from the National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy, which found that of the $2.2 billion doled out by 25 community foundations between 2016 and 2018 in cities like Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, and St. Paul, only 1% went to organizations explicitly serving the Black community.

Within weeks of that all-hands meeting in June 2020, Microsoft stood up its Nonprofit Tech Acceleration Program for Black and African American Communities, NTA for short, and named Booker its head. It is now a marquee component to the Racial Equity Initiative announced by CEO Satya Nadella that same month. An indication of the NTA’s prominence is where it sits, within the company’s Philanthropies initiative, which

rankly, the fact that Black-led nonprofits want this help so much is not telling me anything I didn’t know as a Black man in America,” Booker says. “What it does tell me is that as tech advances across our society and world, it needs to be equitable and everywhere.”

| Los Angeles |

“M gave, in 2020 alone, a whopping $1.9 billion in software, services, and grants to some 200,000 nonprofit organizations.

The tech acceleration program provides Black-led, Black-serving nonprofits with software, technical assistance, and in some cases has even built out entire websites. All at no cost. By the time this magazine is printed, the program will have blown past Booker’s initial goal of 1,000, reaching more than 1,500 nonprofits across the country.

Here in Los Angeles County, that includes: the Brotherhood Crusade and the Black Equity Collective.

For Charisse Bremond-Weaver, executive director of the storied Brotherhood Crusade that has been empowering South Los Angeles’ youth for decades, Microsoft and the NTA have been transformational partners.

“Microsoft has been a strategic and visionary partner of Brotherhood Crusade for over a decade,” Bremond Weaver says. “Microsoft has brought in technology innovators through their Microsoft Nonprofit Tech Acceleration Program to help us solve some of our technology challenges that will make our mission driven and highly-intentional trauma informed youth development programs more effective and efficient. The program is showing our staff how to leverage technology platforms that will allow us to share data openly and collaboratively as well as improve on our youth development-based case management process.”

It wasn’t a surprise to Booker that the need would far outstrip even Microsoft’s capacity to meet it.

icrosoft has been a strategic and visionary partner of Brotherhood Crusade for over a decade. Microsoft has brought in technology innovators through their Microsoft Nonprofit Tech Acceleration Program to help us solve some of our technology challenges that will make our mission driven and highly-intentional trauma informed youth development programs more effective and efficient. The program is showing our staff how to leverage technology platforms that will allow us to share data openly and collaboratively as well as improve on our youth development-based case management process.”

– CHARISSE BREMOND-WEAVER

Executive director of the Brotherhood Crusade

“Frankly the fact that Black-led nonprofits want this help so much is not telling me anything I didn’t know as a Black man in America,” Booker says. “What it does tell me is that as tech advances across our society and world, it needs to be equitable and everywhere. When you think about how fast tech is moving and growing, it’s scary how much work we have to do to catch these organizations up.”

To do that, Booker is looking to “activate” L.A.’s philanthropic community – particularly its vast network of charitable foundations, which have the means and power to flip those two disturbing data points that have driven him since starting this journey in 2020.

“Foundations need as much education as nonprofits do,” Booker says. “Foundations need to understand what tech can do, not only to deliver that message to the nonprofits, but to fund their digital transformations.”

Booker points out tech’s power to allow nonprofits to evaluate the efficacy of their programs – a key to unlocking private and public sector grants. And he grows frustrated thinking about all the work that needs to be done to build up the cyber security capabilities of service agencies holding on to the vital data of some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations.

SCAN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SUPPORTING BLACK COMMUNITY NONPROFITS Darrell Booker, Corporate Affairs Specialist Nonprofit Tech Acceleration for Black and African American Communities darrell.booker@microsoft.com http://aka.ms/nta Twitter: @darrellmbooker | IG @darrellbooker

| www.thegivinglist.com |

He sees charitable foundations as a key player in lifting up the tech infrastructure of the sector as a whole. An example is the NTA’s partnership with the Miami-based Children’s Trust, which not only put its Black-led, Black-serving nonprofits in contact with Booker’s team, but also offered financial support to those organizations to build up their tech capabilities.

“In 2021, technology is a key indicator of a high-performing organization,” says Stephanie Sylvestre, the Trust’s chief diversity and inclusion officer. “Our partnership with Microsoft is the first step in helping our funded providers achieve technological acumen so they can implement technology in an effective manner. As their technological landscape becomes more efficient, they will have more time for the high touch/quality interactions with their clients, which are catalytic for transformation of their clients’ lives.”

Booker is focused on multiplying that catalytic transformation for nonprofits and the people they serve across the country.

“I think what it takes to have real change is funders really caring and doing what’s best for a cause or community,” Booker says.

“So not just checking a box and moving on when the news cycle has changed, but putting hard dollars behind multifaceted, multiyear programs. It’s going to take more organizations to step outside of their comfort zones and start figuring out how they can help with some of these social issues. That’s what’s really going to make a difference.”

If you are one of those funders who wants to step up, you will find a stalwart partner in Booker, the NTA, and Microsoft Philanthropies.

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Justice for All “Particularly, over the last year, with all of the awakening around systemic racism, there’s been a lot of interest from philanthropists in understanding, ‘Well, who should we fund?

Who’s doing good work?’ And we provide a space for donors to come and learn about the Black-led organizations that are doing really good and impactful work.”

– Kaci Patterson Founder and Chief Architect, Black Equity Collective

| www.thegivinglist.com |

141

‘What Good Is a Platform if You Don’t Use It for Good?’

As told to Daniel Heimpel

I

have known CNN host Lisa Ling for nearly a decade now. I never saw her as anything but a mentor, a world-class journalist, and someone with whom I had the honor of working.

Then, during the height of the heinous attacks on Asian Americans in 2020 and in 2021, I watched her on the TV being interviewed about the violence, braiding the history of racism against Asians in this country with her own experience.

She spoke of the terrible things people were writing to her over social media, where she was extremely active in driving attention to victims of Asian hate and ways her 200k+ followers could support them.

I was incensed by what had happened to her and what was happening to the broader Asian American community – all because of the way they look.

Even as the violence seemingly subsides, Ling knows that forestalling the next eruption of racism towards any racial, ethnic, or religious group in this country requires an understanding of our fraught American history – even if it’s not taught in the history books.

In this conversation, Ling and I discuss how she turned her celebrity into philanthropy, how others should engage, and what we should all learn from this dark time in our American experience.

You have been very vocal about the roots of racism directed at Asian Americans since first arriving on this country’s shores. What is consistent about that history?

What does it tell you?

Because Asian American history is not included in our history books, when attacks started to happen as COVID became rooted in this country, I think that people felt very dismayed and confused and hurt – Asians and non-Asians – by what was happening.

But when you really stop and look back at Asian American history, Asians have been scapegoated and discriminated against since our ancestors first landed on U.S. soil.

Chinese were an essential part of our workforce and built critical infrastructure, but as soon as those projects were completed, the rest of America wanted nothing to do with them.

The wholesale campaign of torching Chinatowns throughout the West Coast of America was ignited, literally.

And that pattern of discrimination has really never ended.

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It’s just that it became dormant at times when things seemed fine. But it’s always under the surface, and generally they’re economic triggers that incite those moments when things erupt. With the Chinese in the 1800s, it was very much about the Chinese taking away American jobs, the Chinese littering communities, not dissimilar from what we’re experiencing today, carrying this plague.

When you look back, there were over a hundred documented riots throughout the West Coast in which Chinese people were killed and Chinatowns were torched. And there’s no cohesive mention of these things in our history books.

Then you look at what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II. The notion that this country would round up over 120,000 Asian people because of what they look like and force them to live in camps, it’s unfathomable.

We have to remember these moments because we will repeat history if we don’t know our history.

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You are a successful media professional, constantly in the public eye. Have you felt a change in the way you are treated on social media since you became so outspoken about these issues?

Yeah. I’ve been on the receiving end of some really ugly social media posts.

I’ve always been teased and made fun of. I’m used to that.

But the level of vitriol and hate that was communicated through these posts was on another level. It wasn’t just, go back to China. It was, I hope you die of this virus because you and your people brought it here, and it’s killing Americans.

But also, in the age of social media, it’s hard to see those horrific posts and surveillance videos of elderly people getting brazenly attacked. And I’m telling you, after the massage parlor shootings in Atlanta, I was completely distracted from being able to work, being able to parent. I just couldn’t believe that this was happening to people who look like me at this time.

This notion that we have become this post-racial society just became a joke.

But this whole pandemic has really removed the bandage from that notion, and not just for Asian people.

You have used your Instagram account to direct attention and donations to victims of hate crimes. What has that experience been like for you?

Social media has become this really effective way to communicate. And for people who might not know what is happening in the Asian community, if they happen to respond to my work and like me and follow me, I’m going to let them know because this is an all-hands-on-deck effort where the Asian American community needs everyone to stand up in our defense. And to condemn these acts of hate that are completely unfounded and unfair.

Social media has been also really effective in raising money.

Many of these victims of racism and Asian hate have had their lives transformed forever because of what they look like.

For a while, we were all struggling, how do we get these people help, money? How do we get in touch with these people to set up a GoFundMe? And we put together GoFundMe.com/AAPI as a go-to source to find those fundraisers for victims, as well as organizations that are working to combat hate. To date, my God, it’s raised millions of dollars.

But when I heard her voice and she was screaming in Cantonese, and crying out at the same time, her voice still haunts me.

So many of those images live in my head. Too many of them. And I guess that’s why we’re still doing what we’re doing.

You are an advisor to the Asian American Foundation.

What is that organization trying to accomplish and how do you hope to help?

Their objective is really two-fold. It’s obviously to reduce attacks on the Asian community, but ultimately the goal is to educate people about the role that Asians have played in this country. And the importance of knowing our history and embracing our community as Americans.

It will also be promoting Asian-led projects and funding organizations on the ground that are working to combat hate.

You are conventionally philanthropic. You donate to nonprofits and serve on boards. But you have also used your celebrity as a form of philanthropy. What would your advice be to other public figures interested in supporting a cause?

What’s a platform if you don’t use it for good? Otherwise, I just don’t understand the point.

So, I hope that people who do have platforms feel encouraged to seek out organizations that are doing things that are important to them. What good is a platform, if you don’t use it for good to raise awareness about things that people might otherwise not have any idea of, and to be able to highlight people who are on the ground doing the work?

What do you think 2022 and beyond will look like for Asian Americans? Is this eruption of violence and aggression over?

I think it behooves all of us, irrespective of our ethnic background, to be aware of our history. To be aware of what marginalized communities have endured, what they’ve contributed, and the roles that they play in this country.

I think we can and should continue to bolster organizations and efforts to make people aware of these histories; and organizations that are trying to support these efforts, to address communities that have just been overlooked for too long.

Can you tell me a story from that work that is particularly memorable?

There was a woman in San Francisco Chinatown, who spoke the same Cantonese dialect as my grandmother. She was attacked and then ended up attacking the man who attacked her, and really hurt him.

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BLACK EQUITY COLLECTIVE:

Fundamentally Changing Philanthropy’s Relationship With Black-Led Organizations T he racial wealth gap isn’t just a problem for individual African Americans, but for Black-led organizations (BLOs) as well.

“Black-led organizations are significantly underfunded, and when they do get funded, most of their funding is highly restricted to project and program-related work,” says Kaci Patterson, founder and chief architect of the Black Equity Collective. “So, they don’t actually have the ability to build their infrastructure and to build their institutional health.”

Black-led organizations have 24% smaller average revenues and 76% fewer unrestricted net assets than their white counterparts do, according to a report published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Enter the Black Equity Collective (BEC): It is California’s only philanthropic network focused exclusively on investing in Black leadership and Black organizations.

Launched in 2017, the collective is working to change outcomes for Black-led organizations in Southern California through the strategic partnerships it is forming between these groups and leaders in philanthropy. Moreover, through its microgrant and community grantmaking programs, the collective directly pools resources together for Black-led organizations.

BEC takes a two-fold approach to supporting Black-led organizations, Patterson says.

“On the one hand, it’s really about investing in the long-term sustainability and organizational health of Black-led organizations,” she says. “Secondly, it’s about building the capacity of philanthropy to work more effectively with Black-led organizations.”

The origin story of the Black Equity Collective dates back to four years ago when a funder hired Patterson to explore how philanthropy could offset anti-Black police violence. After four months of exploration, the Black Equity Initiative formed with the goal of funding Black-led and Black-serving organizations focused on systemic racism, education, employment, and criminal justice.

The initiative funded 15 organizations in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, but the leaders involved recognized that only a network of funders could make a significant impact in the African American community.

In 2020, the collective had just one funder. This year, 21 funders support the organization now fiscally sponsored by SoCal Grantmakers, and their role goes beyond the transactional, Patterson pointed out. BEC is “helping to build a sense of community within and among the funders so that they can interrogate their own practices and ultimately be in better and more effective relationships with the BLOs.” Membership has also grown dramatically — more than doubling from 15 to 31 nonprofits. Patterson is also thrilled that the budgets of

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the 15 original BLOs have ballooned by an average of nearly $750,000 since receiving their grants four years ago. Some of these organizations increased their operational budgets by applying for grant funding jointly rather than individually, and others found that their focus on Black liberation attracted investors.

“Particularly, over the Kaci Patterson, founder and chief architect last year, with all of the of the Black Equity Collective awakening around systemic racism, there’s been a lot of interest [from philanthropists] in understanding, ‘Well, who should we fund? Who’s doing good work?’” Patterson says. “And we provide a space for donors to come and learn about the Black-led organizations that are doing really good and impactful work.”

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here is nothing more exhilarating to have the Black Equity Collective to support and bring other Black leaders and Black-led organizations to learn, develop, and grow our work in a space that celebrates our greatness.”

– Charisse Bremond Weaver

President & CEO, Brotherhood Crusade

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he Black Equity Collective will be a transformative model in promoting investment in Black-led organizations. Cal Wellness is thrilled to be a partner in this journey.”

– Judy Belk

President & CEO, The California Wellness Foundation

Help BEC Meet its $60 Million Fundraising Goal

D

uring a period shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and a racial awakening, Black-led organizations have a huge need for financial resources. To serve their communities, many are doing work well beyond their missions, according to Kaci Patterson, founder and chief architect of the Black Equity Collective. They are advocating for fair housing, organizing mutual aid networks, and engaging SCAN TO JOIN in other advocacy work, yet they are disproportionately underfunded.

THE COLLECTIVE...

The BEC aims to direct resources their way by connecting them with funders interested in the cause of Black liberation, which Patterson defines as “Black people being able to fully live into their humanity without fear of attack, fear of death, fear of discrimination.”

So far, BEC has raised about $4.5 million in funding for Black-led organizations, putting the group just $1.5 million away from reaching its initial $6 million end-of-year goal. Over the next decade, it hopes to raise $60 million.

Your investment can help BEC to become an indepen...AND LEARN MORE dent institution, serving as a regional hub supporting ABOUT THE BLACK Black-led social change efforts aimed at transforming the EQUITY COLLECTIVE social and economic conditions affecting Black communities across Southern California and will put resources into the coffers of Black-led organizations working to The Black Equity Collective address systemic racism.

Kaci Patterson, Founder (213) 513-7191 kaci@blackequitycollective.org www.blackequitycollective.org

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KEY SUPPORTERS The California Wellness Foundation Silicon Valley Community Foundation (CA Black Freedom Fund) California Community Foundation Southern CA Edison JP Morgan Chase WHH Foundation Anonymous DAF Melissa Jones Charitable Gifting Trust The California Endowment National Philanthropic Fund DAF Holder Fineshriber Family Foundation Kautz Family Foundation WWGD DAF Angell Foundation Reissa Foundation Roy and Patricia Disney Foundation North Star Fund McNulty Foundation CA Healthcare Foundation Weingart Foundation Liberty Hill Foundation 2020-2021 Supporters

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FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES:

Standing up to Bigotry and Hate L iz Vogel’s least favorite class while growing up in New Jersey was history. Memorizing facts and dates from the past always felt disconnected from her life in the present.

Despite this, she majored in history at Pomona College in Claremont after a course got her thinking about her identity, her connection to others, and her role in shaping the future.

Today, Vogel is the executive director of Facing History and Ourselves Los Angeles, which uses some of the hardest lessons of our past and present to challenge teachers and students to stand up to bigotry and hate.

Founded in 1976, the nonprofit produces curriculum for middle and high school classrooms along with professional development and support for educators. It links the content taught in the classroom – such as the Holocaust and the U.S. civil rights movement – to what students are witnessing and experiencing in their own lives.

“We’re focused on pivotal moments in history and in literature – hard history – where neighbor turned against neighbor or democracy was failing and we use this as a way for young people to reflect on the choices people made in those moments and the decisions students face every day,” Vogel explains.

Few organizations provide the depth that Facing History does, by connecting rigorous academic content, ethics, and social emotional learning, Vogel says. The goal is to help young people understand that their choices matter – and that they can make a difference in their own communities, she adds.

Students who take Facing History: • are more likely to recognize racism, antisemitism, and prejudice • have more tolerance for others with different political views • are more motivated to learn • believe that they can make a difference A few years ago, a student at Animo Jackie Robinson Charter High School in South Los Angeles was inspired by

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Facing History to help those experiencing homelessness.

David noticed people on the street on his way to school and felt compelled by his Facing History lessons about bystanders to not see them as just the other but as part of the community. He organized a student effort to make and pass out sandwiches and other basic supplies. He also coordinated an effort to bring mobile showers into the community for the first time.

“David just graduated from Georgetown University where he continued to develop his leadership around pressing social issues,” Vogel says.

With heightened demand among educators, Facing History is expanding its programs to entire school districts. It partnered with Burbank Unified School District this year to provide professional development for all 700 of its educators around the themes of equity and justice.

This pilot program is critical at a time that society has become so polarized, she said.

Today, “it’s hard for us to disagree with someone without disavowing them as a person,” Vogel says. Yet “imparting

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those skills and making them a priority in education is what our world desperately needs.” Democracy itself relies on this education.

Vogel reflected back on her personal experience, “Facing History would have been so valuable for me as a young person trying to make sense of the world and my place in it.”

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he seminar truly expanded both my knowledge and my goals for the coming courses I have this year. I feel as though I am much more equipped to speak about and teach this history in a way that will reach my students and hopefully have an impact on who they are as young people and citizens.”

– Facing History educator

“R Help Facing History Reach More Students

ighteous Persons Foundation is incredibly proud of our long running partnership with Facing History and Ourselves, which is one of our earliest grantees.

Facing History doesn’t just teach historic events, they help students and educators understand and make meaning of our past and draw powerful connections to our present-day lives. Their work is critical to building a more just and connected future for all.”

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ith the shift to virtual classes, a contentious election, and a national reckoning of racial inequities over the past year, more teachers than ever are turning to Facing History for support. Our network now includes more than 350,000 educators around the globe, including nearly 20,000 educators across Southern California.

To help Facing History meet the increased demand for our programs in Los Angeles, an anonymous supporter has offered to SCAN TO MAKE match all donations raised through this edition of The Giving List, up to $100,000.

A DONATION...

Facing History believes young people can become critical thinkers, stand up to bigotry and hate, engage in their communities and strengthen democracy. Your investment will train up to 1,000 new teachers to empower their students to challenge the legacies of injustice and create a more just and equitable world. Visit facinghistory.org/thegivinglist.

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES

Facing History and Ourselves, Los Angeles www.facinghistory.org/thegivinglist 5472 Crenshaw Boulevard #277 Los Angeles, CA 90043

Contact:

Gretchen Blake, Director of Development gretchen_blake@facinghistory.org (213) 202-2811 x828

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– Shayna Triebwasser

Executive Director, Righteous Persons Foundation

KEY SUPPORTERS Annenberg Foundation City National Bank Bill Feldman Tara & Eric Hirshberg Johnny Carson Foundation Maja Kristin Eunice Lee Luminescence Foundation Marmol Radziner Pair of Thieves Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation The Palermo-Ravich Family Foundation Carrie & Ken Richman Righteous Persons Foundation The Rose Hills Foundation MacKenzie Scott Skoll Foundation Florence & Harry Sloan Karen Sulzberger & Eric M.A. Lax Janice White

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MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL:

Promoting American Pluralism

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fter years of negative portrayals of Muslims in American entertainment, a growing number of young American Muslims are heading to Hollywood to help provide a more balanced view.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), based in Los Angeles, has since 1988 worked to promote a better understanding of Islam and to support policies that best impact the nation’s six million Muslims.

The national public affairs nonprofit engages top government, media and community members to improve public perception and to bolster American pluralism – and Muslim inclusion into the American experience.

MPAC has for more than 30 years been a go-to, trusted voice for policymakers, newscasters and community leaders across the country.

Much of the credit goes to its co-founder and president, Salam Al-Marayati, a nationally recognized expert on Islam who has spoken at the White House, testified before Congress, and served as a U.S. representative at international human rights and religious freedom conferences.

“Every time there was violence in the Middle East, they came to us and said we were responsible,” Al-Marayati says. “We had to clarify that we are Americans – that America is a home for Islam, and to explain Islamic values of freedom, mercy, compassion, justice and human dignity.”

It was Al-Marayati who, as a busy volunteer public relations director for the Islamic Center of Southern California, left a budding career in chemical engineering to help found the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

In 1991, with a degree from UCLA, Al-Marayati was thrust onto the national stage during the Gulf War, fielding calls from C-SPAN

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“M

PAC has been serving the community for 30 years now, making a strong stand for diversity of the people, of many different ethnicities, of many different faiths, of many different cultures. We are all standing strong with the Muslim Public Affairs Council.”

— George Takei, Actor

Activist, MPAC Advisory Council

and numerous nightly TV talk shows. A decade later, the phones lit up again after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He was soon named co-chair of the Interfaith Coalition to Heal Los Angeles, formed after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

Since then, Al-Marayati and MPAC have been a voice of reason. Its Washington, D.C., office has over the years hosted more than 150 young congressional fellows to participate in national decision-making.

Its Hollywood Bureau, host of another 200 interns, works with entertainment industry leaders to practice nuanced storytelling about Muslims. It has hosted more than 20 industry panels, while consulting for Amazon, Disney, Netflix and more.

In all, MPAC has helped train more than 600 young Muslim Americans to become policymakers and civic leaders in government, entertainment and such media outlets as NBC, Fox and BuzzFeed.

“It’s an iterative approach – you try to plant seeds everywhere,” Al-Marayati says. “American Muslims can be a bridge to the rest of the world, ambassadors to the U.S., helping our government understand and get through turbulent waters. From our standpoint, we save lives.”

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Testimonial from a Previous CLDP fellow:

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y name is RJ Khalaf, and in 2016 I was a fellow in MPAC’s Congressional Leadership Development Program (CLDP) in Washington, D.C. This program prepares fellows for careers in politics, policy making, and public service, and places interns in Congressional offices to gain firsthand experience.

Interning on Capitol Hill was a longtime dream of mine, and I was assigned to Representative Andre Carson (DIN 7th District) where I learned about the intersectionality of so many issues that impact all communities, including American Muslims.

In D.C., I was amazed by the profound relationships MPAC has built with legislators, with CLDP fellows benefitting from the fruits of that labor.

As my advisor told me, “If you’re not at the table, you’ll be on the menu.”

The CLDP is a uniquely robust, well-structured and networked program where American Muslims gain skills and make connections that put us at the table in ways that benefit us not only in government, but through the rest of our lives and careers.

Writing a New Chapter after CLDP

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ince my fellowship, I graduated from college and started LEAD Palestine, a summer program for refugee youth in Palestine to help build their skills in leadership, self-expression and confidence, and to give them hope. We conducted these series of workshops during the summer of 2017.

Since then, I served as the Muslim Students Association President at New York University where we served the NYU community and built intersectional coalitions against much of the racist policies perpetuated by the Trump Administration. My experience through CLDP helped give me unique insight into the impact of public policy in the lives of marginalized communities.

After graduating from NYU in 2018, I moved back home where I work in my family’s business, KALIFANO. I also volunteer at my local mosque, where I give sermons regularly. I have recently been elected the Vice Chair of the Nevada Muslim Democratic Caucus of Nevada. We are working to build the political and economic power of the Muslim community within the Democratic Party in the state of Nevada.

I have been beyond blessed to have access to countless opportunities throughout my life to follow my heart and passions. MPAC has served a vital role in my development and I take the lessons I learned through the CLDP program as well as the teachings I learn from all of my mentors, like Salam Al-Marayati, in all of my professional endeavors.

– RJ Khalaf

Former MPAC Congressional Leadership Development Program fellow

Closing the Gap SCAN TO MAKE he Muslim Public Affairs Council spends $370,000 a year to house A DONATION... dozens of fellows at its Washington and Hollywood offices, and seeks your help to raise $1 million to triple the number of annual participants. Your support goes toward housing, living stipends and transportation for another three, or even four, 10-week cycles of MPAC interns. In Washington, more than 20 fellows work as staff members for Congress, preparing to become future city officials, members of Congress, CEOs and nonprofit executive ...AND LEARN MORE directors. In Hollywood, interns work with ABOUT THE MUSLIM the MPAC bureau to advocate for better PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL film and TV stories about Muslims, either consulting with industry professionals or organizing screenwriting labs, roundtables and networking events.

A portion of the funds raised go toward scholarships for those from underprivileged communities.

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Muslim Public Affairs Council

Lydia Burgos (323) 258-6722 lydia@mpac.org www.mpac.org 5930 N. Figueroa Street., #421005 Los Angeles, CA 90042

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FRIENDS OF MPAC Adil M. Khan Hassan Zeenni Habib Veera Noor Zubeida Khan Omar Alfi Jr. Nayyer Ali Bayram Arman Soheil Naimi

Google, Inc Facebook Rev. Ed Bacon Connie Rice John Esposito Alicia Sams George Takei Nate Walker

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SOCIAL JUSTICE LEARNING INSTITUTE:

Empowering Communities From Within

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he Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI), based in Inglewood, has taken a three-pronged approach to fighting the inequity since it was founded in 2008.

By empowering young people through education, creating thriving communities, and – importantly – driving change to public policy and systems, SJLI has leveraged its success in South Los Angeles to drive broader, statewide reforms.

“The Social Justice Learning Institute exists to improve the overall education, health, and well-being of youth in communities of color,” says Executive Director Derek Steele, “and we are empowering them to enact social change.”

When it comes to education, SJLI’s Urban Scholars program helps boys and young men of color improve academic competencies, persist through college or career pathways, while becoming agents of change within their community. The program is transforming the life trajectories of young people. Over the past 12 years, 1,700 students have completed the program with an average high school graduation rate of 91%, with 87% going on to enroll in college.

“The Social Justice Learning Institute has helped me realize the power I have to create the change that I want to see within my community,” says Urban Scholars alumnus Kriss’Shon Day. In recognition of the important role nutrition plays in communal health, SJLI has helped plant over 120 public gardens in community spaces in South Los Angeles through its 100 Seeds of Change

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Initiative, which began with the efforts of Inglewood resident and SJLI Health Equity Programs Director Nicole Steele. Their Food Security and Healthy Access Project mitigates food insecurity and empowers community members with knowledge about healthy cooking, nutrition, fitness, and gardening, serving over 20,000 residents throughout South Los Angeles in over 1,800 classes.

The “research institute” part of SJLI flips the script on the definition of “researcher.” Whether it is community members performing a health assessment, or students conducting a Youth Participatory Action Research project, SJLI helps mentor and train community members to conduct their own research within their community. With that groundwork done, community researchers and SJLI partner with other advocacy groups to change local and state laws.

A hallmark of SJLI’s approach is driving social change. By providing culturally relevant teaching, curriculum development, and academic support through a social justice and youth development lens, individuals learn the power of their own voice and how to be an active member of the community.

After attending a Healthy Eating & Active Living (HEAL) course in 2019, Inglewood resident Tianna Casimir was inspired to bring the lessons into her workplace CareMore – a retirement home. She helped form a partnership between CareMore and SJLI where over 500 senior citizens learned how to live healthier lives through their educational outreach. After enrolling her son Amir into SJLI’s Urban Health Fellowship, he became motivated as a youth advocate, helping introduce and promote SB 607 in Sacramento, a bill aimed at ending suspensions for “willful defiance” in California schools – a practice that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown students – that was passed and amended by the State Senate.

Derek Steele is very proud of young people like Amir, who take the knowledge they receive at SJLI and turn it into action.

“Everybody has a role to play in all of this and so it’s important for us that we have folks who have the same heart, the same mind, the same values, so that we can be able to not just bend the needle towards justice, but actually create the equitable future that everyone deserves,” he says.

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“S

JLI is such an important organization, and the Butterfly Equity Foundation is thrilled to call them a partner. They work directly with and alongside their community at the intersection of racial justice, food justice, health equity, educational equity, community organizing, and advocacy. We primarily fund SJLI for their vital food justice programs.

However, we also invest in SJLI because of how they work – addressing so many areas of their community’s well-being simultaneously. We are delighted to see how much their capacity has grown in these last few years, and we cannot wait to see and support what’s next!”

– Emily Parker

Executive Director, Butterfly Equity Foundation

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he Social Justice Learning Institute’s Urban Scholars Program helped me achieve my goals.

I would not even be applying for college if it weren’t for them. They helped me with a lot of steps in life, academically and outside of the classroom. I appreciate their entire organization and would recommend the program for any other Black kid – or any kid for that matter.”

– Alim Washington

Urban Scholar 2021

Help Build the Institution

F

iscal and in-kind donations help support the Social Justice Learning Institute’s core activities, including Urban Scholars Program, Youth Justice Fellowship, and various community food access programs offered throughout the year.

“Come and be engaged in the learning spaces SCAN TO MAKE that we’re creating,” says Executive Director A DONATION...

Derek Steele.

Social Justice Learning Institute info@sjli.org (323) 952-7363 600 Centinela Avenue Inglewood, CA 90302

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE LEARNING INSTITUTE

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KEY SUPPORTERS All Ways Up Foundation Amgen Foundation Angell Foundation Apple Barnes & Thornburg Butterfly Equity Foundation California Community Foundation Erika Glazer ESPN James Irvine Foundation Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles Liberty Hill Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Nike, Inc. Reissa Foundation Target The California Endowment The California Wellness Foundation United Way of Greater Los Angeles Weingart Foundation

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To Your Health “It was so meaningful that here was this concept that was borne around access to health care that has turned into a large multisite, multifunctional organization that really serves the community in such a variety of ways – from the homeless to children to health education to cooking classes to depression, helping people get off narcotics.”

– Dr. Susan Fleischman Former Medical Director and Board Member, Venice Family Clinic

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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VENICE FAMILY CLINIC:

Providing Comprehensive Primary Health Care for People in Need

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enice Family Clinic began in 1970 in a storefront dental office when Drs. Philip Rossman and Mayer B. Davidson saw medical injustice in the community and decided to provide health care to people who couldn’t otherwise afford it.

Fast forward to 2021, and the Clinic will soon include 19 different locations across Venice, Santa Monica, Mar Vista, Culver City, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Redondo Beach, and Carson as it merges with South Bay Family Health Care. The Clinic has a robust street medicine program, which helps it fulfill its mission to provide quality primary health care to people in need. With a target population that’s economically disadvantaged, including the unhoused and the transient, the organization approaches health care in a way that considers both the clinical and social factors that affect patient health. In addition to offering primary care during a single checkup, the Clinic makes behavioral health, dental, and vision care, among other services, available to its vulnerable patient community.

“We call what we do integrated care,” says CEO Elizabeth Benson Forer. “When someone comes in, and the doctor notices that they’re quite depressed, the social worker is right there to talk to them for a bit, do a quick assessment, and then be able to continue to see them in an ongoing way. It also means that the physician and the social worker are keeping the care coordinated, and we do that across substance use, mental health, dental, and our early childhood development program in Early Head Start.”

Once its merger with South Bay Family Health Care is finalized, Venice Family Clinic will serve 45,000 people. All of its patients are low-income, with the majority living below the federal poverty level. Last year, the Clinic celebrated its decades-long mission to fight medical injustice with a variety of events to mark its 50th anniversary.

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As COVID-19 cases surged in 2020, the Clinic started a mobile clinic van to expand care to the unhoused population, vaccinated more than 15,000 people, and broadened its healthy food distribution program. And as demands for racial equity and universal healthcare grew, the Clinic held a series of conversations about healthcare and justice, asking the community to engage in acts of service and kindness during its anniversary period. In addition, the Venice Family Clinic Art Walk & Auction, a 42-year tradition that was previously hosted at Google, was held as an online auction with all proceeds benefiting the Clinic’s programs.

Dr. Susan Fleischman, a board member and donor who once served as the Clinic’s first medical director, calls hitting the 50-year mark a remarkable accomplishment.

“It was so meaningful that here was this concept that was borne around access to health care that has turned into a large multisite, multifunctional organization that really serves the community in such a variety of ways – from helping the homeless and children to offering health education, cooking classes, depression treatment, and helping people get off narcotics,” Fleischman says. “There was just a sense of pride [during the 50-year anniversary] as to what we did. Look at what was built, look at what you can accomplish if you bring patients, donors, volunteers, physicians, and community people together.”

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e have been supporters of Venice Family Clinic for many years, admiring their work in providing innovative, high-quality healthcare for vulnerable children and families. Recently, we funded a mobile clinic van that offers a new way of delivering care to people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. We wanted to make an impact on the ground and we knew the Clinic was the right partner: it is connected to the community it serves, and its staff can effectively implement path-breaking ideas that make a difference in people’s lives.”

– Barry Meyer & Wendy Smith Meyer, Ph.D.

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he Clinic opened many possibilities for changing my life. The people here are amazing. This is my family.”

– Olivia Villa is a babysitter and housekeeper who first came to Venice Family Clinic depressed and overweight with an injured leg.

Through its integrated care model, the clinic diagnosed prediabetes and perimenopause, identified and treated her depression, and finally worked with her to heal her leg and balance her diet. And Villa also accesses the clinic’s free meal program. Today, she regularly takes 45-minute walks, has a healthier A1c level and is plain happier.

Build Health Equity by Supporting “The Power of Us” Initiative

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enice Family Clinic is launching a new fundraising initiative called The Power of Us to demonstrate the collective power we can have to bring greater health and wellness for people in need in our newly expanded service area from the Santa Monica mountains through the South Bay. Fund the Clinic’s innovative services so we can: achieve health equity by ensuring that everyone has access to care regardless of their income, insurance, or immigration status; build mental health access for a community traumatized by the pandemic; control future pandemics and ongoing epidemics with more vaccinations and by managing diseases like obesity, substance use, and diabetes; defeat homelessness, a health and humanitarian crisis plaguing our city; end hunger by providing access to food as medicine; and fight for our children by supporting their development and well-being. Make an annual gift to be directed to today’s highest priorities or talk with us about a special gift to advance one of the solution areas.

Venice Family Clinic venicefamilyclinic.org 604 Rose Avenue Venice, CA 90291

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT VENICE FAMILY CLINIC

KEY SUPPORTERS Dr. Susan Fleischman and Paul Katz Joan E. Herman and Richard M. Rasiej Deanna and Eric Kripke Julie and Dr. Harley Liker Audra and Jeff Nathanson Shulamit Nazarian Analia Saban The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation The David Bohnett Foundation The David Geffen Foundation The Fineshriber Family Foundation The SAM Initiative The Tikun Olam Foundation Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Providence Saint John’s Health Center UCLA Health Google TOMS Wells Fargo

Contact:

Naveena Ponnusamy, Chief Development and Communications Officer nponnusamy@mednet.ucla.edu (310) 664-7932

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UCLA MATTEL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL:

Groundbreaking Care and Research for Children with Complex Medical Conditions

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ick and injured children entering UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital are not only met by a 60-foot welcome wall with messages of hope, healing, and recovery. They’re also greeted by UCLA’s vaunted Chase Child Life specialists, who provide comfort and help ease their fears.

“It’s incredibly important,” says Ellen Haddigan-Durgun, senior executive director of hospital initiatives for UCLA Health Sciences Development. “There’s a level of anxiety that everyone – children and their parents – feels walking into a hospital.”

UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, a vital component of UCLA Health, is ranked among the best pediatric hospitals in the nation – acclaimed for its treatment of vulnerable patients, medical innovation, and its family-centered care environment.

The 71-year-old teaching hospital consistently ranks among the best pediatric hospitals in the country in ratings by U.S. News & World Report. It was also named among the most innovative children’s hospitals in the nation by Parents magazine, and among the top 20 to stand out for its medical advancements, research, family support, and technological innovation.

It was especially noted for prioritizing the comfort of kids and families.

The 131-bed facility consists of a main “hospital within a hospital” inside Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, in Westwood, and a smaller unit at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center.

Its nearly 550 hospital staff work within 17 specialty subdivisions that see 37,000 unique patients, nearly 7,500 inpatients, and

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10,000 ER visits a year.

Its mission is to provide state-of-the-art treatment for children in a compassionate atmosphere, as well as conduct advanced research into pediatric diseases and train the next generation of pediatric leaders.

Designed to serve the most critically ill children in the nation, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital is renowned for its comprehensive, evidence-based clinical care and groundbreaking clinical trials and research.

In the past 10 years, UCLA researchers developed a cure for ADA-deficient SCID, also known as Bubble Baby disease, a severe immune deficiency that can be fatal.

In another case of medical innovation, UCLA doctors cured a four-year-old boy of an often-fatal fungal infection by reprogramming his immune system. The technique may help treat other infections, from Valley fever to tuberculosis to COVID-19.

For nearly four decades, its Chase Child Life Program has been a national model for addressing the social, emotional, and developmental needs of children confused and frightened by the hospital environment.

Twenty-five specialists of the Chase Child Life team connect with kids through stuffed animals, an in-house robot, visiting celebrities and dogs, art and music therapies, as well as holiday events.

“The Child Life Program puts everyone at ease so they can focus on their health,” Ellen Haddigan-Durgun says. “They’re having fun. They can relax. They’re experiencing the joy of play.”

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am proud to be a member of the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital Board. As a grateful parent and dedicated volunteer, I have seen first-hand how the hospital supports some of the most chronically and critically ill children through extraordinary patient care and cutting edge research.”

he Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) deeply values our partnership with UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital as we work to support children and families in need throughout Los Angeles. By funding research around the impact of sports and recreation on children’s health, we are able to better understand how socio-economic barriers influence physical activity and support solutions that address these challenges throughout the communities we serve.”

– Chaitali Gala

Chief Operating Officer

– Lori Milken

UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital Advisory Board Member

Comfort and Calm

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

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he Chase Child Life Program costs between $1.2 and $2 million a year, of which nearly half is funded by donations.

UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital is seeking donations from foundations, corporate partners, and individual philanthropists to help fund its essential services.

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT UCLA MATTEL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Contact:

Danielle Dietz, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Development, Children’s Health (310) 694-6539 ddietz@mednet.ucla.edu www.uclahealth.org/mattel/ 10889 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1200, Los Angeles, CA 90024

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HOSPITAL BOARD MEMBERS Lou L. Adler Page Adler Natasha Beck Melissa H. Bordy Eric Borstein Glenn Bozarth Jeffrey H. Cohen Beth L. Cutler Richard Dickson Beth C. Friedman Nancy Glaser, M.D. Liz Greenspan Alan Kaye

Bobby Khorshidi Louise Linton Jonathan Littman Debbie Lustig Hillary Milken Lori A. Milken Michael A. Paseornek Jodi Perlman Monique Rosenthal Ellen H. Sandler Ray Scherr Carl Schuster Stephanie Shafran

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ADVENTIST HEALTH GLENDALE:

A Heritage of Healing

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ne of Southern California’s oldest and most innovative hospitals, Adventist Health Glendale (formerly Glendale Adventist Medical Center) was founded in 1905 as the Glendale Sanitarium, just a year before the incorporation of the City of Glendale. It was the brainchild of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, who sought to create a new system of healthcare based on the notion that the key to good health is offering patients the best available scientific methods, combined with exercise, rest, and reflection.

After relocating to its current site adjacent to the intersection of the 2 and 134 freeways, the hospital underwent a major expansion and modernization starting in the 1950s and has consistently been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the Best Hospitals in both Southern California and the United States. With 515 available beds and a large team of experienced physicians practicing in a diverse array of medical fields, Adventist Health Glendale now attracts up to one in four patients from outside its immediate service area throughout Greater Los Angeles.

“Adventist Health Glendale is much more than a community hospital,” says President Alice Issai. “We have patients who travel here from all over.” The hospital’s key mission for the future is to not only provide acute medical care for patients but establish itself as a center of community well-being.

“We are incorporating that into our strategic plan, so that by 2030, Adventist Health Glendale will be providing crucial programs to help the people in our communities live longer and happier lives,” Issai says. “We are putting a lot of resources and energy into that.”

Adventist Health Glendale is especially known for treating patients for strokes and cardiovascular diseases. “We are a comprehensive stroke-receiving center,” Issai says. “Not many

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hospitals have those capabilities available on a 24/7 basis.” The hospital treats up to 700 stroke cases per year.

Adventist Health Glendale has become a magnet for patients suffering from COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic. The first two surges in spring and fall of 2020 saw the hospital packed with up to 240 COVID patients per day with 70-plus of them being admitted to intensive care.

“We got through it with good outcomes,” Issai says. “Eighty-five percent of COVID patients were discharged back home, so our community loves us for that.”

Adventist Health Glendale’s current five-year fundraising plan, which was adopted in 2018, calls for an expansion of its operating rooms and the opening of a Comprehensive Breast Center by the end of 2022.

“From imaging work to surgery, patients will work one-on-one with nurse navigators to facilitate their care,” Issai says. “We want to bring it all under one roof as a center for patients who may have a breast cancer diagnosis.”

A key feature of Adventist Health Glendale’s breast cancer treatment program is Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy, or TARGIT-IORT, which provides a single dose of targeted radiation delivered from inside the breast immediately following the removal of the tumor during a lumpectomy. In one dose of targeted radiation, TARGIT-IORT achieves the same clinical outcomes as the up to 30 doses required during External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT).

Inspired and motivated to serve by the Seventh-day Adventist faith, Adventist Health Glendale incorporates spirituality into its services to provide comprehensive care for physical, emotional and spiritual health. Whatever your health needs may be, Adventist Health Glendale offers the experience and compassion you are looking for.

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“he care I received at Adventist Health Glendale not only spared my life, it allowed me, after rehab, to resume a busy and productive life.

When I think of that experience, I ask God to bless the doctors, medical staff, and administration that cared for me in the mission of Adventist Health. In appreciation, my wife, Wendy, and I continue to do what we can to support this outstanding medical center.”

e both have gained far more from Adventist Health Glendale than we have given – far more!,” exclaim Sam and Gracie Carvajal, Adventist Health Glendale supporters.

The Carvajals’ long-standing love for Adventist Health Glendale and their charitable support of the Foundation are sources of great personal satisfaction for this devoted couple.

Their first major gift of two mammogram machines sparked significant technological advances at Sam and Gracie Carvajal Adventist Health Glendale. Thus began the Carvajals’ “journey of donations.”

Sam and Gracie believe giving is something to be cultivated. “We give with pleasure. We give because our blessings are incredible; we give to where our blessings have come. God has a lot to do in our lives. We are a team, guided by Him.” The Carvajals’ generosity will not only benefit patients at Adventist Health Glendale and the community for years to come, but it also ensures the hospital’s long-term financial stability.

– Robert and Wendy De Pietro

KEY SUPPORTERS

Expanding Critical Health Services

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ince 1905, Adventist Health Glendale has served Greater Los Angeles. The medical center attracts patients from throughout Southern California, and specializes in the treatment of strokes, neurological diseases, and cancer.

As part of its five-year plan, Adventist Health Glendale Foundation is currently raising $2.6 million to expand its operating room capacity and establish a Comprehensive Breast Center using state-of-the-art technology to directly target tumors and eliminate the need for repeat hospital visits.

To learn more about Adventist Health Glendale or to donate, please visit adventisthealthglendale.org or call (818) 409-8055.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT ADVENTIST HEALTH GLENDALE FOUNDATION

Adventist Health Glendale Foundation Elizabeth LaBorde, President AHGLFoundation@ah.org (818) 409-8055 1509 Wilson Terrace, Glendale, CA 91206

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Anthony Cardillo, M.D., Glendale Adventist Emergency Physicians Mr. Sam Carvajal, Sr., Community Volunteer Ms. Pat Crouch, Western Resources Title Mr. Arsen Danielian, Esq., Baker, Olson, LeCroy & Danielian Mr. Robert De Pietro, De Pietro Holdings LLC Ms. Amanda Dundee, SAV Entertainment Kamyar Ebrahimi, M.D., Star Urology, Inc. Annette Ermshar, Ph.D., Dr. Ermshar & Associates Harlan Gibbs, M.D., Glendale Adventist Emergency Physicians Mr. Serjik Kesachekian, Success Education Colleges Mrs. Alina Koutnouyan, AOK Consulting, Inc. Edmund Lew, M.D., Lew Medical Marguerite Marsh, Ph.D., Psychotherapist Ms. Helen McDonagh, Massage Envy Spa Glendale & Greater Los Angeles Area Mr. Mica Miyamoto, Hutchinson & Bloodgood LLP Ms. Ellor Parikh, Pari Enterprises, Inc. Rene Pidoux, M.D., Physician Amir Rafie, M.D., Glendale Heart Institute Mrs. Sandy Schultz, Schultz & Schultz Joint Venture Mr. Greg Tufenkian, Tufenkian Fine Arts Mrs. Georgiana Wu, Community Volunteer

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KECK MEDICINE OF USC:

Putting Care for Healthcare Providers First

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n spring 2020, the University of Southern California’s Keck Medicine of USC launched a comprehensive program called Care for the Caregiver to offer relief to healthcare workers serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program offers both financial and mental health support for workers and their families struggling through the ongoing waves of the pandemic. Tammy Capretta, Chief Transformation and Risk Officer, had Steven Siegel, MD, PhD the opportunity to lead Keck Medicine in the launch of Care for the Caregiver.

Steven Siegel, MD, PhD, will serve in the newly established role of the Chief Mental Health and Wellness Officer and lead the clinical programming for Care for the Caregiver.

“This program has been a very concrete way to acknowledge just how difficult it is to be a healthcare worker,” Siegel says. “The pandemic shed light on the long work hours under stressful Tammy Capretta,, Chief Transconditions, and the real health danger to formation and Risk Officer themselves and those at home. All of this is occurring in a healthcare environment that is continually asking more and more of its people in terms of productivity and sacrifice while also acknowledging that reform is needed at the national level.”

Although Keck Medicine of USC launched Care for the Caregiver in 2020, the program was in the works well before COVID struck.

“We’ve pulled together a group of experts for the sole purpose of finding out what our employees need, what stresses they are experiencing, and how we can help,” Siegel says.

As a result, the program offers everything from financial and mental healthcare support to programs such as peer support aimed at improving the quality of work experience for employees.

“If someone needed a therapist or psychiatrist, we underwrote that regardless of where they got their insurance and whether they could pay for it,” Siegel says. “As we move forward, all those elements have led to broader programming that recognizes our caregiver’s unique needs, those needs include the LGBTQ, Black, Hispanic, and veteran communities – whoever and wherever they are, however they need it. We are pushing forward, seeking additional resources so we can continue to reward our healthcare workers for the tremendous sacrifices they make every day.”

Additionally, Keck’s Care for the Caregiver program has been recognized nationally by outlets including U.S. News & World

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Report for its impact on the mental health of healthcare workers.

Leadership at Keck Medicine of USC knew that it needed to recognize the toll that COVID has had on the healthcare community and conceived of the Time of Healing program.

“Time of Healing, a new component of the expanded Care for the Caregiver program, is a program where we focus on how we need to care for ourselves now,” Siegel says. “As we focus on the future, the programming will be expanded to include lectures and drop-in groups to keep the need for healing front of mind.”

Time of Healing includes an interactive COVID memorial art installation where employees can contribute and leave messages and share their experiences.

“The theme is that we weathered the storm,” Capretta says.

“These installations will represent the stones left after the storm, but also the trees and leaves of regrowth, the life that goes forward.

We are trying to make it so people can leave their message, leave their mark and have themselves remembered.”

For Siegel, Care for the Caregiver is the epitome of Keck Medicine of USC’s philosophy of healthcare.

“Our healthcare workers are the Olympians of healthcare,” he says.

“But this is a national issue at all levels. People lack access to mental healthcare. While that problem is beyond the scope of a single institution or single donor, this program does seek to fill a key critical gap for this population.”

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e believe in supporting causes that benefit the greater public good. When we learned about the innovative program, Care for the Caregiver at Keck Medicine of USC, that provides critical support to frontline caregivers – physicians, nurses, technicians, and support staff – we knew that helping caregivers lifts the entire L.A. community. We hope our support made a real difference to these healthcare heroes and their families.”

– Kerri and Chuck Tyler

Help Keck Medicine of USC Provide Care for Caregivers

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eck Medicine of USC’s Care for the Caregiver Program offers comprehensive support for the hundreds of healthcare workers serving on the frontlines of the worst healthcare crisis in the past century.

From financial and mental health support to innovative employee wellness programs, the program is the first of its kind to recognize the heroic work being done by employees whose high-risk jobs expose them to some of the sickest patients in the nation.

To learn more about Keck Medicine of USC’s Care for the Caregiver and to donate, please visit www.keckmedicine.org/emotional-wellbeing-support.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

Keck Medicine of USC Health System Initiatives Kerri Yoder Hubbard, Sr. Executive Director Kerri.Yoder@med.usc.edu (323) 788-1619

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT KECK MEDICINE OF USC

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Health Specialties “There is a lot of love, a lot of respect, a lot of compassion. Plus a lot of teaching, empowering and supporting.”

– Kauser Ahmed Director, Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology

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USC ALZHEIMER’S THERAPEUTIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE:

Progress in the Fight Against Alzheimer’s T

he University of Southern California’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) is using research and analysis to slow the ever-growing Alzheimer’s disease epidemic. “The mission of ATRI is to accelerate the development of effective treatments and preventive measures against Alzheimer’s,” says Paul Aisen, MD, a professor of neurology at USC and founding director of the ATRI. “We now have all the tools we need: promising therapeutics, accurate diagnostics, and sensitive indicators of disease progression. Success is within reach, and investment in our prevention studies can bring major dividends for public health.”

“It’s a one-of-a-kind institute,” says ATRI Program Manager Shelley Moore. “Our team has been doing research for 30 years, so we have been developing the infrastructure of Alzheimer’s research for a long time.

Now, we are moving into primary prevention of the disease by creating better trials for better treatments.”

With just one drug approved nationally by the Food and Drug Administration in the past 18 years, advancement in Alzheimer’s treatment has been slow.

Anybody who has followed Alzheimer’s research knows there is no cure, and the treatments that exist are only modestly effective.

For years, the disease was primarily detected retroactively by discovering plaque buildup, tau tangles, and shrinkage of the brain, particularly the hippocampus where memories are stored, during autopsies. But the onset of Alzheimer’s can be found through a variety of biomarkers, positron emission tomography or PET scans, and now blood tests.

Paul Aisen, MD Shelley Moore What ATRI brings to the table is an approach based professor of neurology ATRI Program on early detection of signs of disease before memory at USC and founding Administrator and loss symptoms even begin. Platforms are built around director of the ATRI Public Outreach what we’ve learned: that amyloid plaques accumulate first, as many as 15 years before symptoms, then tau tangles accumulate as clinical memory issues become measurable.

“The use of biomarkers has changed the way we y mom, Elizabeth, and her brother, Paul, both suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. I bechoose participants for our trials,” Aisen said during lieve Dr. Aisen’s innovative research paves the way for prevention, early treatment, a recent World Alzheimer’s Day event. “Up until the and a cure. Supporting this project funds hope that we can stop this tsunami of Alzheimer’s development of these PET scans, every trial of a diagnoses which disproportionately affects women.” therapeutic treatment only selected participants based – Lisa Up de Graff on a clinical diagnosis, which turns out to be wrong in 20 percent of the cases.”

“These trials are long, and we have to enroll a lot of participants,” he said. “But we are excited to be the first to see if we can make a difference before there is irreversible damage. We are looking for people who wouldn’t normally participate in an Alzheimer’s trial because they don’t have symptoms.”

If the work is successful, it will have laid the foundation for a treatment that can substantially slow the disease’s progression.

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Making Alzheimer’s A Survivable Disease

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lthough there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, the USC Keck School of Medicine’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) is working to make it a disease you can survive.

One project, the APT Webstudy, is for people who want to know their risks and participate in research. Aisen describes it as a way “to connect investigators with people who are at least 50 years of age, and therefore have entered the period of early risk for Alzheimer’s disease” and to track changes and report those changes back to people for discussion with their own clinicians. But it also allows us, the investigators, to analyze that data. And when we think someone is showing a change that indicates a risk, we can suggest that they come in for a blood biomarker test or an amyloid PET scan and we can definitively determine whether they have amyloid accumulation.

For those people who want to participate in clinical trials, they should find out whether they have amyloid. If they do, they can join trials of drugs that remove amyloid that are being conducted now. The APT Webstudy SCAN TO MAKE link is: www.aptwebstudy.org.

A DONATION...

With enough funding, ATRI’s ongoing work, in validating early detection testing and treatments that target those early signs before symptoms occur, promises to revolutionize how the right people can be identified quickly and successfully treated.

To find out more about how to support Keck School of Medicine of USC’s ATRI and to donate, please visit www.keck.usc.edu/atri/support-us.

USC Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute keck.usc.edu/atri/ 9860 Mesa Rim Road, 203 San Diego, CA 92121

Contact:

Shelley Moore, Program Administrator (858) 616-7557 shelleym@usc.edu

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT USC ALZHEIMER’S THERAPEUTIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE

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SIMMS/MANN-UCLA CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE ONCOLOGY:

Whole-Person Cancer Care

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ften a cancer diagnosis makes people feel like their world is about to collapse.

At UCLA Health cancer clinics, patients and families facing this vexing disease are surrounded by a specialized team of helping hands.

“There is a lot of care, a lot of respect, a lot of compassion,” says Dr. Kauser Ahmed, a psychologist and director of the Simms/ Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology. “Plus a lot of teaching, empowering, and supporting.”

The Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology was the first in the nation to establish a model of integrative care for patients and their families touched by cancer. To enhance patients’ whole-person wellness, the Center provides educational and support services that integrate psychological, nutritional, spiritual, and other approaches to healing.

Its unique model is based on a belief, backed by academic research, that treating the medical aspect of cancer is the first part of providing the best in care. Health care – when it is truly comprehensive and integrative – also treats the whole person: mind, body, and spirit.

The Simms/Mann Center offers psychosocial services that include individual and family counseling, nutritional guidance, oncology psychiatry, spiritual care, and other integrative modalities that help support and empower patients and their loved ones through the trajectory of their cancer care.

A Simms/Mann Center team of multidisciplinary clinicians cares for nearly 3,000 patients a year who attend over 20,000 in-person or telehealth appointment visits from 19 UCLA oncology practices

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across Southern California, from Laguna to Santa Clarita, from Alhambra to Santa Barbara.

Highly-trained Simms/Mann integrative clinicians, embedded as a part of the medical team in each oncology practice, work alongside the doctors and nurses to connect with the patient and family, and assist them to develop their own unique pathway to well-being through their cancer treatment.

With few exceptions, patient services are free. “They don’t need to do anything but receive the care and support and get better,” Ahmed says.

The Simms/Mann Center is part of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCLA Health.

The Center is also home to a nationally recognized training program that has been cultivating the next generation of skilled and compassionate medical students, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and chaplains to bring its philosophy of whole person care to Cancer Centers across the country. The Simms/ Mann Center has trained over 100 psycho-oncology experts who share this innovative model with countless patients and a dozen health systems.

The Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology was founded more than 25 years ago and continues to benefit from the vision and the generous support of psychotherapist Dr. Victoria Mann Simms and her husband, Ronald A. Simms.

The couple’s foundation pledged $18 million last year toward a campaign by UCLA Health to create a $50 million endowment, so that the Center’s vital care can be everlasting. The foundation’s commitment includes a gift-matching fund of $6 million.

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pon learning that the Simms/ Mann Center provides a breadth of psychosocial care at no cost to patients and loved ones facing cancer, I knew I wanted to dedicate my philanthropy to them. I know the heavy emotional and financial burden that a cancer diagnosis can bring to a patient and family, and to have the resource of the Simms/Mann Center to help along the way is invaluable.”

– Simms/Mann Donor

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hen I was diagnosed, my world went dark with fear and anxiety. The Center gave me a safe space to voice those fears, get help, and see that I could still live a bright and fulfilling life.

It showed me what was possible and for that, I am eternally grateful. It’s also so helpful that the services are free of charge as the cost of my medical treatment would otherwise make attending impossible.”

– Simms/Mann patient

Life Affirming Care for Patients

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hilanthropic gifts enable this essential cancer care to be provided predominantly free of cost for those who need it, during the crisis that can be a cancer diagnosis.

The Simms/Mann Center is seeking gifts to its annual fund, or to an endowment that will further ensure the perpetuity of the Center’s direct care.

Endowment donations of any amount are matched by the Simms/Mann Family Foundation at 20%. Named endowments can be created for gifts of $250,000 or more, with donors receiving an annual stewardship report.

MATCHING OPPORTUNITY

In our logo, the three petals represent the interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit of each patient. The water droplet is the care team coming to nourish, help, and guide you. The arch connects all the elements into one and further represents the embracing team approach to your care.

ENDOWMENT DONATIONS OF ANY AMOUNT, UP TO $6 MILLION, WILL BE MATCHED BY THE SIMMS/MANN FAMILY FOUNDATION AT 20%

Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology www.simmsmanncenter.ucla.edu 200 UCLA Medical Plaza, Suite 502 Los Angeles, CA 90095-6934

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KEY SUPPORTERS Dr. Vicki Mann Simms and Ronald Simms Marci and Jeffrey Dinkin Lauren and Austin Fite Phillip Gonzales Michele and Ted Kaplan Dr. Emily Lefkowitz and Ted Pascaru Therese Seraphine-Leonard and Andy Leonard Camelia and Jeffrey Lynne Richard Miller Richard Newman Drs. Janie and Allan Orenstein Saul Rosenzweig Mary Saltzburg and Bud Hoffman Marjorie Bach Walsh and Joe Walsh Hinda and Ken Ziskin Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation Joseph Drown Foundation Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research Lotus US Foundation RAR Foundation Simms/Mann Family Foundation

Contact:

Audrey Hiatt, Associate Director of Development ahiatt@mednet.ucla.edu (310) 794-2089

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USC REGENERATIVE MEDICINE AND STEM CELL RESEARCH:

USC Stem Cell Offers Hope for Chronic Kidney Disease

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Team leading the synthetic kidney research (from left): Andy McMahon, Zhongwei Li, and Ken Hallows

ome 37 million people – more than 15 percent of the adult population – suffer from chronic kidney disease, according to the National Kidney Foundation. The disease kills more people each year than breast or prostate cancer, making it the leading under-recognized public health crisis in this country.

To combat this killer, scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC are working on a revolutionary cell-based synthetic kidney research project that could spare patients from painful, time-consuming dialysis and save millions of lives. To wage a multi-front assault on kidney disease, the researchers have partnered with investigators from a wide range of disciplines through the USC Stem Cell initiative, which brings together scientists, engineers, and clinicians from departments, centers, divisions, and institutions across the university and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

One of the key players in the kidney effort is Andrew McMahon, PhD, the W. M. Keck Provost and University Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, and Biological Sciences.

McMahon brings 20 years of experience in studying how a kidney is built from progenitor cells, and in developing stem cell-based disease models known as organoids.

His background as a developmental biologist allows him to approach the task of creating synthetic kidneys by focusing on how embryonic and fetal systems develop an organ system.

“My expertise is how you take a naive group of cells and establish them as a physiologically active organ system, as well as understanding how the kidney establishes itself during normal life,” McMahon says. “To do this you take stem cells, like the ones in an embryo, and you provide them with conditions in which they can self-assemble and organize as they do in development to generate complex structures, brain, eyes, intestines, and kidneys.”

McMahon credits USC Assistant Professor of Medicine and Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Zhongwei Li with leading the university’s research on developing progenitor cells, which are special, short-lived stem cells that only exist in the laboratory setting, and that have proven crucial to creating synthetic kidneys.

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By superimposing images of several of the kidney’s filtering units, known as nephrons, researchers can visualize how little these structures deviate from a stereotypical developmental trajectory (image by Nils Lindstrom/McMahon Lab/USC Stem Cell)

“What nobody has done until now is recognize what the progenitor cells can do,” McMahon says. “Each progenitor cell type has a specific mission. For example, nephron progenitors generate the functional units of the kidney, while vascular progenitors provide the critical blood supply for kidney filtering and resorption. Bringing these different progenitor cells together so they interact is critical for the assembly of a normal, functioning kidney.”

Once the task of creating a functioning synthetic kidney in the lab is complete, the next step will be making an artificial kidney that can be grown in a living animal, specifically a pig, says McMahon.

“Making a full-sized fully functional kidney is the ultimate goal,” he adds. “This will benefit patients by keeping them off dialysis. When a patient enters dialysis, the mean survival time is between three and a half to five years. It is a poor prognosis for them. Our goal is to help them stay off dialysis and enjoy a much more normal life.”

| Los Angeles |

Zhongwei Li, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medicine, Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine

Hope for Those with Kidney Disease

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ithout treatment, chronic kidney disease – which affects one in seven Americans – often leads to kidney failure and then there is only one long-term solution: a kidney transplant. Today, 100,000 Americans are waiting for a new kidney, but only 20,000 kidneys will be available for transplant this year. Doctors and researchers from USC Stem Cell and the Keck School of Medicine’s Division of Nephrology and Hypertension launched a project to use stem cells to build a fully functioning kidney that can replace a failing one. The goal is to make a synthetic kidney that provides sufficient function for a person in renal failure to stay alive and off dialysis while they await a transplant. If successful, a synthetic kidney can save millions of lives and vastly improve the quality of life for individuals awaiting kidney transplants.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

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his will hopefully be the anchor of a new biomedical corridor in the region, where the nation’s most cutting-edge research is conducted by some of the brightest minds in science.”

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT USC STEM CELL

– The late Eli Broad Mr. Broad died on April 30, 2021, after a long illness, less than two months before his 88th birthday

Novel kidney organoid recapitulating the patterned distribution of principal cells (red) and intercalated cells (green) of an adult kidney collecting duct system.

(Image credit by Zipeng Zeng/Li Lab)

Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC (BCC) USC 1425 San Pablo St. Los Angeles, CA 90033 stemcell.keck.usc.edu facebook.com/uscstemcell twitter.com/uscstemcell

Contact:

Minhaal Nathani, Senior Director of Development (213) 220-5945 Minhaal.Nathani@med.usc.edu

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| Los Angeles |

Social and Emotional Wellness “There’s this energy of being greeted when you arrive at the houses. People say our clients learn differently, but they just love bigger than the rest of us.”

– Jennifer Pippard Acting Executive Director, ARC-Cares.org

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A HOME WITHIN:

The Transformational Power of Therapy

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child comes into your life. Your response is an unqualified commitment to them – no matter what they say or whether they reject your advice. You stay, you listen, you build trust, and you move forward together.

For many California children who’ve experienced foster care, this kind of unqualified support is exactly what they receive from the volunteer clinical therapists affiliated with A Home Within, a national organization providing free, high-quality therapy to current or former foster youth.

When Mitchell Findley first heard of A Home Within, he was a teenager who had just aged out of foster care, learning to live an adult life after having been abruptly ejected from the system.

Because of the raft of adverse experiences they have as children, including the trauma of familial dislocation, foster youth suffer from disproportionally high levels of psychological trauma, and Findley’s only experience with counseling was both impersonal and court-mandated.

But connecting with a therapist from A Home Within was a game-changer for Findley, now a senior planner for the San Francisco-based nonprofit Tipping Point Community.

“They asked me questions no one had asked me before,” he says.

“There was no judgment.” By creating an ongoing relationship, his therapist offered Findley space to finally “process all the things I had not been processing.”

Begun around a kitchen table in San Francisco in 1994, this

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national collective of highly-trained professionals has committed to working with vulnerable youth for as long as they need it. In addition to being completely free, A Home Within helps clients find a therapist with whom they are aligned in terms of culture, language, race, or experience. The Oakland-based nonprofit has expanded to 11 states, and now serves more than 500 youth, including young people in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and San Diego.

At the same time, Executive Director Reed Connell says, teletherapy has bloomed during the pandemic. “Being able to see your therapist without having to figure out how to get from Pasadena over to Santa Monica for an appointment has helped our young people weather the trauma and fear of the pandemic.”

Apart from creating easier access to therapy, better technology allows a better matching of youth and clinicians — whether by race, language, identity, or clinical approach. A Home Within is actively working to provide youth with choice regarding their volunteer therapist, and is connecting with a diverse range of dedicated volunteers. Nationally, 6% of psychologists identify as Latinx, and 4% identity as Black. By contrast, in California, A Home Within’s therapists are 19% Latinx and 29% Black.

The program is also transformational for therapists, who through A Home Within earn continuing education credits and participate in clinical consultation groups. For many, it is among their most satisfying therapeutic relationships.

COVID has made plain to everyone how fragile the social and emotional lives of young people are, few of whom are more vulnerable than those without stable homes or support systems.

“There isn’t a parent out there who doesn’t see the impact of isolation and social disruption on their children,” says Connell. “All of us now recognize that every young person needs and deserves support for their mental health.”

| Los Angeles |

“F

or foster youth, whose access to mental health services is often short-term, episodic, or compulsory, the voluntary long-term one-on-one therapy provided by A Home Within’s therapists can be transformative. The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust has long supported A Home Within because it is one of the few organizations that matches foster youth with volunteer therapists who build long-term relationships with youth and commit to working with them for as long as they need. A Home Within is meeting a critical need that has only grown during the COVID pandemic and as mental health challenges continue to be among the top pandemic-related issues cited by youth and youth-serving organizations, A Home Within’s work is more important now than ever.”

– Elisabeth Cutler

Senior Program Officer, the May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust

“T

hank you for doing such amazing work. I have had an A Home Within therapist for over 10 years now and he has transformed my life. I would not be where I am today without him. I still have weekly sessions. I hope to one day be one of your volunteer therapists so I can give back even more.”

– R., A Home Within client in Los Angeles

Expanding the Network

L

ike everyone else, young people in foster care need good mental health and a sense of well-being in order to experience joy, live resiliently, and thrive. There simply aren’t enough publicly funded mental health professionals to provide the support that can truly make a difference in their lives.

Help A Home Within reach its 2021 end of year goal of raising $200,000 to expand its network of volunteer therapists and provide vital mental health support to hundreds more foster youth— without interruption, for as long as it takes. Due to a surge in demand, A Home Within needs resources to recruit volunteer therapists like never before. The organization turns every $1 contributed into $5 of professional mental health support for foster youth.

With your support, as young people transition from foster care, regardless of which stage of life they are in, they will have the inner tools they need to thrive.

Thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program, all donations up to $1,500 will be matched.

A Home Within

www.ahomewithin.org 195 41st Street, #11172 Oakland, CA 94611-9991

Contact:

TGL MATCHING CHALLENGE!

THE FIRST $1,500 WILL BE MATCHED

Reed Connell, Executive Director (510) 387-7518 rconnell@ahomewithin.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Walter S. Johnson Foundation Sarnat-Hoffman Family Foundation Sisters of St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation In-N-Out Burger Foundation Kaiser Permanente The Green Foundation Silicon Valley Community Foundation MYDAR Foundation The Louis and Harold Price Foundation Renaissance Charitable Foundation The Battery Foundation Bella Vista Foundation CASA organizations throughout California Foster Care Research Group at the University of San Francisco 11 California Family Foundations Over 350 Individual Donors

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OUR HOUSE GRIEF SUPPORT CENTER:

Where Grievers Come to Find Hope

Camp Erin Volunteer and Campers enjoying T-shirt signing

A

Girls bonding at Camp Erin

s a volunteer for the first hospice team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the early 1990s, Jo-Ann Lautman comforted patients and their families in a warm and supportive environment. But when the inevitable death occurred, bereaved relatives reentered the real world with no place to go for support. “I could not get that out of my mind,” Lautman says.

So, she created that place in 1993 and named it OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center to provide grievers with a safe and comfortable space to start the process of rebuilding their lives after the devastating death of someone close. The first location, an office in West Los Angeles, was two improvised living rooms – one for children and one for adults – with a trompe-l’oeil window where a painter changed the scenery each season.

Nearly 30 years later, OUR HOUSE is a recognized leader in the field of bereavement. With 18 staffers and over 400 volunteers, it provides compassionate support and hope for thousands of children, teens, and adults across Los Angeles County.

Central to OUR HOUSE’s success is its practice, honed by compassionate and caring clinicians, that includes a pre-group appointment prior to joining a support group that meets every other week. Groups are formed based on age and the type of loss: spouse/partner, parent, siblings, and parents grieving adult children. Groups are led by volunteers trained by the agency’s clinical staff with ongoing supervision by the team to ensure that all are effective and sensitive group leaders.

“Bringing together people who are similarly situated can validate one another’s feelings,” says Board Chair Robyn Santucci. “No other grief support program in L.A. has our depth and breadth.”

Over the years, OUR HOUSE has built a wide network, offering grief support services at its offices in West L.A. and Woodland Hills, through the Los Angeles Unified School District and other

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independent school districts, and through its summer grief camp as well as at satellite locations, including Mid-City/Koreatown.

It also offers grief training for clergy, therapists, teachers, doctors and nurses, and other professionals. For more than 20 years, OUR HOUSE’s Medical Education Program has been part of the curriculum at the UCLA and USC medical schools. In 2014, the nonprofit launched a Spanish Satellite Program for Spanish speakers and provides businesses and schools with short-term On-Site Grief Response support after the death of an employee, student, or community member.

As the pandemic took its toll in 2020, OUR HOUSE pivoted to fully online grief support groups, enabling it to continue providing its critical services for families during this traumatic time. As the county continues to reopen and normalize, OUR HOUSE will be using the lessons learned to offer a hybrid model of grief support, resuming in-person support groups along with maintaining online group meetings to keep extending its reach throughout the community. Since March 2021, there has been a 300% monthly increase in the request for grief support services.

“During this pandemic, we’ve all seen an increase in exposure to grief in the media. For some, it is pervasive in their own communities. Many have experienced a loss of health and lives as well as significant financial, professional, and educational impact because of efforts to control the pandemic,” said Joanne Weingarten, Psy. D., Senior Clinical Coordinator of Adult Programs. “As we slowly move back to a sense of normalcy, people are beginning to move from crisis response, such as navigating basic needs including food and shelter, toward a growing capacity to acknowledge the need for mental health and grief support.” OUR HOUSE is committed to being here for grievers from 4 to 94 and providing vital services to the citizens of Los Angeles.

| Los Angeles |

“T

he work that OUR HOUSE does to help people on their journey from grief and loss towards hope and healing is so important. Grief is universal. Everyone goes through it, but people young and old often need the support of others going through the same situation to know what they’re feeling is normal. There are not many places like OUR HOUSE that offer this opportunity. Especially rewarding is Camp Erin, the grief camp for kids aged 6-17. I’ve seen how the kids arrive so scared and lonely, thinking they are alone in their grief. After three amazing days, they come out with smiles and lifelong friends.

When we support OUR HOUSE, the results are amazing. We feel so good knowing we have made a real difference in someone’s life.

There is no better feeling than that!”

Grateful Camp Erin Campers

– Ellen and Mark

“M

y husband, Michael, was 46, healthy, and taken from me and our daughter too soon when he died. When the pandemic hit, everything changed. I was furloughed from my job and Sofia was schooling from home. I felt much more isolated away from friends, family, and coworkers.

Ellen, Board Member and Mark, OUR HOUSE Supporter

“I learned that OUR HOUSE was doing groups online and that made it so much easier for me and Sofia. By joining a children’s group, Sofia discovered she wasn’t the only kid who had lost a parent. Best of all, I could also join a group and know that what I’m facing is normal because other widows and widowers are facing the same challenges. I was also grateful that OUR HOUSE would work within my budget so we could both attend groups.”

– Elizabeth

Grief Support Group attendee

KEY SUPPORTERS

Walk ’n’ Run for Hope

Stand Up to the Torrent of Pandemic Grief

A

s death rates have risen from COVID, gun violence, and the effects of an economic slide that has disproportionately struck the most vulnerable, OUR HOUSE has seen the need for its service more than triple.

To meet that demand, the nearly 30-year-old nonprofit has a simple, but important ask: Please help it hire the staff it needs to meet this crushing demand.

Your donation will help OUR HOUSE lead the bereaved through some of the hardest moments of their lives and find hope.

Boy with Luminary

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR HOUSE

Our House Grief Support Center www.ourhouse-grief.org 21860 Burbank Blvd. Suite 195 Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Contact:

Shannon Boren, Director of Operations shannon@ourhouse-grief.org (818) 222-3344

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Carol & Rand April Charlotte & Adam Baratta Saul Brandman Foundation Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund Cedars-Sinai Joseph Drown Foundation Nancy & Mike Eisenstadt Marci & Greg Foster Laurie Burrows Grad The Green Foundation Anthony & Francesca Guagliano Hillside Memorial Park & Mortuary Glen & Natalie Kraemer Jo-Ann Lautman The Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation New York Life Foundation Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Sheri & Marc Rapaport Annette & Leonard Shapiro Tower Cancer Research Foundation Ruth & Dennis Wasser Windsong Trust

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CALIFORNIA CHILDREN’S TRUST:

Forever Changing California’s Commitment to the Emotional Well-Being of its Children

D

riving real, lasting social change requires clear vision, an ability to articulate that vision, and then the ability to ensure it all becomes reality.

When it comes to California’s children, Alex Briscoe – a man who has led a $700 million county health department, high-level philanthropic initiatives, and now the California Children’s Trust – has done all three. Around him, Briscoe has built a brain trust of cross-sector leaders all committed to using their experience and expertise to reform child-serving systems in the state to improve children’s emotional wellness.

The need could not be more acute. And the Children’s Trust’s gains in the three short years since launching are stunning in scale and promise.

“When you look at what’s driving poor health outcomes for kids, poor outcomes period, it is social and emotional challenges,” Briscoe says in his typical cataract of semantically laden words. “It’s putting kids in the emergency department at twice the rate as 20 years ago. It’s the leading cause of school failure. Our future hopes rely on more effective ways of helping young people deal with trauma and adversity. We see behavioral health as the essential tool for achieving a more just and equitable culture and society.”

The vision is clear and well-articulated, but what of the results?

The Children’s Trust sees tapping Medicaid, the huge, open-ended federal entitlement that funds healthcare for the poor, as a clear path to unleashing the flood of dollars needed to meet the staggering mental health crisis afflicting California’s children.

In particular, Briscoe and the team are focused on the Early and Periodic, Screening, Treatment and Diagnostic (EPSDT) benefits carved out of the massive 1965 law by the military, which recognized that a strong army requires emotionally stable children.

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Currently a mere 5% of children on Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid) receive a behavioral health service. The Children’s Trust’s strategy is to change the rules, so that the trigger for services is like a vaccine, preventative not responsive.

“We need to change the definition of mental health from a response to pathology,” Briscoe says. “Because what is making kids sick is not their pathology. It’s a culture that equates fame with merit, and wealth with value.”

So, the Children’s Trust engineered the “most fundamental change to the definition of medical necessity in California’s history,” Briscoe says. This was done by rewriting the medical benefit to remove diagnosis as a prerequisite, unleashing $4.4 billion in the state’s 2021-22 budget.

The Trust also created a practical guide for school districts – downloaded 20,000 times – which, coupled with budget changes in Sacramento, will help draw $12 billion in social and emotional supports for California students.

But what Briscoe and company are most proud of is the fact that they have also helped to change who can be mental health providers.

“The essential strategy for equity and justice and children’s mental health is the shifting of agency and power away from a healthcare system that pathologizes low-income communities of color and is primarily run by a white professional class,” Briscoe says.

Thanks in part to the Trust’s advocacy, the state, in its 2021-22 budget, has created four new classes of mental health workers, all paraprofessionals who can be hired from the very communities most afflicted by social and emotional stress.

Briscoe sums it up with a series of fast-fire questions.

“Did we remove the diagnosis? Do we generate a multibillion-dollar investment? Did we send it to our schools? Is the boulder rolling? Yes. “What we’re going to spend our last three years doing is focusing on shifting agency and power through the mechanism of these new provider classes.”

| Los Angeles |

“Z

ellerbach Family Foundation was committed to finding a solution to California’s children’s mental health crisis.

In 2017, we convened a group of stakeholders that resulted in seed funding to jump start and help grow California Children’s Trust (CCT) as a policy advocacy coalition to re-imagine California’s approach to children’s behavioral health and use Medi-Cal as a tool for equity and justice for historically marginalized and underserved children. Fast forward to the 2021-2022 state budget with nearly $10 billion committed to the behavioral health and well-being of children – in schools, health care, early childhood programs, child welfare. Although no single coalition or effort can take responsibility for this unprecedented investment and state-level commitment, CCT has become a leading voice with policymakers, and its strategic and persistent advocacy helped change minds and pave the way for a reimagined children’s behavioral health system that includes structural and cultural changes along with increased investment.”

“I

started working with Alex Briscoe and the CCT team as part of my Youth Advocacy Board role with the California Coalition for Youth (CCY). My first conversation with Alex was life-changing – literally – because he helped set me on a path of realizing my vision of launching a statewide high school peer-to-peer mental health support program. Through weekly conversations, numerous professional connections, and openly and genuinely sharing the unbelievable wealth of information that he and the CCT team have to transform California’s youth mental health system, my vision is taking shape. I have no doubt that CCT’s work will change the lives of youth across California, and it will not only happen FOR youth, but WITH youth.”

– Amy Price

Program Executive, Zellerbach Family Foundation

– Nghia Do

Student Advocate and CCY Youth Advocacy Board member

A Catalytic, Exponential Investment in California’s Children

T

he California Children’s Trust is a time-bound initiative.

Over the next three years, if Principal Alex Briscoe and the team are right, California will be well underway towards a children’s social and emotional well-being rebirth.

Unlike so many nonprofits, what donors get from their investment in the Trust is not meals delivered, young people trained, or even trees planted. It is catalytic, leveraging enormous untapped federal funding streams and creating new ones THE FIRST $1,500 at the state level that promise to WILL BE MATCHED change the future for millions of California children.

The team seeks $350,000 to support its important work to this end.

Thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program, all donations up to $1,500 will be matched.

TGL MATCHING CHALLENGE!

California Children’s Trust Alex Briscoe alex@cachildrenstrust.org (415) 629-8142 www.cachildrenstrust.org

KEY SUPPORTERS Jennifer Tracey, Zero to Three Ben Miller, Well Being Trust Deborah Kong, David and Lucile Packard Foundation September Jarrett, Heising-Simons Foundation Lisa Stone Pritzker, Lisa Stone Pritzker Foundation Rajni Dronamraju and Elizabeth Hawkins, Genentech Shirin Vakharia, Marin Community Foundation Sarah Crow, First 5 Policy Center Chandrika Zager, Marin County Behavioral Health Dan Tuttle, Stupski Foundation Theresa Zighera, First 5 San Francisco Jay Liao, Our Children Our Families Council Katie Albright, Safe & Sound Kimberly Ricketts, Casey Family Programs Chevon Kothari, Sacramento County Health Care Services Agency Thanh Do, First 5 Santa Clara Kim Belshe, First 5 Los Angeles Catherine Teare, California Health Care Foundation Pedro Arista, Hellman Foundation Susannah Sarlo, The Susie Sarlo Family Fund Cecilia Oregon, Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy Studies Dr. Anda Kuo, UCSF Center for Child and Community Health

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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ARC-CARES.ORG:

Activities, Recreation & Care: Loving Bigger

I

n the 1960s, there were few services available to parents who were raising children with Down syndrome. Refusing to accept the bleak expectations for their children, Los Angeles mothers Dixie Henrikson and Mary Schallert would meet in a small North Hollywood Park so that their daughters, who both had Down syndrome, could play together like other children with as few limitations as possible.

“Back in those days, the world was not a safe place for families with children with Down syndrome,” says Jennifer Pippard, Acting Executive Director of Activities, Recreation & Care for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (ARC-Cares). “There was no expectation that their children would even live, let alone thrive, so parents had to make very hard decisions on their own.”

Inspired by wanting a place where their children and others like them could socialize and grow with their peers into adulthood while living their best lives, Henrikson and Schallert started ARCCares. It began as a camp where people with Down syndrome could socialize and enjoy many normal activities and experiences in a safe, family environment. Today the North Hollywood-based organization offers free day and weekend programs as well as live-in housing for its clients, primarily adults with developmental disabilities of all types, not just Down syndrome.

ARC-Cares offers everything from health and wellness education, cooking and socialization classes, arts and music, to marathon training and museum expeditions. The organization has a recently updated apartment building and residences where clients live and enjoy Independent Living services. ARC-Cares employs 24 full-time staff members and serves between 50 and 100 people every day through its programs.

“There’s a very strong sense of community here,” Pippard says.

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“It’s not unusual for our clients to have grown up together, and to live with people they’ve known for 15 to 20 years.”

Clients at ARC-Cares are protected and safe, but not separate from the world. Some volunteer or hold down parttime jobs. Clients participate in a Bell and Chime choir that gives performances for groups, clubs, and even the Los Angeles City Council at City Hall.

“We want them to be in the world just like any of us, and also have the autonomy and dignity to live as they wish,” Pippard says.

The organization measures its successes by the health and wellbeing of the people they serve. Although they focus on catering to individuals between 22 and 59, they have older residents stay if their health allows: the most senior is Teddy, who is 66, and has been at ARC-Cares since he was in his late 30s.

Pippard says the organization’s growth and success has put it in “uncharted territory.”

“When ARC-Cares was created, it was never expected that any of our clients would live past 30, but innovations and support systems for people with Down syndrome like ARC-Cares have allowed them to thrive. Residents at ARC-Cares are happily enjoying their lives.”

“There’s this energy of being greeted when you arrive at the houses,” Pippard says. “People say our clients learn differently, yet they love bigger than the rest of us.”

| Los Angeles |

“I

have spent a career in business that has benefited me and made millions for those I have worked with and for.

To now be able to share what I have learned, offer ideas, and give my perspective to help the clients and families of ARC is some of the most rewarding work I have ever been a part of.”

– Jeff Butler

President, CIG Financial

KEY SUPPORTERS

Melinda and her coach Lisette after completing the L.A. Big 5K

“M

y favorite thing at ARC is running the Marathon. My running partner is my coach Lisette.”

– Melinda, age 33

Lisette is an ARC Teacher in their Day Program

Opening More Doors

O

ne of ARC-Cares’ strengths is adaptability. During the pandemic, the organization held virtual dance classes for their Day Program participants including sing-alongs to classic tunes like “The Time of My Life” and workout classes with aerobic exercises, even producing video performances with holiday themes for the entire community to enjoy.

“We were completely virtual within 30 days,” says Jennifer Pippard. And it’s this flexibility that ARC-Cares is hoping to build on, adding more services to its roster including a social enterprise component that will focus on employment skills.

The organization is also looking to serve even more individuals with Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. It’s planning on a multi-million-dollar expansion on an empty lot it owns to grow its live-in residences and upgrade its Day Program facilities. ARC-Cares’ plan is to hire an architect to begin work on the project by February 2022.

Thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program, all donations up to $1,500 will be matched.

TGL MATCHING CHALLENGE!

ARC-Cares.org

THE FIRST $1,500 WILL BE MATCHED

(818) 762-4365 www.arc-cares.org 6456 Whitsett Ave. North Hollywood, CA 91606

Contact:

Jennifer Pippard, Executive Director jpippard@arc-cares.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

ARC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mary Ann Barnes, ARC Board Chair, Freelance Writer Jeff Butler, ARC Board Vice Chair, President, CIG Financial Patricia Walker, ARC Board Treasurer, CBS Broadcasting (Retired) Sharon Trocki-Miller, ARC Board Secretary, Special Education teacher (Retired) Rich Cooper, President, CTI Neil Hartman, MD, PhD, Psychiatrist Larry Schallert, LCSW, College of the Canyons John Wilson, Vice President, Finance & Treasurer at Otsuka America, Inc SUPPORTERS Don S. Levin Trust John Gogian Family Foundation Woodland Hills Woman’s Club Angela Whitman Foundation Comerica Bank PARTNERS L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian L.A. City Councilman John Lee Down Syndrome Association of L.A. (DSALA) Harvard-Westlake School Loyola High School of Los Angeles Lanterman Regional Center North Los Angeles Regional Center Born to Act Players

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| Los Angeles |

Homelessness & Workforce “As a society, we’re really not very good at creating access to mental health care.

It’s often offered within the four walls of the mental health institution. You have to penetrate that institution to get help, and we’re talking about people who are homeless and the least able to manage getting that help.”

– Tod Lipka President and CEO, Step Up

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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A Familial Legacy of Giving Back

by Gwyn Lurie

C

asey Wasserman is firmly established as an influential civic and business leader in Los Angeles. But this mogul’s contemporary philanthropic journey is also rooted in the past, when another mogul, his grandfather, Lew Wasserman, along with his wife, Edie, modeled for him a life dedicated to giving back. The entertainment executive, sports agent, and chairperson of LA28 (2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games) has a full plate these days. But Wasserman’s commitment to philanthropy, a priority learned from a lifetime of Saturday and Sunday breakfasts with Grandpa Lew until his death in 2002, remains a primary focus.

So, was Casey Wasserman’s commitment to philanthropy inherited genetically? He says no.

“My grandfather was a big believer that there’s not a giving gene. And I think he’s right, that no one is born with the innate desire to give their stuff away. Whatever that stuff is – time, resources, money, pick your attribute or your asset, if you will.

Instead, he believed in teaching me the importance of giving.

The importance of providing for others. The importance of being engaged, and active, and caring about others. Not just with money, but with time, and relationships, and resources. It was part of my everyday life. And I believe that’s what allowed me to have that understanding.

“My grandfather benefited from a society that was supportive and created opportunities. He benefited from a societal structure that allowed him to work his way up the system.

But there are people who may not have that opportunity, who are less fortunate, who have other issues, who have other challenges. And he always said the two things we will always do is, one, happily pay our taxes and two, give away our money.”

While the Wasserman Foundation supports hundreds of nonprofit organizations each year, a significant amount of its efforts reflects Wasserman’s passion for public education.

“I believe that it is everyone’s absolute right to have access to a good education. Education is not a privilege; it is a right.

And, I don’t believe you can have a successful community, city, society if you don’t have that opportunity. Take any kids from any school in some of the most economically challenged communities, under-invested-in school districts, and put them in any good school in a community that supports its system, those kids are going to do great. So, we spend a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of money investing in public education, and we do it almost entirely in Los Angeles, and almost entirely

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within the Watts community. We try to level the playing field in any and every way we can.”

According to Wasserman, one important avenue for doing that is through public-private partnerships, which he says are vital to achieving a lot of important goals.

“The one thing most big problems have in common is scale.

And very rarely can an individual donor solve a scale problem.

Even if a donor has near unlimited funds, the resources to execute usually exist in the public sector, not the private sector.

And I think instead of looking at them as a roadblock, they should look at it as an opportunity to execute and produce better results for whatever the issue.”

Wasserman insists that you can’t make meaningful improvements in education without scale. His significant, long-term investment in the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, co-founded by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, supports 19 LAUSD schools in Watts, Boyle

| Los Angeles |

Heights, and South Los Angeles. One of the largest, in-district, public school transformation organizations in the United States, the Partnership’s model relies on sustainable solutions applied to 19 campuses that can then be scaled to improve outcomes for all students in the District. As part of his investment in the Partnership, Casey, and the Wasserman Foundation, along with 150-plus volunteers, help renovate and beautify one school per year as part of an annual Wasserman Serve Day. This year there are 21 Wasserman Serve Day projects across six countries worldwide.

Another example of Wasserman partnering with institutions is his 10-million-dollar gift to the UCLA CARES Center, dedicated to encouraging the development of resilient, emotionally healthy children. A UCLA alumnus and longtime booster, Wasserman says his impetus to fund the UCLA CARES Center came from personal experience in his family with anxiety.

“The one thing most big problems have in common is scale. And very rarely can an individual donor solve a scale problem. Even if a donor has near unlimited funds, the resources to execute usually exist in the public sector, not the private sector. And I think instead of looking at them as a roadblock, they should look at it as an opportunity to execute and produce better results for whatever the issue.”

“CARES is about childhood anxiety. And as we have seen, mental health is a real challenge, and a real issue for many people all over the world. And a lot of the challenges come from how to identify anxiety and answering questions such as, how do you handle childhood anxiety? There are things that can make kids with anxiety work through their challenges better. I was fortunate enough to have resources to help us through our personal issues. And, if you have resources, you can work through childhood anxiety, pretty successfully. And, if you don’t, you’ll really have a huge uphill battle in a situation that’s already unbelievably difficult and complicated.”

While public education is a big focus for Wasserman, his social impact work has many tentacles. Wasserman currently serves as the head of L.A.’s Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games; I wondered how this connects, if at all, with his philanthropic and social advocacy work. Turns out it does.

Wasserman was 11 years old in 1984 and remembers vividly how the Olympics dramatically changed the city he lives in

and loves. So, when Mayor Eric Garcetti asked him to lead the effort to bid for the future Olympics, Wasserman happily took on the challenge.

“Because it’s L.A., because of the incredible stadiums, sports facilities, and universities we have here, we will deliver the Games in a way that is truly unique. If we do our job right, we can leave an economic and philanthropic driven legacy from hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games that’s truly unprecedented.”

“The Olympics and Paralympics of Los Angeles are a nonprofit. And, because it’s L.A., because of the incredible stadiums, sports facilities, and universities we have here, we will deliver the Games in a way that is truly unique,” Wasserman says. “If we do our job right, we can leave an economic and philanthropic driven legacy from hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games that’s truly unprecedented.

We’ve already committed $160 million to bring more access to sports for kids across the city of L.A. That’s the largest single investment in youth sports in any city in the history of this country. And we haven’t even had the Olympics yet. I’m proud to be in charge, and I’m proud that I’m a volunteer. And I will be incredibly proud that if we do our job right, we will leave a legacy for the community for many years to come.”

Beyond the sports legacy, Wasserman believes the Olympic and Paralympic Games are a powerful stage for anti-racism advocacy. In June 2019 Wasserman urged the International Olympic Committee to amend the guidelines that support Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which states that “No kind of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues, or other areas.”

“I don’t believe being anti-racist is political,” Wasserman insists. “The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the ultimate manifestation of representing equality and inclusion. It is the perfect platform to tell that story, and to allow athletes to tell that story. The world is coming to an awakening that’s long overdue. And, what a great opportunity for an event that has no equal in terms of scale, and reach, to show the world we can all view ourselves in the same way.”

| www.thegivinglist.com |

183

JOVENES:

Creating Homes & Hope for Homeless Youth & Students

F

rom its roots as a shelter for adolescent Latinos in 1989, Jovenes has become a leading provider of support services for homeless youth by recognizing, as Executive Director Andrea Marchetti says, that “homelessness is not just a housing problem.”

Since taking the helm in 2010, he has ambitiously expanded Jovenes’ mission, building a continuum of care to help the youth it serves lead productive, self-sufficient lives. That portfolio includes short- and long-term housing options, rigorous case management, and partnerships to address needs like healthcare, mental health, employment and education. In recent years, Jovenes’ housing capacity has quadrupled to accommodate 400 youth, and its staff has grown from 10 to 75.

Marchetti’s team often discovers hidden populations and unmet needs of vulnerable youth. In 2015, Jovenes organized community college tours to encourage its older clients to enroll. As college officials pitched higher education as a stepping stone out of poverty, they surprised Jovenes staffers by asking for help with their own homeless crisis.

Turns out, one in five students at Los Angeles-area commuter colleges has no permanent home to commute from.

“We encountered a problem that even we weren’t fully aware of,” says Eric Hubbard, Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships. So Jovenes got right to work on a solution. The result is the College Success Initiative (CSI), a pioneering student-housing strategy that started in partnership with community colleges and has expanded to four-year schools.

Now in its sixth year, CSI has given over 200 students one less thing

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to worry about as they pursue their degrees. It’s working: Virtually all the participants have maintained steady housing and almost twothirds have graduated or are still enrolled – putting these hardship students nearly on par with overall graduation rates at community colleges. CSI’s 42-strong class of ‘21, which includes two graduates from December 2020, earned diplomas ranging from associate’s degrees from Cerritos College to the program’s first master’s graduate from California State University Long Beach.

Thanks to Jovenes’ success and its advocacy for California to fund programs supporting students experiencing homelessness, CSI has become the model for other communities where housing insecurity is a major impediment to finishing college. The initiative is just one example of how Jovenes innovates and tailors solutions that benefit homeless youth far beyond its service area in southeast L.A. County.

“I’m proud that we try to be a learning organization, to understand what the need is before just coming out with ideas and pushing those ideas from top down,” says Marchetti.

Jovenes’ novel solutions include “The Village,” California’s first college-housing project exclusively for homeless students. Cerritos College bought land near its campus, and Jovenes leases the units to provide no-cost housing for 28 students. Working with L.A. County, Jovenes converted part of the shuttered Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey into the area’s first emergency shelter solely for young women. Opened in 2021, the 20-bed facility is a metaphor for Jovenes’ mission: A grim former incarceration center is now a welcoming, safe space with support services to steer homeless youth toward a more promising future.

| Los Angeles |

“I

support Jovenes because I believe in their mission, in the youth they serve, and the ways my donations have a multiplying impact. Like many nonprofits, Jovenes is filled with compassion, but they operate like a business that develops a strategy, implements a plan, and then uses metrics to continually adapt and ensure success. Jovenes shares what they learn so their strategies can be replicated and impact youth across California. Most importantly, they meet youth where they are at, treat them with respect, and help them feel accepted so they can have positive feelings of self-worth and an opportunity for success. I’m proud to support Jovenes and their youth, and I invite you to join me in investing in their future.”

– Candis Duke

Jovenes donor

“J

ovenes’ College Success Initiative was a miracle for me. I am now in a better living situation where I am able to grow and heal from past traumatic events. Thanks to this program, I’m doing much better in my classes and passing with good grades. I have the opportunity to focus on school without having to worry about survival. The best part of all is that now I have the chance to grow and learn more about myself. Jovenes provided me with a new life. I didn’t think I’d ever have that chance.”

– Leina

Cerritos College Student Jovenes Client

Help Provide a Home for Youth

J

ovenes is one of L.A.’s most innovative organizations addressing youth homelessness, and your financial support will directly impact the youth it serves. Your donations will help Jovenes continue to scale its programs to support youth and college students experiencing homelessness while providing the individualized care SCAN TO MAKE that these young people need. In A DONATION...

2022, Jovenes will open new housing opportunities for homeless youth and expand its partnerships to reach more young people in need, while investing in evaluation in order to foster a learning environment for constant improvement.

Jovenes hopes you will reach out to learn more about the agency, take a virtual tour of our facilities, and explore ways that you can contribute to ...AND LEARN MORE making lasting change in the lives of ABOUT JOVENES homeless youth.

Jovenes

Eric Hubbard, Director of Development & Strategic Partnerships (323) 260-8035 x108 EHubbard@jovenesinc.org www.jovenesinc.org

KEY SUPPORTERS The California Wellness Foundation The Ballmer Group The Weingart Foundation The Peter & Candis Doerken Foundation The Hezlep Family Foundation The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Family Foundation Lauren Coker Eliseo & Sue Tenorio Jess Montes

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Rafael & Linda Ramirez David Valdez & Eric Hsu Krystal & Kevin Finkel Deana Ng Tina Birungi Dr. Yolanda Aguerrebere Lucas Rivera Fr. Richard Estrada Marilyn Wells Susan Baughman Jennifer Taw

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STEP UP:

A Place to Call a Permanent Home

Diamond, a young adult client, checking in for a workforce development session at Step Up on Second Street.

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Step Up client Jesse with his wife and two young children near his apartment in West Hollywood hopes everyone will support Step Up’s life-changing work.

usan Dempsey’s son Mark was in college when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The illness changed his life, causing him to drop out of school and drift away from his friends. Susan desperately looked for help, but it was the 1980s, and services for anyone with a mental illness were hard to find. So, Susan stepped into action and created a place for Mark and others with mental illness who were stigmatized and often left living on the streets.

Step Up’s first location was a drop-in center that opened in 1984 in Santa Monica that provided individuals with mental health conditions a safe place to gather and created a sense of belonging, connection, and community.

“As a society, we’re really not very good at creating access to mental health care,” says Tod Lipka, the nonprofit’s president and CEO. “It’s often offered within the four walls of the mental health institution. You have to penetrate that institution to get help, and we’re talking about people who are homeless and the least able to manage getting that help.”

Step Up provides permanent supportive housing to chronically homeless individuals who are suffering from serious mental illness or in need of mental health support. The organization challenges the deep-seated mindset on mental illness that focuses on housing last, only after mental health issues are addressed. That traditional approach isn’t effective, Lipka says. Step Up measures its success on its 97% retention rate, which is a measure of how many residents remain in the free studio supportive housing apartments for longer than a year.

“We say housing shouldn’t be the culmination of recovery, it should be the foundation for recovery because recovery on the street is virtually impossible,” Lipka says.

The charity has scattered studio apartments and apartment buildings converted from blighted motels throughout Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Pasadena, and in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Monterey, and Sacramento counties as well as in the states of Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. Since its inception, Step Up has provided permanent supportive housing and case management services to thousands of former-

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| Los Angeles |

ly chronically homeless individuals. Today, Step Up is providing life-changing housing, mental health, and case management services to over 1,800 individuals. And it’s already working to increase those numbers with plans to build 20 new sites that will nearly double its current housing capacity. The housing developments are run by trained mental health experts who work with the residents to provide mental health and addiction recovery, life skills, vocational training, and resume building skills.

“We want to empower individuals to cultivate lives of hope and dignity,” Lipka says.

The organization helps everyone from veterans with PTSD to youth with substance abuse issues and offers individuals a home for life.

“The outcome we’re looking for is not that they ‘graduate and move on.’ It’s that they stay housed,” Lipka says.

Step Up team member conducting outreach.

“T

hrough my work as an actor on NBC’s medical drama New Amsterdam, I have been fortunate to work with writer Dr. David Foster. In his writing on the show and in conversations with me, he has spoken about his previous work providing medical and health care to the homeless in Los Angeles. He painted a vivid picture of the many people living on the streets who have mental and physical disabilities. I have always felt a strong affinity for those living with mental health issues though was unsure of what I could do to help. But I knew I wanted to.

“David introduced me to Step Up and I can see, firsthand, the tremendous impact this charity is having and the incredible difference they are making not only helping people on the streets but ending homelessness. This is a humanitarian issue affecting so many of the most vulnerable in our society. This is why I am honored to work alongside Step Up in their fight to end homelessness.”

– Janet Montgomery

Lead actress on NBC’s New Amsterdam

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unnie’s life journey has been challenging, after aging out of foster care at age 18, she experienced homeless on the streets of L.A. After building trust with Step Up’s staff, she not only regained a home, but also her dignity and desire for a better life. Sunnie proudly shares her personal experience to help others: “I’m trying to help other people in my shoes become in a better place like I am now… Everyone deserves a roof over their head… no one deserves to be homeless.” Sunnie’s story is testimony of how Step Up can change lives when we come together!

Staying Housed

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ver the next year, Step Up will be running its “Bring 1,000 Neighbors Home” campaign, aiming to house that many new chronically homeless people across California.

“Housing is a life-saving prescription,” says President and CEO Tod Lipka. “We’re disrupting the current housing system, but the fundamental problem is that we don’t have enough houses. We’re working to scale up housing development so there are sufficient units for the people who need it.”

Step Up is looking to raise $5 million to cover buildSCAN TO MAKE ing infrastructure, motel conversions, furniture, and A DONATION... mental health services, as well as maintaining their roster of 350 staff – from case managers and therapists to nurses and psychiatrists. The organization has a number of ambitious projects on the go in L.A. County, including five new veteran housing facilities, and a handful of motel conversions.

“Our ideal donor is someone with compassion,” Lipka says. “Someone who really understands the needs of the chronically homeless and wants to help those individuals rejoin the community and regain their dignity.” ...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT STEP UP

Step Up

www.stepup.org 1328 Second Street Santa Monica, CA 90401

KEY SUPPORTERS Ahmanson Foundation Senator Ben Allen Assemblyman Richard Bloom and Robbie Black Conrad N. Hilton Foundation The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Dr. David Foster George Hoag Family Foundation Aileen Getty Corky Hale The Home Depot Foundation Kaiser Permanente Foundation Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation Senator Sheila Kuehl Congressman Ted W. Lieu Janet Montgomery Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Martin and Janet Sheen Zev Yaroslavsky

Contact:

Lynne S. Elwan, Chief Development Officer (310) 696-4510 ext.2200 | LElwan@StepUp.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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LA FAMILY HOUSING:

Permanent Homes and Ongoing Support for Angelenos Experiencing Homelessness

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he mission of LA Family Housing can be summed up in one sentence, according to President and CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer: “Our goal is to permanently end homelessness in people’s lives.”

Since the 1980s, the organization has lifted economically disadvantaged people out of poverty and homelessness. Doing so has entailed everything from paying off back rent and negotiating with landlords to lease their units to LA Family Housing program participants. The organization now owns and operates 27 properties and is in the process of developing 13 more. Those additions will expand LA Family Housing’s number of apartment units by nearly 700. Although the organization also develops and operates interim housing, making permanent homes available to Angelenos in need remains the priority.

“LA Family Housing has recognized that there are multiple strategies to end homelessness in people’s lives and multiple paths out of homelessness, but all paths need to lead to a home, a permanent residence that people can afford,” Klasky-Gamer says.

“So, we are both a real estate development company and one of the county’s largest homeless service providers.”

But the nonprofit’s work does not begin and end with permanent housing. LA Family Housing includes street outreach, case management, interim housing, and housing stabilization teams who continue supporting their participants after they move into their homes.

“We don’t just measure success by how many people moved

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into a permanent home,” Klasky-Gamer says “We look at how long they retain that home after at least two years, and we have a 94% success rate of people staying in their permanent home once they’ve moved in.”

In the wake of the pandemic, Los Angeles’ housing crisis has intensified, leading LA Family Housing to nearly double its budget and staff — from 250 to 475. After the lockdown began, the nonprofit worked with the city to move 700 people experiencing homelessness into hotels and motels in just three weeks as part of the Project Roomkey program. LA Family Housing also educated individuals living outdoors about how to avoid spreading or contracting COVID-19 and distributed personal protection equipment to that end. At one point, the organization also partnered with private corporations and restaurants to deliver 1,300 meals daily to Angelenos experiencing food insecurity.

Before and during the pandemic, LA Family Housing has made a point to serve a wide range of people — military veterans, single mothers, seniors, and young adults who have aged out of the foster care system.

“When we are working with a family, or when we are working with individuals, we are the last stop for them,” Klasky-Gamer says.

“We work with them no matter where they are in their journey toward permanent housing.”

| Los Angeles |

“T

he Irmas family has proudly supported LA Family Housing’s (LAFH) mission to end homelessness for over 25 years. Our philanthropic investments have helped fund LAFH’s critically-needed services for people experiencing homelessness, including housing, health care, trauma recovery, and more. We were the lead donors for the Irmas Family Campus, which was built in 2019 and features new, permanent supportive housing, bridge housing, a state-of-the-art health center, and two regional service centers that enabled LAFH to double their impact. Our family regularly sees the impact of our investments firsthand when we volunteer onsite and on the Board of Directors. I am honored that generations of my family have continued to support this team of changemakers as they provided lifesaving resources for our unhoused neighbors throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I am excited to see their great work continue to change our communities for the better.”

– Matthew Irmas

The Audrey & Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation

Donors Can Make a Difference in the Homelessness Crisis

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omelessness is a persistent and widespread problem, but LA Family Housing President and CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer says that the public can make an impact by making a gift to the organization, which has transitioned people out of homelessness for nearly 40 years.

LA Family Housing serves as many as 11,000 participants every year. Every dollar the agency receives helps to stabilize families SCAN TO MAKE experiencing homelessness and put them on A DONATION... their path to permanent housing.

While a $500 gift might pay for utilities and groceries for a family during their first month in an apartment, $1,000 might help provide furnishings for them. A $10,000 investment would boost LA Family Housing’s legal and employment programs, which enable people experiencing homelessness to obtain identification, expunge their criminal records, and take other measures to regain personal stability. A $20,000 gift helps fund the ...AND LEARN organization’s clinical mental health team for MORE ABOUT 10 families transitioning out of homelessness.

LA FAMILY HOUSING Ultimately, Klasky-Gamer says, “LA Family Housing’s job is to ease that strain and trauma of constantly surviving, so that people can fly.”

“I

really hope I can help inspire others to gain the confidence of your self-worth. I had to go through a lot of bumps in the road to get what I have now. I’m beyond thankful for LAFH with their housing support and family resources to help me get back on my feet with my beautiful daughter Destiny. Now we live peacefully inside our new home. At the end of the tunnel, there’s light. There’s hope and there’s life. If you stay consistent and not give up, you can move forward.”

– Sheila

A mother of her little girl named Destiny, who fled domestic violence

KEY SUPPORTERS

LA Family Housing

Katie Tell, Chief Development Officer ktell@lafh.org (213) 465-5177 www.lafh.org

The Audrey & Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation The Smidt Foundation Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Julia Meltzer and David Thorne Stanley Iezman and Nancy Stark Mike Stoller and Corky Hale Frances and Steve Berman Abby Sher Everychild Foundation The SAM Initiative | www.thegivinglist.com |

Howard and Marcie Zelikow Ziering Family Foundation Samuel and Leah Fischer Harold and Eileen Brown Gregory and Jodi Perlman Staci and Adam Miller Lisa and Josh Taub Blair Rich and Zev Foreman Visionary Women Renee Dake Wilson and Brian Wilson

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GOODWILL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

Transforming Lives Through Work

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or more than a century, Goodwill Southern California has educated, trained, and helped find work for more than one million people with disabilities and barriers to employment.

“At the heart of our mission is the belief that every person in our community has value, every person has talent, and every person is deserving of our time and effort to provide a hand up and an opportunity,” says Patrick McClenahan, Goodwill SoCal president and CEO. At Goodwill Southern California, opportunities abound for individuals with the greatest barriers to finding jobs – people with disabilities, veterans, at-risk youth, re-entry individuals, and the unhoused.

The region’s largest nonprofit agency might be best-known for its more than 80 Goodwill thrift stores, where donated clothing, furniture, and home goods are sold.

(Those thrift stores, by the way, divert more than 130 million pounds of reusable or recyclable goods from landfills every year, making Goodwill SoCal very good for the planet.)

What is less well-known is that the revenue

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generated by those stores funds the mission of Goodwill SoCal: Transforming Lives Through the Power of Work. Every year, Goodwill SoCal helps 30,000 jobseekers with career services that include job counseling, training, placement, and coaching. They provide a person-centered approach where programs are tailored to the individual.

The organization has 250 passionate and talented workforce development professionals who provide services throughout the region at 11 employment centers. Many career pathways are supported including computers, hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare, customer service, food services, transportation, and retail.

Goodwill SoCal operates a social enterprise network designed to repurpose gently used items, tap the talents of those in need, and partner with nearly 600 local businesses to provide jobs. It serves most of Los Angeles County, and all of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Goodwill Southern California truly provides a hand up and an opportunity to those in need in our community. | Los Angeles |

Goodwill Southern California was founded in 1916 in the heart of Los Angeles to serve the struggling immigrant population. Four years before women got the right to vote, a local woman, Katherine B. Higgins, created a grassroots organization that offered social services, healthcare, and a store to help indigent residents.

A century later, Goodwill SoCal is still offering a hand up to people like Ines, a high school student who entered a program for at-risk youth after getting into trouble skipping classes and doing drugs.

Ines enrolled in the Youth at Work program at the Goodwill SoCal YouthSource Center in the San Fernando Valley. The program changed her life. She got a job working 10 hours a week, and an internship at the office of L.A. City Councilwoman Nury Martinez.

Ines has now set her sights on college, with plans to become a marine biologist and “show others what I can do.”

“G

oodwill Southern California is an organization people know and trust. Goodwill is good for the community. It helps people find good jobs that support themselves and their families. And Goodwill is good for the planet by promoting sustainability. I hope you will join me and Do Goodwill.”

– David Amar

Goodwill SoCal board member

“I Stand With Us

“W

e ask people who care about our mission and work to stand with us,” says Patrick Roche, VP of Development for Goodwill Southern California. “An investment of $1,000 into Goodwill SoCal helps provide transformative services and opportunities to individuals from your community who are looking for employment and an opportunity to improve the lives of their families. Supporting the Do Goodwill campaign with a donation helps ensure our work to build sustainability for people and the planet continues.”

lived on Skid Row for over 30 years.

I always had food and a place to sleep. But when I found out I had a son, I knew I didn’t want that life for him. Goodwill took me in and gave me a job. That’s what people need: a job. Now I have a way to take care of myself and my son. I get to help people on Skid Row every day find work and a purpose. We are transforming lives at Goodwill.”

– Bobby May

Goodwill SoCal employee

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT GOODWILL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Goodwill Southern California

(323) 223-1211 www.goodwillsocal.org www.dogoodwill.com 342 N. San Fernando Road, Los Angeles, CA 90031

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS San Manuel Band of Mission Indians SoCal Gas Kaiser Permanente Century Building Company Dahdoul, Inc. Molina Healthcare Central City Association of Los Angeles iHeart Media The Valley Economic Alliance mOppenheim.org Blue Dawg LLC Vistaprint Los Angeles Sparks San Fernando Community Health Center Gifts for Good Saybrook University Sikand Foundation Bank of America First Entertainment Credit Union Thrilling

Contact:

Andrew Brewer, Director of Development (323) 539-2110 abrewer@goodwillsocal.org

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Environment “We are really an educational hub and a doorway into what regenerative agriculture looks, tastes, smells and feels like and how that can be applied.”

– Steve Finkel Founder and President, White Buffalo Land Trust

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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WHITE BUFFALO LAND TRUST | RESTORING AGRICULTURE:

“T

he white buffalo are a reminder of our responsibility to the earth, and to be in better relations with all living things.”

– Lyndsey McMorrow

Lyndsey’s Legacy L

Jalama Canyon Ranch

ong before she got sick, Lyndsey McMorrow believed it was possible for people to be conscious stewards of the earth. A turning point in her understanding was a trip to Paicines Ranch in 2016, where she participated in the Lead with Land program and became inspired by the potential of a little known but growing area of study: regenerative agriculture. McMorrow returned to Santa Barbara and poured herself into this learning, exploring the complex, but intuitive, practices that can restore ecosystems, improve soil health and biodiversity, recharge water cycles, and help to balance the climate. Lyndsey never got to see the organization she inspired; she passed away in February of 2018.

McMorrow’s husband, Steve Finkel, who shared her passion for the environment and conservation, started the White Buffalo Land Trust in her honor in the days after her passing. Lyndsey’s parents Bobbie and Bill, along with other close family and friends, were the founding supporters. The legacy Lyndsey left behind has quickly become a leader in regenerative agriculture and is supporting change locally, regionally, and globally.

Regenerative agriculture has the potential to provide meaningful work and living wages to farmers while feeding millions of people, sequestering large amounts of atmospheric carbon into the soil, building our freshwater resources, and improving wildlife habitat. White Buffalo Land Trust is a rapidly emerging leader in the space and is delivering real impact through their four fields of focus: direct land stewardship, education and training, scientific research, and enterprise. The enterprise piece, says Steve Finkel, is “how we make regenerative agriculture the new ‘business as usual;’ where we bring all we have learned to the marketplace and we can support businesses to evolve agricultural systems and offer customers products that align with their values.”

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White Buffalo’s beginnings and proof of concept is a 12-acre farm in Summerland that has been developed into a community demonstration, learning, and teaching nexus for regenerative agriculture principles, practices, and techniques. The success at Summerland and the need for broad scale change inspired the Campaign for Jalama and the successful acquisition of the Jalama Canyon Ranch, a 1,000-acre jewel on the Gaviota coast. The Ranch is developing into a center for education and training, scientific research, and removing the barriers to rapid and broad adoption of regenerative agriculture. The Summerland and Jalama sites demonstrate how we can restore the ecosystem through agriculture and directly address the climate, biodiversity, public health, and food security challenges we face today.

This is done by changing the way we grow keystone crops like beef, grapes, almonds, cotton, and avocados; by expanding other climate beneficial crops like persimmons and elderberries, and by monitoring the ecological functions of the land to ensure farming practices are creating positive outcomes and stimulating positive feedback loops. These changes can sequester significant amounts of atmospheric carbon into the soil, increase biodiversity, and rebuild our freshwater resources. White Buffalo Land Trust gives farmers the tools they need to lead this transition and also hosts public and private tours, school tours, hands-on workshops, and farmer and rancher trainings, offering the opportunity for all to engage with this type of agriculture first-hand.“What we are trying to model in our work is that we can transcend the concept of doing less harm. How we raise and grow our food has the power to change our world for the better, and we owe it to ourselves and future generations to unlock that potential. Doing less bad is no longer good enough,” Finkel says. “That’s a huge consciousness shift for us as an economy and as a society.”

| Los Angeles |

“I

think shifting our relationship with agriculture is one of the strongest levers we can pull to improve the quality of the environment. What White Buffalo Land Trust is doing in Santa Barbara and on the Gaviota Coast is making a huge impact locally, but they are really doing something that can be leveraged across the country and the planet.

And that is the kind of investment we want to make with our philanthropy dollars.”

– Kevin Brine

Founder, Coyuchi Philanthropy Fund

Public Field Day at Summerland Flagship Farm

WBLT Team members (left to right) Steve Finkel, Ana Smith, Jesse Smith

“I

learned that I could affect and improve land at any scale. I am excited to apply the Holistic Management framework from WBLT’s Intensive in my work. Additionally, the diversity of expertise and backgrounds of the participants, as well as the instructors, made this experience incredibly rich and valuable.”

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

KEY SUPPORTERS

– P. Price

Land Stewardship Training Attendee

A Beacon of Regenerative Agriculture

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e’ve done some heavy lifting in the past two years – we raised $6 million from philanthropy, conservation funds, and impact investors – and now we steward 1,000 acres of pasture, forest, springs, and scrub that is representative of the land in our region, and Mediterranean regions globally. With your support, we can maximize the impact of this beacon of regenerative agriculture.

Our goal now is to raise $10 million over three years to rapidly expand the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices locally, regionally, and globally. We are catalyzing the transition of our food systems for long-term health and climate stability.

In this next phase, we are actively raising funds for expanded education and training programs, innovative data collection, monitoring and analysis for verification and replication, and infrastructure for classroom, research, and gathering space. We are doing the work of evolving farming practices, raising the ecological literacy of our community, training current and future farmers and ranchers, and making this the new business as usual.

We invite you to join us!

School Tour at Summerland Flagship Farm

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Natalie Orfalea Foundation

| www.thegivinglist.com |

McMorrow Family Foundation Natalie Orfalea Foundation Annenberg Foundation Manitou Fund Coyuchi Philanthropy Fund Roberto Foundation WOKA Foundation GA Fowler Family Foundation deLaski Family Foundation Helton Law Brownstein, Farber, Hyatt, Shreck JS Bower Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation Land Trust for Santa Barbara County Gaviota Coast Conservancy Santa Barbara Food Action Network TomKat Education Foundation Cienega Capital CA Dept of Agriculture US Dept of Agriculture

White Buffalo Land Trust

Ana Smith Director of Programs and Engagement (805) 637-5497 info@whitebuffalolandtrust.org www.whitebuffalolandtrust.org

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PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION:

Visionary Sisters Collaborating to Create a More Just and Healthy Planet

PPC Scientific Advisor Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue, Coco Islands (photo by Kip Evans)

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Freedom Island, Manila, Philippines. (photo by Dianna Cohen)

or the Cohen sisters, taking on the embodiment of the fossil fuel and climate crisis – plastic – started with brown paper bags.

It was 1990, and older sister Dianna was working in Belgium. An internationally exhibited visual artist, Dianna had become fascinated with using the varying shades of brown paper bags in her art pieces.

But, at a homeopathic pharmacy she was given a plastic bag with a printed image of a dandelion plant with its Latin name – Taraxacum officinale. The irony of displaying something natural on something so unnatural was not lost on her.

She stitched that flower image bag into one of her works and shortly thereafter began using plastic as her primary medium.

As she worked with the plastic, some of the bags deteriorated over time, and she reached out to scientists to learn more about the material. She soon found out this artificial, toxic substance was everywhere, and that it couldn’t be cleaned up.

Having lost her mother to breast cancer as a teen, she began to come to terms with the impacts of plastic on human and animal health.

“Once your eyes become open to that, you can’t look at it the same way,” she says. “It changes you.”

While Dianna was awakening to the destructive power of plastic, sister Julia was leading a high-profile career in Washington, DC, taking leadership positions for Planned Parenthood, Rock the Vote, and Youth Vote Coalition during the 2000 election.

When Dianna shared her newly discovered mission, Julia said “what you need is a coalition.”

The name was key. Disturbed that some agencies refused to name plastic pollution, instead using the term “marine debris,” the sisters along with the other co-founders decided to call it what it is. They named their new organization Plastic Pollution Coalition.

Since 2009, Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) has drawn from the talents and resources of many living artists, using popular music, film,

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PPC Co-Founders Julia and Dianna Cohen, Islesboro, Maine, USA, 2021

books, installations, comic books, animation, and participatory art installations to communicate to the broadest possible audience the complexities of plastic’s impact on people and the planet. PPC’s effective use of this range of the arts has influenced the national and international political agenda through support of policy and legislation around singleuse plastic packaging. But just as importantly, the aesthetic resources of art have helped PPC to address citizens where they are and to educate them on an environmental crisis hidden in plain sight.

Today, Plastic Pollution Coalition has grown into a global alliance that connects more than 1,200 organizations, businesses, and thought leaders in 75 countries, working as part of a worldwide movement to realize a world free of plastic pollution. The Coalition has supported policy changes in hundreds of communities and countries, and continues to inspire action through education programs, advocacy campaigns, and art projects – even lawsuits. Dianna co-executive produced the film The Story of Plastic, which recently won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing: Documentary.

The Coalition has shifted popular culture and policy, challenging the myth that single-use plastics – like plastic bottles, bags, straws, and cutlery — are acceptable. Communicating the truth is one of Plastic Pollution Coalition’s greatest strengths.

“BP called the disaster in the Gulf Coast, ‘a spill,’” Dianna says.

“That was very clever marketing, because a spill sounds small and insignificant, but this was actually a massive deluge of destruction.”

Julia adds, “Plastic contributes to climate change at every stage of its existence. With only seven years left to redirect the Titanic of climate change’s impacts on people and the planet, the moment couldn’t be more urgent.”

| Los Angeles |

“Plastic Fantastic?” Exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Honolulu, Hawaii with curator Aaron Padilla, artists Maika‘i Tubbs and Dianna Cohen, Kim and Jack Johnson

“A Hannah Testa, PPC Youth Ambassador and Hannah4Change founder, Representative Alan Lowenthal (California), Senator Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Michael Doshi, Algalita, Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics, and Jackie Nuñez, PPC Advocacy Program Manager and The Last Plastic Straw founder, speaking at the introduction of the U.S. federal Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, Washington, DC, USA, February 2020.

s a lifelong ocean swimming champion, the only human to date to swim from Cuba to Florida, 111 miles nonstop in 2013, my heart lives in the magic of our blue seas. I have recently founded OceansCommit, an initiative driving to reduce single-use plastic.

Plastic Pollution Coalition is our main source of education and inspiration.”

– Diana Nyad

KEY SUPPORTERS Ben Harper at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Manchester, Tennessee, USA. (photo by Danny Clinch)

Flipping the Script on Plastic’s Place in Our World

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lastic Pollution Coalition’s list of A-List supporters includes Jeff Bridges, Jackson Browne, Fran Drescher, Ben Harper, Diana Nyad, Alice Waters, and Alfre Woodard – to name a few. When these notables speak out, millions of people wake up to the plastic pollution crisis.

In 2022, the Coalition will be working with leaders within the entertainment industry to encourage the storylines of popular films SCAN TO MAKE and television to include messaging that moves the nation and the A DONATION... world away from single-use plastics towards reusables and refillables, and a plastic-free, more just, equitable, and regenerative future.

The coalition seeks $100,000 to expand this campaign. And, for larger donors, Co-FounderJulia Cohen says there are opportunities to dramatically expand the organization’s lean $2 million budget.

“Imagine what we could do with double that,” she says.

Plastic Pollution Coalition

Julia Cohen, Managing Director julia@plasticpollutioncoalition.org (323) 936-3010 x702 Office www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION

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Annenberg Foundation Andrea Arria-Devoe Beagle Foundation Ed Begley Jr. Lynne and Marc Benioff Susan and Jeff Bridges Jackson Browne Mark Christy Jan Dell David DeRothschild Fran Drescher Sylvia Earle Elbaz Family Foundation Michelle Esrick Haas-Teichen Foundation Philip J. Landrigan Marisla Foundation Mental Insight Foundation Bette Midler Captain Charles Moore Pete Myers Wallace J. Nichols Diana Nyad Plastic Solutions Fund Enric Sala Kyra Sedgewick Kelly Slater Shanna Swan Beth Terry Richard Walden Alice Waters Alexa Woodward Alfre Woodward Zegar Family Foundation

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| Los Angeles |

Human Rights “We exist to ensure that ‘Never Again’ is not just an empty phrase but a call to action.”

– Serena Oberstein Executive Director, Jewish World Watch

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Making Entertainment More Inclusive

by Joe Donnelly

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hmos Hassan is a man bent on melding his philanthropic and business interests towards a more inclusive America. Across both spaces, Hassan is focused on using entertainment and public awareness to increase representation for Muslim Americans who have weathered incredible discrimination and mistrust from 9/11 through the Trump Administration’s infamous “Muslim Ban.” The longtime manager of comedian Louie Anderson (among other comedians and writers) and producer of the successful series Life With Louie started the production company Chariot Entertainment in 2017.

When Chariot launched in June 2017, Hassan told the Hollywood Reporter that he had long wanted to develop Muslim-related original material, but that it wasn’t commercially viable because Muslim representation didn’t matter. “Now it does,” he said then, “not just to the industry, but to the American audience.”

Four years into the venture, Hassan explains, “We want to focus on material that will effect change. I’m really talking about scripted material, principally, that will provide narrative and impact people through popular culture.”

Chariot’s mission statement doesn’t beat around the bush: “Chariot spearheads entertainment projects focused on integrating Muslims and an understanding of Islam into popular culture through entertainment.”

It’s an understatement to say that mission was formed against a Hollywood backdrop that left a lot to be desired when it comes to representation. According to a report issued in 2021 from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative titled “Missing and Maligned: The Reality of Muslims in Popular Global Movies,” Muslim characters accounted for less than two percent of the nearly 9,000 speaking parts in 200 popular films released between 2017-2019. Meanwhile, Muslims comprise a quarter of the world’s population.

When they do show up, according to the report, it’s most often as male perpetrators or victims of violence – reinforcing the darker narratives of the post 9/11 and Trump eras.

Upending those narratives is not for the weak-kneed and, in fact, Chariot felt compelled to issue a disclaimer to po-

tential investors that their support might put them at risk.

Rather than scare investors away, though, it rallied them to the core mission.

It would be convenient if there was some instigating moment, some origin story of suffering and redemption that set Hassan on his path, but that isn’t the case. On the contrary, he speaks of an idyllic upbringing amidst a loving family in Grand Blanc, Michigan. “If I was ever facing prejudice, I wasn’t aware of it,” Hassan says. “I lived a life totally integrated. And yet, all my friends and everyone knew I was Muslim, but it wasn’t something that was other. And since I didn’t grow up as the other, I was also never someone who rejected the fact that I was Muslim.”

“My principle is to engage with others.

That’s how we connect. Not through a constant battle of differences.”

Hassan says the temperature started to change after 9/11.

He had by then graduated from the University of Michigan and developed a successful talent management business with the comedian Louie Anderson, a fellow Midwesterner, as his star client. Anderson is known as a “comedian’s comedian,” but Hassan helped Anderson bring his family material to animation through Life With Louie. The animated sitcom featured Anderson in his childhood years and won two Emmys and three Humanitas awards for television and film writing that promotes human dignity, meaning and freedom.

No one would have faulted Hassan for staying at a safe distance from the major questions of human rights, but as he sees it, that would have also been an abrogation of civic responsibility. “It would have been an easier way to go, but it wouldn’t have been the right way to go because I’d be blind to what was happening around us and in the world.”

Hassan’s budding consciousness led him to take up chair-

| Los Angeles |

“We want to focus on material that will effect change. I’m really talking about scripted material, principally, that will provide narrative and impact people through popular culture.”

ing the Hollywood bureau of the L.A.-based policy advocacy-focused Muslim Public Affairs Council as well as serving as an advisor to the Obama Administration’s state department.

He also served on fundraising committees for the Los Angeles and Southern California chapters of Human Rights Watch. “I’m pretty dedicated to that organization,” Hassan says of HRW. “To me, it’s an expression of my Islamic values. Human rights are in essence a pillar of Islam.”

Underpinning Hassan’s work and philosophy is a bedrock belief that most of what bedevils us now, including the hostilities faced by targeted segments of our communities, is based on misapprehension.

“It’s a lack of understanding. Even the people doing the aggression, if they only knew to whom they were doing it – if they only understood that they were acting out on something that doesn’t exist,” Hassan says. “My principle is to engage with others. That’s how we connect. Not through a constant battle of differences.”

To that end, Hassan and Chariot Entertainment hope to

greet a country looking to turn the page from both pandemic and vitriol with a slate of inclusive fare aimed at engagement and nurturing that much needed understanding.

Foremost will be a drama series based on Samira Ahmed’s dystopian 2019 New York Times bestselling YA novel, Internment. The novel, an obvious parable for the times, is set in a near-future U.S.A. in which 17-year-old Layla Amin and her family fight for their freedom after being forced into an internment camp for Muslim Americans. “She’s really a very talented writer and bringing her story to the screen is an exciting prospect,” says Hassan. “It gives us the opportunity to show so many aspects of the diversity of Muslims and how that diversity is how we engage with each other.”

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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH:

Defending Rights, Securing Justice

F

© 2015 Zalmaï for Human Rights Watch

© 2016 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watch

or more than 40 years, Human Rights Watch has investigated human rights abuses, exposed the facts, and demanded change in all corners of the world.

People facing grave human rights violations in Afghanistan.

Summary killings in the Philippines. A planned assault and mass arrest of peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters in New York.

“It’s about the right to live in dignity for everyone, and the right to not be persecuted for who you are – if you’re poor, if you’re a woman, if you’re a member of the LGBT communities. Whoever, wherever we are, we should all enjoy the same rights,” says Perrine Vaillant, director of the organization’s Southern California office in Los Angeles. “And more and more, the right to live in a safe environment.”

Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that seeks to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. The New York-based nonprofit works to meticulously document abuses against the world’s most vulnerable populations – and end those abuses.

Its methodology: Investigate. Expose. Change. It’s been the aim of an organization that began as Helsinki Watch in 1978 to monitor how the then-Soviet Union complied with the Helsinki Accords, a diplomatic agreement that demanded respect for basic human rights.

First, dozens of researchers working on more than 100 countries uncover facts that outline an undeniable record of human rights abuses – from discrimination to genocide. Then they report what they find, exposing abuses and those responsible in the news media and online. Finally, they meet with governments and local leaders to see that policy is changed, laws are enforced, and justice is served.

To maintain its independence, Human Rights Watch accepts no funding from any government.

For its campaign to ban landmines worldwide, the organization

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shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. It also helped mobilize a global campaign to ban cluster munitions.

Of particular concern here in Los Angeles are violations by China, from its detention of one million Muslim-minority Uighurs to free speech violations and censorship at home – and in Hollywood. Hollywood studios have bowed to Chinese censors in order to have their films distributed in China, the world’s top market for films.

“Whatever movie they produce, they have the China market in mind,” Yaqiu Wang, a Human Rights Watch researcher on China, says. “This affects free speech.”

The Los Angeles Committee, founded in 1989, has about 100 members who raise awareness about some of today’s major human rights challenges via public screenings and events, advocate for change with their elected officials, and generate support for the organization.

Elizabeth Calvin, senior advocate for children’s rights, is a civil rights attorney who has championed a dozen California laws to protect kids in and out of prison. They include laws ending children being prosecuted as adults, and from being sentenced to life in prison without parole. Next stop: closing state juvenile prisons.

“Children are especially vulnerable,” Calvin says. “They don’t have control over their own lives. Younger children oftentimes can’t speak up on their own behalf. They tend to be dismissed.

They can’t file lawsuits like adults. There needs to be special protections and special opportunities for young people.”

| Los Angeles |

“B

©2019 Marcus Bleasdale for Human Rights Watch

eing involved with Human Rights Watch for 15 years has been life changing. I am constantly wowed by the 450 experts working tirelessly to investigate and expose rights abuses across 100 countries and pressure governments and other entities to create lasting change. It has been so meaningful for me to be involved with an organization that focuses on a wide range of rights including those related to children, the LGBTQ+ communities, refugees, migrants, and women. These groups and more deserve the dignity and freedom that I enjoy. I will continue to be involved for decades to come.”

– Rica Rodman

Executive Director of the Wasserman Foundation

“W

© 2018 Human Rights Watch

ithout Elizabeth Calvin’s advocacy for youth and effort to change archaic beliefs about justice, I would still be waiting to die in prison under a life without parole (LWOP) sentence for a crime I committed when I was 18 years old. Instead, I have been given the opportunity to demonstrate my transformation and walk out of prison after 22 years. Elizabeth has done more than change laws — she has changed the hearts and minds of people to believe in restorative justice and the human capacity to change.”

Human Rights for All

H

uman Rights Watch is working around the clock to protect and uphold fundamental rights and freedoms on multiple fronts. Across 102 countries, we are leveraging our time-tested methodology — investigating human rights abuses, exposing the facts to the public, and effecting change — to right wrongs wherever they happen and help lay the foundation for a more just and equitable world.

SCAN TO MAKE Over the last year, HRW has exposed how the pandemic has laid bare A DONATION... systemic frailties in the protection of basic rights and spurred a range of human rights abuses. Our advocacy has blocked the Brazilian government’s attempt to greenwash its disastrous environmental record. We’ve worked to prevent unnecessary surgeries on intersex children. We’ve pushed the United Nations to take on global racism by forming an expert group to probe racism in policing. The use of life in prison without parole sentences for people under 18 has effectively ended in California, thanks to our efforts.

To maintain our independence, we accept no funding from any government. With your partnership, we can secure more foundational ...AND LEARN victories for human rights. Join us.

MORE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Human Rights Watch

HRW.org 11500 W. Olympic Blvd, Suite 608 Los Angeles, CA 90064

Contact:

Perrine Vaillant, Southern California Director vaillap@hrw.org (323) 694-5188

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– William Hoffmann

former LWOP prisoner and current HRW Associate, Children’s Rights Division

COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP Susi Bahat Pam Bruns Tamar Chafets Nancy Cushing-Jones Elizabeth Faraut Mike Farrell Jonathan Feldman Mary Garvey Leslie Gilbert-Lurie Ahmos Hassan Jihee Huh Ramyne Khan Spire Shari Leinwand Kimberly Marteau Emerson Jane Olson Liz Ondaatje David Ondaatje Rica Rodman Victoria Riskin Lorraine Sheinberg Barbara Silberbusch Arthur F. Silbergeld William D. Temko Marysol Velamoor Patricia Williams Adam Wolman

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HIAS:

Standing up for Refugees Across the Globe

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IAS, founded in the 1880s as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society to assist Jewish refugees arriving in the United States, is by most measures the oldest continuously operating refugee resettlement agency in America. Over the last 100 years, the organization has adapted to offer support and solutions to refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people regardless of religion or nationality.

As HIAS President Mark Hetfield often says, “We once welcomed refugees because they were Jewish, but now we welcome refugees because we are Jewish.”

Los Angeles, a city with one of the most diverse Jewish populations in the world, is a microcosm of how HIAS has evolved while relying on Jewish values to guide its work. L.A. is home to the largest Persian Jewish community, the second-largest U.S. population of Jews from the Former Soviet Union after New York City, and tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors and their progeny. Virtually no corner of vibrant Los Angeles Jewish life would exist today if not for HIAS’ resettlement efforts.

While HIAS has worked with local partners to resettle Jews in L.A. for decades, its community outreach work started in earnest in 2019. The L.A. office has successfully built awareness around the agency’s efforts to help asylum seekers from Latin America, the Caribbean, and elsewhere who have had their rights curtailed

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by policies forcing them to wait in Mexico for their day in court.

HIAS’ advocacy impacts the lives of refugees and asylum seekers in California and around the world. In 2021, HIAS helped California make history as the first state in the nation to invest state funds into case management for asylees.

The HIAS Border Fellows program embeds attorneys with partner nonprofits along the southern border to speak out for vulnerable asylum-seekers as they navigate a complicated and ever-changing U.S. immigration system. In Mexico, HIAS has partnered with UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, providing legal aid and other needs for asylum seekers who have been forced to stay in gravely dangerous conditions in Mexico while their cases drag on for months and years.

HIAS continues to evolve to the changing global humanitarian landscape, serving refugees in 16 countries around the world.

Forced migration and the need for humanitarian services have soared in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Examples of HIAS’ current response to the global refugee crisis include, mental health services and safe houses for LGBTQ refugees in Kenya; a perma-gardening program in Chad; counseling for survivors of gender-based violence in Costa Rica; and employment assistance in Ecuador. Ultimately, HIAS is dedicated to continuing to live the spirit of the commandment to “Welcome the stranger.”

| Los Angeles |

“I

was a political refugee, fleeing Cuba in the hopes of a better life.

When I tried to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, I was denied. The little money I had was stolen and my life was threatened on one occasion; I was scared all the time. A friend suggested I reach out to HIAS. HIAS made me feel immediately understood and helped me when I needed it the most. With their help, I was able to cross the border. Now, with my new life, I want to study, work and move on.”

– Yeinier

HIAS Client

“T

he promise of this country has yet to be attained; we have to do it together,” Messing says. “There is no way for us to achieve that if we … stay in our own lanes.

“Everything in life is political,” she says. “To be silent is a political choice, and silence can create violence.”

– Debra Messing HIAS supporter

Emergency Response for a Rapidly Changing World

H

IAS is committed to proactively responding to emergencies and assisting displaced populations including refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people. These emergencies are complex, arising out of conflict or political upheaval, natural disasters, and the worsening effects of climate change.

HIAS provides lifesaving assistance to refugees across the world, from food assistance for Sudanese refugees in Chad; defending the rights of Syrian and Afghan refugees in Greece; to leading the humanitarian response to the migration crisis in Venezuela. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HIAS quickly mobilized to provide needed cash-based and voucher assistance to refugees with urgent protection needs across a number of countries. HIAS also responded to the earthquake in Ecuador in 2016, and provided psychosocial support in Panama in the aftermath of Hurricane Iota in 2020.

In recent years, HIAS has expanded emergency preparedness and response capacity throughout the organization. A new Emergency Response Department has already played a pivotal role in HIAS’ ability to respond to emergencies like the fall of Afghanistan, leveraging a national affiliate network to welcome thousands of Afghan refugees. Your support can help HIAS respond quickly and effectively as our world rapidly changes.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT HIAS

KEY SUPPORTERS

HIAS

www.hias.org/donate 1300 Spring Street Silver Spring, MD 20910

Contact:

Miriam Feffer, VP Development (301) 844-7908 Miriam.Feffer@hias.org

Mackenzie Scott and Dan Jewett – Seattle, WA Airbnb.org – San Francisco, CA Cisco Systems Foundation – San Jose, CA The Donald and Carole Chaiken Foundation – San Francisco, CA Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund – San Francisco, CA The Philanthropic Initiative – Boston, MA Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, – Tulsa, OK Center for Disaster Philanthropy – Washington, DC Zegar Family Foundation – Santa Barbara, CA Solidarity Giving – Palo Alto, CA

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The Grove Foundation – Los Altos, CA The Jay Pritzker Foundation – Larkspur, CA Dr. Elliott Levy and Ms. Nina Belfor – Westlake Village, CA Barry and Janet Lang Fund – Los Angeles, CA Eugenia and Michael Brin – Los Altos Hills, CA Open Society Policy Center – Washington, DC Robin Hood Foundation – New York, NY Silicon Valley Community Foundation – Mountain View, CA Abe and Edith Ballonoff Family Foundation – Los Angeles, CA Jewish World Watch – Encino, CA

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JEWISH WORLD WATCH:

Embodying the Pledge of ‘Never Again’

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ewish World Watch (JWW) envisions a future without genocide and mass atrocities; a world that does not stand idly by while civilian populations are being attacked simply because of who they are.

Founded in 2004 in response to the Darfuri genocide in western Sudan, Jewish World Watch continues to help not only struggling Darfuri refugees but also supports others facing genocide and mass atrocities around the world. Whether it is the massive rapes of women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the discrimination and violence against the Rohingya or the Uyghur people, Jewish World Watch continues to pursue its mission of not standing idly by in the face of persecution.

Serena Oberstein, executive director of Jewish World Watch, is the descendent of those who fled violence against Jews in Eastern Europe a century ago when her forebears sought refuge in the United States. “It is more important than ever to do all we can to inspire activism and to provide direct assistance to survivors of these terrible atrocities. We know from tragedies in our own history what happens when the world is silent in the face of genocide,” she says.

Rooted in the Jewish people’s unique history of persecution and their traditions and values, the nonprofit aims to educate its own and other communities about human rights abuses and advocate and empower people locally and abroad.

“Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis, of blessed memory, and I established Jewish World Watch at the start of the genocide in Darfur,”

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Darfuri survivors living in Chad

says Co-Founder Janice Kamenir-Reznik.

“Our goal was to actualize the words, ‘Never Again’ – the universal post-Holocaust adage. Since the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of six million Jews, there have been more than 50 genocides. We realized that the world has been silent during most of those mass atrocities, and the victims were abandoned by humanity. JWW has created a community of ‘upstanders’ who do not stand idly by as evil leaders and regimes target innocent people. Our mission is more critical today than ever, as genocide and mass atrocities remain rampant throughout the world.”

Aside from the broad-based antigenocide educational work at the core of its mission, Jewish World Watch is committed to providing direct support to survivors of genocide and mass atrocities worldwide.

For nearly eight years, Jewish World Watch provided solar cookers to tens of thousands of Darfuri women and girls living in refugee camps in Chad, enabling them to stay in their camps’ relative safety, thereby avoiding the risk of additional sexual assault. When food aid for Darfuris became scarce in 2014, JWW partnered with an organization on the ground in Chad to train people how to cultivate sustainable food sources through a technique called perma-gardening.

“The people trained are primarily widows, single mothers, and disabled women who are now able to provide enough food to feed their families and also sell it in the marketplace,” Oberstein says. | Los Angeles |

JWW has multiple empowerment projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well, including negotiating the release of child soldiers and sex slaves, providing comprehensive medical and psychosocial care and job training to victims of mass rape and nonviolence education for both children and adults.

For almost three years, JWW has played a leading role in advocating with the international Uyghur diaspora community to raise awareness of the horrific atrocities inflicted on those Uyghurs remaining in China. The Uyghur people have been suffering cultural and ethnic genocide at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 2017.

“More than two million Uyghurs face ‘reeducation,’ deprivation, sanctioned rape, separation of families, culture eradication, and death. Unfortunately the horror stories we’re hearing about Uyghur people being taken in the night, having their heads shaved, being put on trains, interned in concentration camps, and systematically disappeared are all too familiar to the Jewish community,” Oberstein said.

On January 19, 2021, at the urging of JWW, the Uyghur diaspora members, and other anti-genocide groups, the U.S. government issued a determination of genocide. Shortly after, JWW met with members of the California Jewish Legislative Caucus, brought local Uyghurs to testify and rallied support to get a similar resolution passed by the state of California last April.

Jewish World Watch is also advocating to get a full U.S. diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and pass the federal Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would require multinational corporations using such forced labor to pull out of China or be sanctioned.

In addition, JWW is currently focused on attaining genocide recognition for the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority from Myanmar, driven out into refugee status during a genocidal massacre in 2017 by the same architects of the current coup in Myanmar. Moreover, JWW has embarked on an awareness campaign for a growing crisis in Tigray due to ethnic tension, mass rape, and targeted persecution.

“J

Children at the Congo Peace School in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

ewish World Watch has been an incredible partner for Uyghur Americans who are campaigning for their family members back home while suffering ongoing trauma as secondary survivors of a genocide themselves. Uyghur doctors, software engineers and company owners from California to Texas to Virginia are advocating for their relatives disappeared into China’s camps, and JWW makes sure their voices are heard.

True to its name, JWW makes the world more accountable through its outsized impact through its Congressional advocacy for bills to end forced-labor imports, calling out corporate complicity, and pushing to make sure that the Beijing 2022 Olympics don’t see the world repeating the disaster of Berlin 1936.”

– Omer Kanat

Executive Director, Uyghur Human Rights Project

“T

here are multiple genocides taking place in our world, and JWW is determined to put them on humanity’s radar. The late Rabbi Harold Schulweis challenged us not to stand idly by while genocide is perpetrated against people of different races, faiths, and ethnicities. JWW was born from that charge. Our focus has been on providing resources to people in Darfur, Congo, and Myanmar who have been targeted for mass atrocity and extermination. We have worked the halls of Congress to leverage its influence on behalf of the Uyghurs in western China. We are committed to fighting genocide, assisting fleeing refugees, and saving lives.”

– Zev Yaroslavsky

Los Angeles County Supervisor (Ret.) and Founding JWW Board Member

Support Jewish World Watch in Chad and at Home

Students participate in Jewish World Watch’s Teen Ambassador Program (TAP) in Encino, CA

J

ewish World Watch seeks $150,000 to help support more sustainable food-generating gardens for Darfuri refugees in Chad and grow the organization’s presence in the United States.

The nonprofit would use $50,000 for its Seeds of Survival campaign to plant more than 200 out of 500 new gardens that the campaign is slated to fund. This would feed 3,000 Darfuri refugees, allowing them more independence and to help combat the very real risk of violence.

SCAN TO MAKE Tens of thousands of additional Darfuri refugees have come into the refugee camps in Chad just over the A DONATION... last year, which testifies to the grave dangers which prevent the Darfuris from returning to their homes in Sudan.

The organization is also seeking $100,000 to help it scale up their education and advocacy presence in the United States in three to five new cities over the next year focusing specifically on college campuses.

JWW recognizes that the success of its mission to end genocide and mass atrocities is inextricably bound to the education and galvanization of the ...AND LEARN next generation.

MORE ABOUT JEWISH WORLD WATCH

Jewish World Watch www.jww.org 5551 Balboa Blvd.

Encino, CA 91316

KEY SUPPORTERS Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Family Foundation Diane and Guilford Glazer Family Foundation Gary Saltz Family Foundation Evelyn and Norman Feintech Family Foundation Cayton-Goldrich Family Foundation Black Family Foundation Vladimir and Araxia Buckhantz Foundation Janice Kamenir-Reznik and Ben Reznik Vaughan and Nick Meyer Dave and Sherry Gold Family Foundation Audrey Irmas Foundation for Social Justice Marilyn Ziering Andrea and Moshe Silagi Sue and Larry Hochberg Rachel and Bruce Jeffer Lisa and Victor Kohn Jane Z. and Lawrence Cohen Lilya and Joel Reiss Lee and Luis Lainer Eleanor and Mark Lainer

Contact:

Serena Oberstein, Executive Director Serena@jww.org (818) 501-1836

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| Los Angeles |

Criminal Justice “Society is not set up to support people who are coming home from incarceration. So, we wanted to provide assistance and resources to our members reintegrating into their communities.”

– Nicholas Reiner Director of Communications, Anti-Recidivism Coalition

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A NEW WAY OF LIFE:

A New Way of Life - Just That for Formerly Incarcerated Women the same bus stop where she had been released, bringing women returning from incarceration into her personal home. From there, A New Way of Life was born.

She is also an acclaimed author. Her memoir, Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women, was lauded by social justice activist Bryan Stevenson as a “must-read,” and Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, compared Burton’s social justice work to that of modern day Harriet Tubman and said her book “will help free us all.”

I

magine leaving prison with only $200 and a bus ticket. No identification, no social security card, no place to go, and nobody to help.

Susan Burton, the founder of A New Way of Life, knows how hard it is to start over after being incarcerated.

Following the tragic accidental death of her five-year-old son, Burton’s world collapsed. Her loss snapped the final tether of resilience burdened by a past of pain and trauma. She descended into an emotional abyss of darkness and despair, yet was not offered the resources needed to heal. Without support, she turned to alcohol, then drugs – which led to nearly 20 years revolving through cycles of incarceration.

Each time she was released, no matter how many times she had asked the criminal justice system to help her, she found herself getting off the bus in downtown Los Angeles with no one to meet her and nowhere to go.

“I got off that bus so many times and I utterly failed,” Burton says. “There should have been support there.”

Burton says incarcerated women like her are expected to start over with no help even though they are “literally leaving a place where they’ve been tortured” and all their decisions have been made for them. Leaving prison and not knowing what to do is terrifying, she adds.

“It’s essential for these women to have a place to go immediately, a place they know they’re going to be safe, know that they’re going to have support,” Burton says.

After being released from prison for the sixth time, Burton was finally able to access the resources she needed to heal. A friend steered her to recovery services in the affluent city of Santa Monica. It was there she discovered services she never knew existed. Burton became determined to offer those same resources in South Los Angeles. Starting in 1998, Burton began traveling to

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The nonprofit currently operates 10 safe homes for women leaving jails or prisons. If needed, staff will pick women up at the bus station so they aren’t left in the lurch like Burton was. Rather than being greeted by the squalor of downtown L.A., women arrive at a well-kept home. They are welcomed to shelter in a supportive community. They receive a care package of hygiene products and a spa-like bath towel. According to individualized needs, A New Way of Life then provides them with recovery support, legal services, employment, education, physical/mental health resources, and family reunification services.

Since 1998, A New Way of Life has served over 1,200 women and reunited more than 400 mothers with their children. Reentry services are provided for less than half the cost of incarceration.

On an annual basis, on average, more than eight out of every 10 women served meet benchmarks identified as needed to reenter the community after incarceration.

A New Way of Life primarily admits women who have written them a letter while incarcerated, asking for help. Doing so demonstrates their willingness and commitment to leading productive lives.

“Not everyone wants to change,” Burton says, “but when they are ready, we will be here to support them.”

| Los Angeles |

“A

New Way of Life is the icing on my cake; it’s tailor-made to my life. They helped me grow not just as a person but as a woman, and a productive member of society. My children are the driving force of my ambition, through the organization I regained my independence and passion to be a mother. I can now be the mother I always dreamed of wanting to be. I owe this all to the support and tools given to me at A New Way of Life.”

– LaTanya Reed

“T

o know Susan is to love her: we always admired and respected her – her insights borne out of lived experience, wisdom, and discernment, her integrity, and her unwavering insistence on speaking unvarnished truth to power – but a relationship grounded in shared objectives has grown over the years into a deep, loving, trusting friendship.

“Given the gross inequities in a system steeped in structural racism and misogyny, it’s an honor to partner with Susan in her freedom work: emancipating incarcerated women here in L.A., across the nation, and around the world, providing supportive housing, employment readiness, and healthy peer networks, building self-esteem, reunifying mothers with their children…

“We truly love Susan like a sister, and she has become our closest mutual friend.”

– Michael J. Stubbs and Bill Resnick

A New Way of Life Aims Big: Build a Reentry Campus for Women

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fter decades of helping women rebuild their lives after incarceration, Susan Burton’s A New Way of Life has expanded its services to the point where it needs to grow its physical footprint. To meet this need, Burton plans to build a reentry campus that will include housing for women and an array of services located on-site. A one-stop shop to benefit formerly incarcerated women and their families.

To help Burton on her mission, she is asking people to donate whatever they can to kick off the search for a property and to begin development on her reentry campus.

“We spend $75,000 to incarcerate and punish women but nothing to support their reentry into the community,” Burton says. “This type of program needs to be replicated nationwide because they’re hundreds of thousands of women in prisons who need help.”

A New Way of Life

www.anewwayoflife.org PO Box 875288 Los Angeles, CA 90087

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Contact:

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT A NEW WAY OF LIFE

Claire Arce Claire@anewwayoflife.org (323) 563-3575

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BOARD MEMBERS Whitney Davis-Houston Barbara Osborn Laura Hernadez Regina Jones Nancy Moreno Tami Warren Lynn Nguyen Gregory Burks Kevin Holland Adrianne Kater Vonya Quarles Tam Watkins Deryk Howard Darryl Green Felicity Huffman Marta C. Lopez-Garza Soloman Rivera

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NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM:

Creating Just Justice Systems

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orn and raised in Oakland, California, David Muhammad faced his fair share of challenges, finding himself both in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Fortunately, Muhammad had the support of a Bay Area organization, which provided a scholarship to study journalism at Howard University.

After graduation, Muhammad came back to California as a journalist and decided to pay his positive experience forward by teaching writing workshops at juvenile detention centers. He became so engulfed in the work, he decided to make helping incarcerated youth his life’s focus.

“The more I started teaching those workshops in juvenile hall, the more I saw the need, potential, and challenges of the justice system. And that’s become my life’s journey,” Muhammad says.

Muhammad now leads Oakland-based National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR). The nonprofit provides consulting, technical assistance, and research to government agencies, community organizations, and foundations that are focused on bending the arc of juvenile and criminal justice to create systems that are actually just.

“Just being in the system has negative outcomes,” Muhammad says. “The youth in that system come from the same usually poor communities of color.”

An emphasis of the organization is a project it launched in 2020 focused on juvenile diversion. The Neighborhood Opportunity and Accountability Board, known as NOAB, was developed to provide an alternative to the juvenile justice system. Based on the modern principles of restorative justice, the project diverts youth

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accused of nonviolent felonies to appear before a board, not get entangled with the juvenile courts. The board is composed of community members from business owners to clergy to crime survivors who can provide young people with guidance and a chance to have their charges dismissed following completion of a tailored program. The aim is to support young people and increase public safety.

“Our purpose is to take the administration of justice back to the origins of town councils and elders, so there’s no adversarial system and punitive prisons,” Muhammad says. “It helps them to not further that behavior and to help them understand the impact they have made on any victims. Our current system doesn’t do that.”

Muhammad recalled sitting in on a board meeting with a young man who had been arrested for theft. His grandmother was there for support. After the meeting ended, the grandmother told the board members about her family’s struggle with incarceration and poverty. One of the board members had been formerly incarcerated himself and consoled her. He later asked the board if he could send the family $500 for support to help with their daily challenges.

“Without any exaggeration, every one of us was crying,” Muhammad remembers.

So far NOAB has 55 participants and is offered in Oakland and is expanding to nearby Richmond, Ca. But the NICJR aims to expand the program to more communities and start serving adults.

Their hope is to provide a national model to be replicated across the U.S.

| Los Angeles |

Funding for Families

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he National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform’s goal is to reduce incarceration and violence and better the lives of youth and adults who are arrested.

To do so, the institute seeks $500,000 to help create a community and safety net for youth and their families who partake in the community board program. The money would help them with immediate needs, as many struggle with single-parent households and poverty.

Following positive feedback from Oakland leaders, the institute is also hoping to expand on its successful community board program. It costs $150,000 to launch and run a new program. NICJR is in talks with representatives of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Fresno, and San Francisco counties to bring similar youth-focused restorative justice programs there.

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“I

know I made a mistake, so I’m just happy that I got the opportunity to make it right without havin’ to be locked up. This program helped me find a summer program that I really enjoy.”

– Jordan B. 14 years old

KEY SUPPORTERS ...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform Cheryl Bonacci cheryl@nicjr.org (818) 339-6928

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Microsoft The California Wellness Foundation The California Endowment The Zellerbach Family Foundation Public Welfare Foundation Peter Graham Sandra Friesen Kristen Brown Stephen Hull Gordon Baranco Catherine Nix

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ANTI-RECIDIVISM COALITION:

Comprehensive Support for the Formerly Incarcerated

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o support incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) not only offers rehabilitative programming, job training, housing access, and counseling services, but it also engages in advocacy bent on ending mass incarceration and reducing the footprint of the criminal legal system.

ARC’s origins trace back to 2013, when founder, film producer, and activist Scott Budnick, was volunteering for a writing and mentorship program in a juvenile hall facility. Budnick met incarcerated youth who were facing adult prison sentences – one young man faced more than 200 years in prison. He was moved to launch a peer support network for these young people so that they could return home successfully and thrive in the “free world.”

“Society is not set up to support people who are coming home from incarceration,” says Nicholas Reiner, ARC’s director of communications. “So, [we wanted to] provide assistance and resources to our members reintegrating into their communities.”

Nearly a decade later, ARC has co-sponsored more than 25 bills and has communicated with more than 10,000 current and formerly incarcerated individuals seeking reentry assistance. Over 1,700 adults and young people across California are ARC members with access to case management, mentorship, and mental health and wellness support, as well as transitional housing, legal, and education and career readiness services.

ARC stands out because they empower individuals who have been impacted by the criminal legal system to tell their own stories, give back to their communities, and become leaders in the space.

“We have leveraged the stories of people who have experienced these systems first-hand at the state, local, and federal level. We believe that the people closest to the issues are also closest to the solutions,” says Executive Director Sam Lewis.

In fact, Lewis points out that over 75 percent of their staff are

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system-impacted, including himself, having served 24 years of a life sentence prior to his rise from ARC Life Coach to executive director. ARC’s federal and state advocacy directors and community organizing managers were also once incarcerated. The leadership roles they hold show how formerly incarcerated people can act as decision-makers and strategists to drive systems change, he adds.

Moreover, ARC’s Hope and Redemption Team (HART) makes the organization unique, for it is made up of Life Coaches who previously served life sentences, and who now go back into California state prisons to provide parole board preparation, rehabilitative programming, and reentry support to those still in confinement. In July, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a new state budget that will expand the HART program to 31 California prisons by the end of 2021.

“Our Hope and Redemption Team has been in a third of California carceral facilities for the past five years. With the new plans for statewide scaling, we will have a representative in every California state prison who will help prepare people to be their best selves once they’re out,” Lewis says. “This means that the need for public and private investment in our organization is greater than ever so we can support these individuals both during and after incarceration.”

ARC hopes to one day scale its innovative model nationally.

According to Director of Development Rachel Chung, the recidivism rate for its members is less than 10% compared to about two-thirds for formerly incarcerated Californians with felony convictions.

Chung attributes ARC’s triumphs to its holistic approach to recidivism. “We provide a continuum of care that helps people not only reenter society, but reach their highest aspirations and give back to their community in meaningful ways.”

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“I

’ve seen first-hand the transformative power of ARC’s work in the justice reform space. They stand out in the field because of their unique community-based approach to advocacy and direct services as well as their commitment to elevating leaders with lived experience. I am grateful for their thought partnership as we continue to advance equity, safety, and healing together.”

– Aly Tamboura

The Just Trust Associate Program Lead, formerly a criminal justice reform manager at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (ARC funder)

“I

am a resident of the Lorena Housing Program, and the support I have received is immeasurable. The Life Coaches on staff truly care and make it a point to keep track of your goals and monitor personal and professional progress in a way that is both natural and motivating. I want to thank each and every person I have met through ARC and express my gratitude for the organization that gave me a life of purpose. ARC truly lives up to its mission statement of comprehensively supporting members through both reentry and providing a network of supportive community members.”

– Myles Flournoy

ARC member, Hope and Redemption graduate

Support Women and Gender Non-Binary Individuals

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KEY SUPPORTERS

n 2019, ARC’s rapidly growing membership revealed a gap in specialized programs that served the unique needs of formerly incarcerated women and non-binary people. In response, ARC launched their Womxn and Non-Binary Programs department which aims to provide better gender-responsive services like child and family reunification. The program provides safe support groups on topics such as domestic violence – an issue which nearly 100 percent of incarcerated women have experienced at some point in their lives. To engage in a broader dialogue with the public around women and incarceration, the department recently launched their “Free World” podcast, which elevates the underrepresented voices of system-impacted women in the justice reform space.

“We can very confidently say this is likely the only podcast among the millions out there that is hosted and produced by formerly incarcerated women,” says Nicholas Reiner, ARC’s director of communications.

It is also important to note that Rachel Chung, ARC’s director of development, says that the organization is seeking funding support to grow its services for women, gender non-conforming people, and transitional age youth.

Anti-Recidivism Coalition www.antirecidivism.org 1320 East 7th Street, Suite 260 Los Angeles, CA 90021

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Key institutional partners: California Endowment California Wellness Foundation Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Irvine Foundation Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation Sergey Brin Family Foundation Board of Directors: Paul Blavin Scott Budnick Jerome Dixon Dede Gardner Michael Goldstein Adam Gunther Esché Jackson Ron Kaye Jason Post

Contact:

Sam Lewis, Executive Director slewis@antirecidivism.org (213) 572-6980

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT ANTI-RECIDIVISM COALITION

Tim Storey Mara Burros-Sandler George Wells Prophet Walker Kristen Ingram Brad Slater Toni Michelle White Brandon Williams

Rachel Chung, Director of Development rchung@antirecidivism.org (213) 418-9448

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CENTINELA YOUTH SERVICES:

Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Students trained as mediators go on a trip to the Western Justice Center to showcase their conflict resolution skills

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hen Jessica Ellis explains why she works at Centinela Youth Services (CYS), she can’t shake the memory of an 11-year-old boy who was facing school expulsion. The boy was accused of “sexual assault” for twerking at a middle school dance.

“This damaging label would be on his permanent educational record if CYS had not intervened,” Ellis, the nonprofit’s executive director, says. Through CYS’s Everychild Restorative Justice Center division, CYS and partners were able to get the case dropped.

“This boy was in foster care and had experienced a lot of trauma that was expressed in disruptive behaviors,” Ellis says. “He was just placed with his elderly grandmother and hadn’t yet received any support for all the trauma he’d experienced.

We advocate to ensure children receive appropriate treatment rather than unnecessary criminalization.”

At the heart of CYS’s work is the goal to create spaces for honest and sometimes

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uncomfortable conversations to occur in the form of Restorative Justice sessions. Trained community volunteers facilitate restorative agreements between young people and the victims they have harmed. Each young person chooses to take responsibility for their actions and finds ways to make things right directly to those impacted. The idea is to create empathy and understanding between the young people and those they hurt, to rebuild relationships and restore communities.

“This creates meaningful accountability while improving public safety,” Ellis says.

“Our work interrupts the legal trajectory of the young person’s case in exchange for making things right directly with the victim, leading to lower recidivism and higher victim satisfaction. We put justice back into the hands of the community.”

Studies have found that any engagement with the punitive justice system can create lifelong negative impacts on teens and increases the chances of further crime. Established in 1983, CYS focuses special attention on outreach in low| Los Angeles |

income communities of color, which have experienced racial bias in the justice system for decades, providing opportunities to interrupt the arrest process with more effective services. Black youths now account for a third of arrested juveniles in Los Angeles, nearly double the percentage a decade ago, according to LAPD arrest data.

They make up just 9% of L.A. County’s population.

Working directly with police departments across Los Angeles County, CYS regularly receives referrals from officers who now recognize most youth crimes can be handled more effectively outside of the courtroom.

The nonprofit offers police training, family conflict mediation, and skilling up community volunteers to facilitate restorative justice and family conflict mediations.

The results speak for themselves. For example, prior to 2015, nearly 200 students in the Compton Unified School District were arrested annually. Through training and relationship building with the district’s police department, principals, and teachers, CYS helped drop student arrests by 95% to just 11 in 2019. One of the main strategies CYS employs to help ensure young people thrive is to support law enforcement and schools to shift from harmful punitive practices toward those rooted in the latest brain science on adolescent development.

Beyond its life-changing work with young people and those impacted by youth crime, CYS is dedicated to driving policies that end the practice of locking kids up unnecessarily when more effective options are available, an effort, Ellis says, requires addressing systemic policies and practices that drive inequity.

“Our society has been waking up to system inequities and the biggest problem we see is over-criminalization of youth of color in under-resourced communities,” Ellis says. “Our youth face the frequent prospect of suspensions or arrest when youth in wealthier communities are offered counseling for comparable behaviors. We must invest in the success of ALL of our youth.”

“T

he current punitive justice system doesn’t work, so we have to figure out a way to stop the cycle. We cannot continue to lock kids up and throw them away like they don’t matter.”

– Raykel Tolson

CYS Volunteer and community member

Volunteer mediators in training, role-playing a restorative justice mediation between a youth who created harm and the person they harmed

“W

hen we first came to you, we were at the end of the rope, with little hope. We were miserable parents, and you said you can help us. Nobody likes being told what to do or be criticized… you never did that! You gave us the tools to be parents, you gave us homework, and if we did it good things would come from it. Had to show you with these pics! And there are no words to say thank you enough. Love, Linda.”

– Letter from parent of a 15-year-old to the CYS Volunteers who helped her family, with photos of now happy family dinners and report cards with all As and Bs that were previously Ds and Fs

Become a Champion for Change

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entinela Youth Services has a long-term vision to ensure all youths have an equal opportunity to thrive and become contributing members of their communities.

“True change, focused on equity, takes sustainable, predictable revenue and committed champions,” says Executive Director Jessica Ellis. Through 2022, CYS will be growing its Champions for Change Circle – C3.

Donors who commit to three years of giving at least $1,000 SCAN TO MAKE annually have the opportunity to hear directly from impacted A DONATION... families, learn about system equity issues and help advise on CYS’s policy change efforts. Contributors will help CYS reach more young people, going beyond the 2,500 it already serves each year.

Ellis says it’s not enough to simply provide direct services to families in need if the organization isn’t simultaneously addressing the systemic causes that drove the need in the first place: “We’d like to give our supporters more of a window on these oftenunseen forces at work.” ...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CENTINELA YOUTH SERVICES

Centinela Youth Services Centinela Youth Services, Inc.

www.cys-la.org 110 S. La Brea Ave., Suite #450 Inglewood, CA 90301

Contact

Jessica J. Ellis, Executive Director (310) 970-7785 jellis@cys-la.org

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KEY SUPPORTERS Ahmanson Foundation Ballmer Group Black Equity Initiative California Board of State and Community Corrections California Community Foundation Annie E. Casey Foundation Winona Dorris Michael Douglass Everychild Foundation Goodwin Family Foundation Dr. Mark Henderson L.A. County Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Robert Pullen-Miles Danielle Sevilla Bernadette Suárez Union Bank Olivia Valentine Weingart Foundation

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| Los Angeles |

Legal Advocacy “Rather than a child welfare system that protects children from their parents, we envision one that strengthens families and strengthens communities so parents can keep their children safe because that’s all that all parents want. It really is an investment in the next generation, it’s breaking the cycle and it’s extremely effective.”

– Leslie Starr Heimov Executive Director, Children’s Law Center of California

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A Career Spent Building L.A.’s Civic Strength As told to Joe Donnelly

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teven Nissen might be the most impactful public servant you’ve never heard of, probably because he doesn’t fit the stereotype of a public servant.

Though he served as senior staff for Governor Gray Davis, with a portfolio that included planning, research, and innovation, Nissen has never held public office. Yet, his interest and involvement in public service dates back almost to the day he graduated Boalt Hall Law School in the star-spangled summer of our nation’s bicentennial. It wasn’t just the spirit of 1976, though, that sparked the Los Angeles native to pursue a lifetime of civic engagement, but rather a family tradition of community-mindedness that was handed down through countless dinner conversations.

In decades following law school, Nissen, among other things, developed the tiny Public Counsel Law Center into the nation’s largest pro bono law office, served as CEO of the State Bar of California, and chaired the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation as well as the Chamber of Commerce. He currently sits on the board of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. Recently retired from NBC Universal, Nissen has started Nissen Consulting Group, whose foremost client is the pioneering medical research nonprofit, the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Research.

It’s almost impossible to characterize a sprawling lifetime of community engagement, but if there’s been one guide star to Nissen’s civic endeavors, it would probably be his bedrock commitment to the community he was raised in and which he believes still holds the promise of a better life for so many.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and concision.

Where did this sense of civic engagement come from?

I just grew up with the values that you’re part of the community, you contribute to the community, you should contribute to the community more than you take from it… My father was a union labor lawyer. His firm represented everybody from the sheet metal workers to what is now the SEIU [Service Employees International Union] and some of the early Hollywood guilds. So, I grew up with dinner conversations about how we treat everybody with dignity and respect to just a sense of the rewards of really working for the underdog.

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You’ve worked at this intersection of commerce and civic engagement — including your time as chair of the Chamber of Commerce — and some skeptics out there might say that intersection doesn’t really exist, that the twain never actually really meet. What’s your experience with that?

So that’s a great question and, I’ll say a couple of things: One is that I clearly was not out of central casting to be the chair of the Chamber of Commerce. On the other hand, in Los Angeles in particular, the Chamber is a very progressive organization. And here I was at a big media company, with an opportunity to really engage the business community and then the larger Los Angeles community in ways that I think the Chamber was very open to.

We live in a unique community in Los Angeles, and I think this business community is not a typical business community.

We don’t have large fortune 500 companies in Los Angeles

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— we have a lot of entrepreneurs. It’s a very innovative, creative and I think, most importantly, diverse community. So, I think we all believed, and I certainly believed as chair, that if we didn’t harness that diversity that is Los Angeles, we couldn’t succeed together as a community. So, you’re right, the twain doesn’t always meet, but it can and does. At least in the case of the L.A. Chamber, I think, for the most part, it did and continues to do so.

Los Angeles has been pretty expansive in its ability to absorb and accommodate a wide spectrum of dreamers and dreams. Are you concerned that it is running out of its capacity to do that, particularly as we move more into an era of city state-like global hubs? Los Angeles is such an important hub for the Pacific Rim in Latin America and the Southwest of this country.

I grew up in Los Angeles and I think of Los Angeles as the most, and I’m not alone, innovative, creative place on earth. And it nurtured generations of people who come from elsewhere and who thrive here. But I think we’re really at an inflection point that in part was highlighted by the pandemic in that you have just a very large segment of the population that can barely afford subsistence. I mean, forget about housing, which is overpriced even for people who have means, but just for people to live daily lives and be able to educate their kids and clothe their kids and function in society. We are really at an inflection point. And for this experiment that we call Los Angeles to continue to thrive and function, we can’t really have that kind of economic divide between rich and poor.

What is the efficacy of philanthropy in addressing these types of fundamental and profound issues? There’s some sense that we can philanthropy our way out of these things.

No, philanthropy can’t solve it alone. All philanthropy can be is the starter yeast for both discussions and first steps to solving bigger problems. But those first steps go nowhere unless government is engaged and for government to be effectively engaged, we need strong leaders who are courageous, who won’t buckle at the first complaint of NIMBYism.

So, it takes vision and courage from our political leaders and it also takes commitment from our civic leaders. Obviously, it takes a commitment of funds from philanthropy, but it just takes a collective will that we can’t wish these problems away.

We actually have to roll up our sleeves and invest in solutions and be committed to treating everybody with equal dignity.

Because at the end of the day for all of us, public safety, public good, equal opportunity, is sort of the bottom line.

You have moved more into consulting these days. What takes up most of your time now?

Since I retired in January of 2020 from NBCUniversal, who have been great and whom I continue to consult for, I decided it would be interesting at this stage of life to pursue a bunch of passion projects. So, in addition to NBCUniversal, I have been consulting for a number of other groups. The one that has taken the most time and has been a real labor of love is called the Lundquist Institute, a medical research institute located in an unincorporated area in South Los Angeles, right next to Torrance.

Melanie and Richard Lundquist for their 70th birthdays, which were a couple of days apart, committed $70 million to what was then LA Biomed. So we changed the name to the Lundquist Institute. I had been chair of the board for four years a decade ago and talked to them about consulting for them because they needed help building the larger institution – expanding the board, facilities, community engagement, governmental affairs, and a higher profile with charitable institutions. So I’ve been helping them with all of that.

Here’s why I love the Lundquist Institute: They are in a socioeconomically diverse area of Los Angeles. Some of the richest communities and some of the very poorest people from all over the world live in the areas around Torrance – multiethnic, multinational, multiracial. So, you really have this melting pot of society adjacent to where the Institute is located. You have some of the most brilliant doctors and PhDs, biochemists, and researchers working at this institute, and then they, literally, walk down the road to Harbor UCLA hospital and they’ll treat patients who otherwise couldn’t afford even basic medical care, let alone getting world-class medical care often with cutting-edge therapies that are created at the Lundquist Institute.

The Institute not only works on treatments and cures and procedures, but it also provides education. So they have incredibly diverse students who otherwise wouldn’t even be involved in STEM activities, but because the neighborhood the Institute is located in is underserved, the Institute reaches out and brings people into the sciences who otherwise may never have considered it as a career — from elementary schools in the neighborhood to a diverse PhD program. The Institute has a mini medical school and Little Einsteins program which inspires kids who never would have been exposed to this to think that they could become doctors and researchers.

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PUBLIC COUNSEL:

A Pro Bono Powerhouse for Southern California and Beyond

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ounded by attorney Frederick Nicholas in Los Angeles in 1970, Public Counsel has grown to become the nation’s largest public interest law firm specializing in delivering pro bono legal services to low-income communities. Its more than 70 lawyers and 140 total staff, together with a national volunteer force of no less than 3,000 volunteers, make it possible for the nonprofit to deliver $80 million of free legal assistance to low-income clients in Los Angeles County, while bringing civil rights litigation that impacts people throughout California and the United States.

“Nicholas started out with just a three-person team,” says Joshua Busch, Public Counsel’s director of communications. “Over the years, Public Counsel has grown to include a wide range of specialties and services covering everything from consumer rights to preventing homelessness.”

Although Public Counsel’s primary focus is providing direct legal services at no cost to low-income clients, the organization also has a strong track record of pursuing larger lawsuits against government agencies and corporations that discriminate or otherwise violate the civil rights of communities of color and other groups. Notable examples include lawsuits against the states of Michigan and California for violating their mandates to ensure school literacy for underserved school children.

Another Public Counsel lawsuit targets predatory loan practices.

“We have hundreds of elderly folks on fixed incomes that are currently at risk of losing their homes, so we filed a lawsuit against the financial institutions that operate this program and the County of Los Angeles, which signed off on this program.” The strategy paid off. L.A. County banned the shady practice outright.

Public Counsel’s ongoing advocacy work also concerns eviction

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protections for county residents who have suffered economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our attorneys helped to lead the charge by working with community partners, the City, the County of L.A., and the State to push for rental protections for tenants facing evictions,” Busch says.

In 2020, L.A.’s elected officials enacted an eviction moratorium, “which it had never done before.”

Alongside that effort, Public Counsel advocated for rent relief for Southern California tenants.

“We were able to stop people from being put on the streets in the middle of a pandemic, but in the meantime, they were being saddled with rent,” Busch says. “We pushed for this program both locally and statewide and when the Biden Administration included rent relief in its stimulus package, California was positioned to take advantage of that opportunity.”

It’s little surprise that the pandemic has brought into sharp focus just how important a role organizations like Public Counsel play for families, nonprofits, and small businesses in communities with lower incomes.

“The way Public Counsel responded to the pandemic is a testament to our organization’s strength and value in the community,” Busch says. “We were firing on all cylinders to help people avoid bankruptcy, help small businesses get loans and apply for benefits, and sadly, we even assisted an influx of caregivers to establish guardianship of children who lost parents due to COVID.” With a half-century-long tradition of defending the vulnerable, Public Counsel’s commitment to justice is more crucial today than ever before.

| Los Angeles |

“F

or more than 50 years, Public Counsel has been a beacon of hope, light, and love for our communities and nation. As a longtime supporter, I’m honored to support its mission to ensure that everyone has equal access to justice and opportunity, no matter where they come from, what they look like, or what they can afford.

Your contribution empowers attorneys, paralegals, and social workers to continue their work on the front lines defending the rights of people experiencing poverty and households with lower incomes.

Please join us in creating a more just world for all of us.”

– Bruce Cormicle

Law Office of Bruce Cormicle

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here were days where I was watching the darkness, and I thought, I’m probably not going to make it – I’ll have to go back to El Salvador and see my poor life again. But every time that I went to Public Counsel, positive people told me I was going to make it and that I would be the person I was dreaming about. When I finally received asylum, I was so happy that I wanted to scream, cry, and jump on my bed.

Everything worked out just like they said. That’s the real happiness that I will never forget.”

– Public Counsel client Ronaldo (left) with attorney HyunJoo Lee

KEY SUPPORTERS

Outsized Impact

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n 2020, Public Counsel provided legal services to 19,000 people and 150 nonprofit organizations nationwide. Its impact goes far beyond providing direct representation to low-income individuals, families, and small businesses, and includes helping to reform public policy in Los Angeles, California, and nationwide.

To do this, Public Counsel depends on not only its highly qualified staff and thousands of lawyers and students who volunteer their time and expertise, but also the generosity of private donors. Of the 3,600 people to whom it provided full representation last year, 2,900 or 82% won their cases, resulting in $4 million in revenue and savings for its clients.

Public Counsel’s civil rights lawsuits also obtained positive outcomes for millions of people.

To learn more about Public Counsel and to donate, please visit www.publiccounsel.org.

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT PUBLIC COUNSEL

Ahmanson Foundation Bank of America California Community Foundation California Endowment Capital Group Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Eisner Foundation NBCUniversal In-N-Out Burger Southern California Edison TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund Walt Disney Company Jonathan H. Anschell, Mattel, Inc. Karen N. Frederiksen, The Walt Disney Company Daniel Grunfeld, past President & CEO of Public Counsel Tanya Acker, Co-host Hot Bench (CBS Television Distribution) David G. Johnson, ACT 4 Entertainment Roman M. Silberfeld, Robins Kaplan LLP Morgan Chu, Irell & Manella LLP Stacy D. Phillips, Blank Rome LLP

Public Counsel

Tracy K. Rice, Esq., Vice President and Chief Development Officer trice@publiccounsel.org (213) 385-2977, ext. 120 | Fax: (213) 637-3893 www.publiccounsel.org 610 South Ardmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90005

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LEARNING RIGHTS LAW CENTER:

Justice for Students with Educational Barriers

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he Learning Rights Law Center exists for a singular purpose: To ensure that no child will suffer from the tragic yet avoidable consequences of having an undiagnosed disability or being discriminated against in an educational setting. The organization is the brainchild of Janeen Steel, a lawyer, who herself suffered from an undiagnosed learning disability that almost derailed her academic career.

“She realized her story was not unique, and that there are so many people in Los Angeles that were falling through the cracks,” says the Law Center’s Executive Director Randi Sunshine. “In addition to that, there are thousands of families in L.A. that are made up of immigrants and many of them do not speak the language. They really don’t know how to navigate the complexity of the special ed system.”

More than 10 percent of all students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are estimated to have disabilities, according to the school district’s own estimates. And 93 percent of youth in the county’s juvenile justice system have open mental health cases, according to figures provided to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors by the county’s health department.

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“There were a lot of kids who were not getting services within the school district and then ending up in the system,” Sunshine says. “For far too many children, it’s a schoolto-prison pipeline.”

Founded 16 years ago, LRLC now represents and supports students and families throughout Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, with a staff that includes fulltime attorneys, paralegals, and educational outreach advocates. Besides disabilities, the Center also takes on cases of gender and sexual discrimination, as well as racial discrimination and bullying.

“Everything we do is family by family,” Sunshine says.

The organization’s Training Individuals for Grassroots Education Reform, or TIGER program, Sunshine adds, was started in 2005 to support low-income and immigrant families as they help themselves and each other navigate the challenges of their county’s educational bureaucracy.

“Parents take classes in special ed law at a level they can understand,” Sunshine says.

“We give them documents they can work with, templates they might need to write to | Los Angeles |

a school and request documentation. The parents that are selected to be in the TIGER program are extremely impoverished, at 125 percent or below the federal poverty line, and the majority are Spanish speaking. In our TIGER program, 100 percent of the staff is bilingual.”

The Center’s Education Advocacy program provides direct representation to help families enforce their right to a free and appropriate public education for their children. It has helped resolve conflicts within individual schools, in conjunction with agencies like the California Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, and Office of Administrative Hearings Special Education Division, without having to resort to litigation.

“W

e are very successful in our cases because the school district knows that it needs to provide the services to kids that have been diagnosed,” she says. “You just have to ask for those services, which means you have to train the parents. But with 84,000 students in special education in LAUSD alone, and 80 school districts within L.A. County, we cannot do it all by ourselves.”

– Alicia Miñana Lovelace

Founding Board Chair

“M

y son was diagnosed with a developmental disability at age two. My understanding of his special education rights was limited. I left IEP meetings feeling hopeless. I knew what my son needed, but not how to advocate for him.

“The tools I acquired through Learning Rights go beyond special education. I completed TIGER trainings and began to make assertive decisions after my first class. I obtained the tools to advocate and the confidence to make a change for my son, family, and community.

“Thank you Learning Rights for the tools of empowerment to create paths for individuals to a better quality of life!”

Secure Educational Equity for Underserved Students

– Learning Rights TIGER Parent

W

e provide free legal and advocacy services to low-income students with disabilities who face discrimination and are denied equal access to education.

Our TIGER program educates hundreds of parents each year, giving them the tools to navigate the special education system and advocate for their children. This intensive, year-long program empowers parents to be voices for education equity and reform in their own communities.

Your support will enable us to reach our annual fundraising goal of $270,000 and continue our work to achieve educational equity and justice for low-income students who are denied equal access to education.

Every $500 donated is another client that we can secure quality education services and support for. Your generosity will ensure that we will continue our vision for all children to receive a meaningful and equitable education which empowers them to grow into happy, productive, and independent adults.

Learning Rights Law Center

www.learningrights.org 1625 West Olympic Blvd., Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90015

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT LEARNING RIGHTS LAW CENTER

Contact:

Randi Sunshine, Executive Director (213) 489-4030 randi@learningrights.org

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ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS:

A Full-Service Approach to Fostering Stability for Children

I

n the fraught world of child welfare, the 30-year-old Alliance for Children’s Rights has always found a way to discover something resembling normalcy for children and youth who have experienced abuse or neglect.

For Jenniffer, now 26 years old, the Alliance was there when she struggled through school, and then again when she was homeless, sleeping in her car with her two children.

Throughout, the Alliance’s attorneys and social workers helped her navigate her education, secure housing for her and her family, learn life and parenting skills, obtain health care for her children and get mental health support.

“Everybody says you need a village to raise kids, but I also needed a village to raise myself,” Jenniffer says. “The Alliance, they’re my village.”

Before the expansive support that the nonprofit law firm now offers, the Alliance was laser focused on the thousands of children languishing in Los Angeles’ foster care system (the largest of its kind in the nation), awaiting adoption.

In 2000, the Alliance teamed up with local and national players in child welfare to launch National Adoption Day, on which children are adopted out of foster care on the Friday or Saturday before Thanksgiving. Over the years the effort has resulted in over 80,000 children nationwide being adopted by their forever families. But the Alliance realized that it had to expand its work to help children and youth find success across all aspects of their lives. This includes helping with education, public benefits, and transitioning to independence to ensure these children and young adults stay stable – and get what they need to thrive.

“We really believe in addressing all of any child’s needs,” says Alliance for Children’s Rights President and CEO Jen Braun, an attorney who first joined the Alliance as its legal director follow-

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ing stints in government, legal services and private practice. “In both our legal advocacy for our young clients, and our work to improve systems, if we are going to be child centered, the approach has to be holistic.”

The Alliance is now focused on lessening the devastating impact of COVID-19 on these children, many of whom have fallen further behind in their development and studies.

“More than half of kids in foster care, for example, have identified special needs and many have struggled to learn remotely during the pandemic,” Braun says. “Young children have missed out on therapies like speech and occupational therapy and need to be caught up.” Ensuring their clients have stable housing is also a top concern today.

“The barriers to both economic and educational opportunities, which are critical for all young people, have just been exacerbated in such an extreme way,” Braun says. “Those kids are really struggling, and we need to step up to clear those barriers for them.”

Racial justice is also at the forefront of the Alliance’s work. Two in five kids in L.A. County’s foster care system are Black, yet they make up about 10 percent of the total child population. Fourteen percent of American Indian children experience foster care by the age of 18 compared to four percent of White children and 12 percent of Black children.

The Alliance co-hosted a virtual policy summit in February that brought some 400 professionals, youth, parents, advocates and caregivers together to brainstorm ways to create a more equitable system. The campaign includes proposed policy changes, such as clearing the way for children who have been removed from their parents’ homes to be more easily placed with relatives or family friends in their own communities. As of July, many of those with past minor offenses unrelated to child safety, including Black communities who have bore the brunt of biased policing, were excluded from taking in children.

“Families in the Black and American Indian communities can be the best placements for these children to whom they are related,” Braun says. “We know kids’ placements are more stable when they are placed with their family and friends.”

| Los Angeles |

“T

hanks to the Alliance, we were able to give them security, stability, and love – the things that made them feel like they were home.”

– The Anderson Family

“I

support the Alliance for Children’s Rights because it’s a terrific organization! They are simply the best at protecting the rights of foster youth and their caregivers, while at the same time advocating for systemic change. The staff is brilliant, caring and hardworking, and the board is extremely dedicated. The Alliance works tirelessly to ensure that foster youth have what they need to reach their full potential – safety, loving families, education that meets their needs, health care, role models and, when needed, a path to age out of the system when they reach adulthood. No other organization in L.A. does all that they do!”

Board Member

A $100,000 Goal

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

P

photo by Thomas Wasper

– Leslie Gilbert-Lurie

hilanthropy is the lifeblood that makes it possible for the Alliance he Alliance was a blessing to me. to provide legal and social services free There aren’t many people who would of charge to children, young adults and go out of their way to be there for you in the families affected by foster care. middle of the night, and be in your corner The pandemic, systemic racism, and when you don’t know what to do. I had never economic disparities have deeply imexperienced that kind of care before. People think that if you’re pacted these families. in foster care, you’re an outcast. But really, we’re special. We’ve To boost its efforts in 2021, the Allibeen through a lot, and we come out the other side somehow – ...AND LEARN MORE ance is seeking $100,000 total in donawe are strong. We know what it means to survive. Every day, we ABOUT ALLIANCE FOR tions from the community so they can heal and do our best to give back love.”

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS provide additional hours of free ser– Jay vices to help kids and families emerge Client from the pandemic.

The funds will expedite the backlog of cases the Alliance is now working through as a result of agency, school and court BOARD OF DIRECTORS shutdowns, and make a deep, lasting impact with reforms to Scott Edelman Steven A. Marenberg* Co-Chairs make our child welfare system more equitable and just.

“T

Alliance for Children’s Rights

Kerri Seibly, Chief Development Officer (213) 368-6010 ext. 115 give@alliancecr.org allianceforchildrensrights.org/donate 3333 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550 Los Angeles, CA 90010

Rick Rosen Chris B. Walther Secretary Phillip Rudolph Treasurer Trent Copeland Directors Matthew Babrick Karey Burke Manuel Cachán James P. Clark Dena Cook Yasmine Delawari Johnson

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Alan J. Epstein E. Martin Estrada Alex Fixmer Susan F. Friedman Andrew D. Garelick Clifford W. Gilbert-Lurie* Leslie Gilbert-Lurie* Barbara Grushow Angie Harmon Gino Isaac Jo Kaplan Mitchell T. Kaplan Karen Mack

Gary Newman Mary Ritti Alex G. Romain Bruce Rosenblum Bradley Ross Susan Saltz José F. Sanchez Toni M. Schulman* Kris Spazafumo Silvia Vannini Robert J. Woolway

*Former Board Chairs

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CHILDREN’S LAW CENTER:

Breaking the Foster Care Cycle, One Young Family at a Time T

he Children’s Law Center of California is the nation’s largest nonprofit law firm exclusively representing children – including those who are part of Los Angeles County’s complex and intimidating dependency courts, where judges make life-altering decisions. The firm represents a mind-blowing 35,000 children and youth.

CLC’s skilled lawyers represent children in some of the highest stakes proceedings in American jurisprudence, such as whether or not a child will be severed from or reunified with his or her biological parents.

Since its launch in 1990, CLC has expanded its work beyond straightforward representation, pioneering the concept of “multi-disciplinary advocacy teams” that include clinicians, social workers, peer advocates, and educational and mental health specialists to ensure that the children, youth and families the firm serves are wrapped with the support they need.

“Rather than a child welfare system that keeps children from their families in the name of ‘protection,’ we envision one that strengthens families and communities so children can remain safely in their homes with their parents. That is what is best for our clients, their families, and society at large,” says CLC’s veteran Executive Director Leslie Starr Heimov.

CLC was also among the first, if not the first, law offices in the nation to hire former foster youth to serve as peer advocates. They help older kids still in the system with critical life tasks such as filling out financial aid forms, locating housing or getting a job.

The specialized Child Advocacy and Resource Effort Program, or “CARE” teams, serve hundreds of high-need foster care youth who are victims of trafficking, have been arrested, are parents

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themselves, or have complex mental health needs. Their attorneys have greatly reduced caseloads and work alongside survivor and peer advocates, case managers and mental health experts.

“It’s an extremely expensive service delivery model, but if we want to be successful with the kids that have the most challenges in front of them, we have to put the resources into them so that they can heal and move forward,” Heimov says.

CLC’s CARE Team for Expectant and Parenting Youth (EPY), which began as a pilot program two years ago, seeks to break the multi-generational foster care cycle. Half of children born to mothers in foster care will enter the child welfare system by their second birthday, according to a 2018 study in the Journal of Pediatrics.

“That’s not because they are bad parents,” Heimov stresses. “It’s because every move they make is scrutinized by someone, and they do not have access to the same resources, tools and support that other parents do.”

When Jewell, a new teen mother, met CLC’s attorneys and case managers at the age of 16, she was “going through a lot.”

“I didn’t really have anything so the Children’s Law Center helped me get the things that I needed for me and my daughter as well,” she says.

Today, with that support, Jewell is attending college, provides for her daughter and calls her new outlook “amazing.”

With the odds stacked against young parents in foster care, CLC realized it needs to invest in them with love, support and supplies before and after the birth so that they can become the family they desire.

“It really is an investment in the next generation, it’s breaking the cycle and it’s extremely effective,” Heimov says.

| Los Angeles |

“W

A $2500 Gift

C

hildren’s Law Center of California’s multidisciplinary advocacy enables the nonprofit law firm to protect and promote the well-being of its clients, especially those in need of urgent involvement. CLC offers intensive care and support for young parents and those about to become parents in foster care. Through relational legal advocacy, its new prevention project can address obstacles that may arise for a young parent. From securing diapers and blankets to helping parents set up childcare or other support, CLC strives to prevent more children and families from entering the foster care system. As of July, this project served nearly 170 clients.

Your gift of $2,500 would help CLC expand this vital program, helping to break the foster care cycle, one young family at a time.

hile navigating the complicated layers of the child welfare system, my wife and I learned about CLC and their incredible advocacy for youth in foster care. We support CLC because we are passionate about making contributions that will last and will impact as many children as possible. The unfortunate fact is that CLC’s clients have so many unmet needs, and they need your help to reach the tens of thousands of youth they represent.”

– Tyler Childs

Founder, Forward Artist Management

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“M

y CLC attorney made me feel like they were truly on my side, continuously advocating for me. For them, it was always about what was in my best interest. Not my mother’s, the system’s, just me.”

FRIENDS OF CLC

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CHILDREN’S LAW CENTER

– CLC Client

Children’s Law Center

Leslie Heimov, Executive Director (323) 980-1538 heimovl@clccal.org www.clccal.org 101 Centre Plaza Drive, Monterey Park, CA 91754

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Samson Mengistu Roland and Sally Kelly Joseph and Jean Mandel California Community Foundation American Business Bank Tyler Childs and Caitlin Youngs Benjy Grinberg and Ellen Goldberg Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Reissa Foundation The Barry and Wendy Meyer Foundation The Durfee Foundation Dario Frommer Samuel and Helene Soref Foundation Neal Kaufman, MD, MPH Dara and Conan Barker Chay and Kim Lapin Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Sacramento Region Community Foundation Perkins Coie LLP – International Law Firm Majestic Realty Foundation

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| Los Angeles |

Leading the Way, Social Change “We are challenging the consensus that the government has no role to play in ending a major societal issue like hunger. Our notion is that as a small organization, working to feed those millions of people would be hard. But making sure we could persuade policy makers to do the right thing, would enact real change.”

– Abby Leibman President and CEO, MAZON

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Equal Parts Optimist and Philanthropist

by Les Firestein

H

ow would you feel if you lived with multiple sclerosis for more than half a century and, in an unrelated incident, needed a kidney transplant from your son? In philanthropist Bruce Corwin’s case, he feels overwhelmingly grateful. Never one to feel sorry for himself, Corwin is grateful to have survived everything life has thrown at him, grateful to have thrived, and has always been most grateful of all for the opportunity to help others. According to Corwin, what drove his philanthropy was, pure and simple, that helping people was fun.

“Helping my friend Tom Bradley get elected the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city, building theaters in Watts after the 1965 riots, building the Discovery Cube science museum, and the Martin Luther King Community Hospital – all of these were just fun. And obviously it’s gratifying that we also did a lot of good and that so much of it has endured.”

Corwin came to philanthropy naturally. His father founded the Metropolitan Theatres chain in Los Angeles where giving was always core to the mission.

“Helping was in our blood. It’s just… what one did. We started with our own [Jewish] community and gave what we had,” Corwin says. “Since theater was our business, for underfunded congregations that needed a physical place of worship, my folks would hold high holy day services in our theaters. My dad also donated pipe organs to congregations in need, because organs were both necessary and prohibitively expensive.”

It would not be the last time Corwin was involved with organ donation; later in life he would be on the receiving end of a different kind of organ: a kidney from his son. “I definitely believe in karma,” Corwin says with a wry smile.

Though the Corwin family began their philanthropic journey by helping Jews in need, their mission has grown significantly. Corwin’s family synagogue (Temple Israel of Hollywood) was an early booster of Martin Luther King Jr. In fact, they sponsored an important speech of King’s, and as a result a 25-year-old Corwin met Dr. King when the reverend spoke at Temple Israel in 1965.

“I always simply did what I believed was right and necessary at the time,” Corwin says. This attitude eventually led to Corwin’s arrest for participating in sit-ins at lunch counters in Maryland, which he considers a badge of honor. But this was just the beginning of Corwin’s active engagement in helping the disadvantaged, disenfranchised, and oppressed.

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“Years later after the Watts riots, Tom Bradley, who was then just an L.A. city councilman, came to me. He wanted to put movie theaters in Watts. He thought it was important. So, we collaborated with a bunch of other exhibitors, and everyone pitched in.”

Corwin and Bradley brought a number of theaters to Watts and in the process also kicked off an incredible friendship that lasted all the way up until Bradley’s death in 1998. Over the course of that decades-long friendship, Corwin was the treasurer of all Tom Bradley’s mayoral campaigns – in fact, he was the treasurer of Tom Bradley’s entire political career.

“We supported something the community wanted and needed, and the community was instrumental in establishing the new hospital’s scope, style, and mission. That’s why MLK is so much more than just about ‘trauma.’ For example, that’s why ‘wellness’ is also an enormous part of the new hospital’s mission.”

Corwin thinks the significance of the sometimesunderappreciated political ascension of Mayor Bradley cannot be overstated. Corwin says Bradley paved the way for Barack Obama to become president not just in terms of how he conducted himself, but by straddling the interests of so many diverse groups. Corwin attributes many of his most valuable life lessons from his years working with Bradley.

“Our theaters in Watts were successful for a while. But they were also sort of ‘gifted’ to the community rather than emerging from the community. So, after the initial positive impact, I think the theaters started to be perceived as the ‘work’ of white liberals.

That’s why we were eventually replaced by Magic Johnson Theatres. There was a definite learning curve there. We learned that with some of these urban solutions, it’s gotta bubble up from the community. The solutions have to be home grown.”

“We all learned a lot from both the success of the Watts theaters as well as their built-in limitations. You need to support local initiatives. Fortunately, because of those learnings, years

| Los Angeles |

Toni and Bruce Corwin

later, we were able to have incredible success helping establish the Martin Luther King Community Hospital, which replaced L.A.’s ailing and failing King/Drew Medical Center. We supported something the community wanted and needed, and the community was instrumental in establishing the new hospital’s scope, style, and mission. That’s why MLK is so much more than just about ‘trauma.’ For example, that’s why ‘wellness’ is also an enormous part of the new hospital’s mission.”

When asked where philanthropic efforts are most needed today, Corwin’s response is quick and his empathy is clear.

“Certainly, one of the biggest problems facing our state if not the biggest problem is the complicated and multilayered issue of homelessness. Because, let’s face it, if we were homeless, this is where we’d want to be. It’s something we’ve simply got to get a handle on.”

Still energized, highly engaged, and always on the hunt for ideas on how to solve complicated problems, Corwin then asks his interviewer if he’s heard of any new strategies for dealing with the houseless that sound promising, imaginative, and even daring.

“And it’s got to involve them,” Corwin adds quickly.

“Because if it’s something they want, you’re gonna have a lot more success than some solution that simply gets dropped on them. We’re all in this together, right?”

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MAZON:

Dedicated to Ending Hunger

A

stunning one in 10 households in the United States currently faces hunger. MAZON’s focus is to expose this reality, and to ensure that everyone in the U.S. can access the food they need and deserve.

Headquartered in Los Angeles for more than 36 years, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger develops and advances policy solutions to address hunger, recognizing the government’s obligation to ensure that all people can feed themselves and their families. The national anti-hunger organization has become a leading voice in the field, activating a broad community of dedicated partners and champions around the country.

“We are challenging arguments that the government has no role to play in ending a major societal issue like hunger,” says Abby J. Leibman, MAZON’s president and CEO. With tens of millions of Americans struggling to put food on the table, only the government can implement the change needed at the scale and speed required. MAZON works to end hunger by building relationships across the country with hundreds of antihunger organizations and on Capitol Hill, fighting for increased investment in federal nutrition programs, such as the national food stamp program known as SNAP. In the summer of 2021, MAZON and its partners successfully persuaded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase SNAP benefits to families in need. The organization also reinvested in building a network of anti-hunger organizations in the most food insecure states in America, including Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arizona.

With MAZON’s support and guidance, these partners are building and growing their influence at state and local levels, advancing policies to make food security possible for millions of families.

Gathering strength from core Jewish values and traditions, MAZON focuses on helping hungry people of all faiths and backgrounds. In particular, they spotlight the needs of often overlooked populations such as active-duty military families, veterans, Native Americans, single mothers, LGBT seniors, and those in Puerto Rico and the territories.

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“MAZON’s work is informed and guided by the ancient and very relevant traditions that we are not obligated to finish the work of justice, but are charged with never turning away from it, that we are all made in the image of the divine, and that we should embrace the needs of the stranger,” says Leibman. “These traditions teach us that we have an obligation to all people and that we should not judge them for the circumstances that might cause them to face hunger.”

A key part of MAZON’s work is elevating public knowledge of ongoing hunger issues across the U.S, and in so doing, dismantling the stigma surrounding hunger and the federal assistance programs that were created to provide food for all people in need. In the spring of 2022, MAZON is launching a virtual National Hunger Museum, a first-of-its-kind interactive resource that will explore 100 years of hunger and anti-hunger policy in the United States.

Set against the political, economic, and cultural influences that led to the striking disparities that exist today, MAZON’s virtual museum will provide historical perspective, from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic to COVID-19, to reveal the cycles of policymakers expanding and dismantling the American social safety net system — and chart a path forward for a stronger, more effective national commitment to ending hunger once and for all.

“Sometimes things seem all doom and gloom. But we see a real opportunity here, in this moment,” Leibman says.

| Los Angeles |

“I

’m very proud to support MAZON. It’s a wonderful organization that for decades has fought hunger in the U.S. and Israel by working to change the underlying circumstances that allow food insecurity to persist. They give a face and a voice to populations that are often overlooked.

MAZON recognizes that hunger is a problem that can be solved, and they are committed to helping create a political and social environment that prioritizes the issue, so that we can share a more compassionate world, where those in need can access the support we all deserve.”

– Joshua Malina

Actor (The West Wing, Scandal)

“M

AZON’s support has been invaluable in our work to end hunger and increase access to food assistance in Louisiana. With MAZON’s support, the state’s anti-hunger advocates have won important improvements in access to SNAP and school meals, including reductions in harsh sanctions that formerly harmed SNAP recipients and new policies that help college students access food assistance. Louisiana routinely experiences hunger at or near the worst levels in the nation. In this difficult context, MAZON has been a critical partner, providing much-needed resources and support in the fight for better, more equitable policies, and a Louisiana free from hunger.”

– Danny Mintz

Director of Safety Net Policy - Louisiana Budget Project

A Hunger Museum

A

t its core, MAZON is an organization dedicated to enacting change. While much of that change is dedicated to influencing policy, another aspect is public education to build the political will necessary to end hunger. Following a devastating 2020, when the number of Americans struggling with food insecurity more than doubled from 38 million to nearly 80 million, one of MAZON’s new initiatives is a dynamic new resource that will shift the public narrative about who struggles with hunger in this country, and why.

MAZON aims to raise $500,000 to launch a virtual National Hunger Museum that will showcase the country’s history of hunger and anti-hunger policies — from the beginning of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic through the COVID-19 pandemic. Launching in the spring of 2022, the permanent online museum will be an exciting, educational, interactive experience for users of all ages. MAZON’s museum will provide the backdrop of history to inform how we chart a path forward towards an end to hunger. Its exhibits will be updated regularly and change as the country changes.

MAZON

(310) 442-0020 www.mazon.org 10850 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 400 Los Angeles, CA 90024

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT MAZON

Contact:

Naama Haviv, Vice President of Community Engagement (424) 208-7210 nhaviv@mazon.org

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KEY SUPPORTERS Sara M. Albert Julie Chernoff Leonard A. David Michelle Goldman Liz Kanter Groskind Karen Jacobs Marilyn Levenson Komessar Steven Krikava Janet & Barry Lang David A. Lash Randall Lewis Richard Loewenstein Joshua Malina Craig Newmark Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky Morgan J. Powell Daniel Segal Howard B. Tarkow Carolyn Schwarz Tisdale Marcie & Howard Zelikow

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BRADY | UNITED AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE:

A Teenager Steps Up to Save Lives

L

ike many teens, 15-year-old Stephan Abrams was devastated by the 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Desperate to make a difference, and inspired by the national youth movement to end gun violence, he began educating classmates and community members about the issues.

Abrams found some adults who were doing great work and lifting up the powerful voices of his peers – Brady | United Against Gun Violence.

A storied national gun violence prevention organization with a strong California presence, Brady has been on the forefront of developing bipartisan educational and legislative solutions for our country’s gun violence epidemic for over 40 years. Among their more successful recent programs is the Combating Crime Guns Initiative, which seeks to stem the pipeline of illegal guns from a small group of rogue dealers, and Team ENOUGH, a youthled project focused on educating and mobilizing young activists.

Now 18, Abrams is involved with both. To prove how easy it was to buy illegal guns, he went “undercover” at a Southern California gun show to buy one – at 17. And to help harness the power of youth change-makers, he led the San Diego chapter of Team ENOUGH, before being promoted to its national director, further developing chapters in California, Florida, and Virginia.

But is anyone listening?

“Last year we trained with the Brady policy team, and lobbied in Sacramento to successfully pass the microstamping bill,” Abrams says, referring to a law requiring gun manufacturers to honor their commitment to more carefully identify guns.

“Stephan, and all these young people, are doing something that most adults would be afraid to do – get up there, make a stand, and help carry a gun bill,” says Steve Lindley, a former police chief who runs Brady’s Southern California programs.

Young people see the same statistics their parents and grandparents do: that 106 people die from gun violence every day in this country; that there are more gun dealers than McDonald’s and Starbucks combined; that it is often easier to get a gun than a library card. They also understand that gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color. For that reason, a majority of Team ENOUGH’s youth leaders are young people of color.

Team ENOUGH had just started to turn that awareness into focused collective action when COVID hit. Lindley was worried that they wouldn’t be able to continue their lobbying work. Undeterred, they moved their trainings and presentations online, expanding access to young activists who were unable to travel to Sacramento. Through their digital efforts, Lindley says, “these young folks are pioneering a new way of making a difference.”

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| Los Angeles |

Shepard Fairey and Tony Hawk at the 2020 Voices of Parkland Premiere

“I

support Brady because gun violence is an escalating public health epidemic. I want to give my kids – and all kids – a safer world where they aren’t afraid of being shot in their communities, schools, movie theaters or homes. This is urgent and is critical. Please join me by supporting Brady and its comprehensive approach to gun violence prevention.”

Team ENOUGH Executive Council members

“G

un violence in our country is complex and can seem daunting. Brady takes a data driven approach which is smart, strategic and inclusive. They tackle all types of gun violence and lift up the voices of survivors, activists and those most impacted by suicide and everyday gun violence. I am proud to support Brady, it is an investment I make with assurance and conviction. Please join me and we can make our country safer for all of us.”

– Christy Callahan

Co-Chair of the Los Angeles Regional Leadership Council

– Alana Mayo

President of Orion Pictures

Giving to End Gun Violence

W

ith additional funding for Team ENOUGH, we will be able to expand the number of young people we engage with in our training program. More students like Stephan will gain the skills and access to elected officials to advocate for SCAN TO MAKE their right to live in communities free A DONATION... from gun violence.

To help illustrate the impact of your gift, $25,000 will allow us to organize a national Team ENOUGH two-day Summit for 75 students. $7,500 provides an advocacy training program for a cohort of 15 Team ENOUGH students.

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT BRADY

Brady

www.bradyunited.org 840 1st Street N.E., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20002

Contact:

Liz Dunning, Gun Violence Survivor & Vice President of Development (202) 370-8149 ldunning@bradyunited.org

Jessica Gerber RN, Senior Advisor, Brady

KEY SUPPORTERS Institutional Funders California Wellness Foundation Southern California Regional Leadership Council Christy Callahan (Co-Chair) Juano Queen (Co-Chair) Ross Misher (Past Chair) John DeFaria Bill D’Elia Erin Dunkerly Joan Whitney Flagg Anita Greenspan Rise Johnson Jeremy Kagan

Nadine Lewis Paul Koplin & Jill Lawrence Harry Litman Alana Mayo Adam McKay Claire Rudnick Polstein Skei & Jeremy Saulnier Allison Shaw Randi Singer Rose Ann & Ira Sharp David & Diana Skaar Jeff Vespa Lena Waithe Ben Wexler

For donor advised funds, stock, checks, make payable to:

• Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (C3 arm, tax deductible) • Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (C4 arm, non tax-deductible)

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CORO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

Instilling Civic Duty in L.A.’s Future Leaders F ounded in San Francisco in the wake of World War II by attorney W. Donald Fletcher and investment counselor Van Duyn Dodge, Coro is a nonprofit organization whose unique name represents both discovery and exploration. Both men saw the existential threat posed to American democracy by the rise of fascism in Europe and created Coro to provide interdisciplinary training for young professional specialists to become civic leaders capable of leading the nation through the post-war era, a time of profound economic growth and societal change.

Coro eventually established centers in New York, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles, with more than 1,000 participants per year nationwide attending programs aimed at cultivating America’s next generation of civic leaders. Coro has more than 10,000 program alumni currently serving as leaders in local, regional, and national/global businesses, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, governmental agencies, and elected public office.

One of them is Coro Southern California’s President and CEO Natalie Samarjian, who participated in the San Francisco fellowship program directly out of college.

“It was the single most transformative year of my professional and personal journey in life,” Samarjian says. “Although I went on to graduate from law school, nothing gave me the life experience, selfawareness, and expansive intellectual grounding that Coro did.”

Samarjian stresses Coro’s focus on encouraging its fellows to listen and work across ideological grounds.

“Our mission is to train civic leaders to protect and advance our democracy and solve some of our region’s most entrenched challenges,” she says.

To expand its impact, Coro launched its annual Youth Fellows Program (YFP) for high school students in Los Angeles County in 2017. The program brings together diverse cohorts of young aspiring

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leaders, 69% of whom are low-income students on academic scholarships, for an immersive six-week program and seminar training in youth leadership.

“The Youth Fellows Program continually pushed me out of my comfort zone,” says Melissa Romero, a recent graduate of Valor Academy High School in North Hills, California. “It taught me how to talk and communicate more effectively with others and to be more comfortable with myself and my leadership style. Coro has helped me on my professional path, exposed me to leaders in Los Angeles, and showed me ways that I can impact my community.”

Coro’s Women in Leadership Program is creating a pipeline for mid-career professional women to become effective community leaders.

“We want to support women leaders so they can step into leadership for the greater good,” Samarjian says. “We see women leaders as so effective in their roles, and we want to grow the number of women leaders.

We are not at parity in L.A. County and so we want to play a part in building that.”

Coro’s longest-running program, now celebrating its 64th year, is its Fellows Program in Public Affairs, or FPPA, a full| Los Angeles |

time, nine-month experience for 12 recent college graduates per year.

“We want these young people to graduate with the knowledge, skills, and networks to implement meaningful change,” Samarjian says. FPPA provides each fellow with internships in government, nonprofit organizations, businesses, electoral campaigns, and organized labor. Seminars include meetings with Coro graduates such as U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, L.A. County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, and U.S. Congressman Mike Levin.

“The FPPA program has been a difficult but powerful journey of self-reflection, discovery, leadership development, mentorship, collaboration, and inquiry,” says Coro alumnus Angel Lira, a UC Irvine graduate who is about to embark on a Fulbright scholarship to Paraguay, where he will research the political perceptions of rural youth in the country. “The program was an incubator where I was able to grow faster than I ever have professionally and personally. I discovered how to effectively integrate into many different situations, and by jumping right into the fray of Los Angeles, I gained valuable experiences I will carry with me into the future.”

“I

’m a proud Coro Fellows Program alum and longtime supporter. Coro’s democracybuilding and civic leadership development work is more important than ever. The enormity of our public challenges requires us to invest in building a community of effective and ethical leaders who have the courage to make difficult decisions, lead through uncertainty and crises, and collaborate across differences for the greater good. Coro has been training leaders in these skills for over six decades. An investment in Coro is an investment in the health of our region, democracy, and success of our community.”

– Raúl Bustillos

Senior Vice President of Community Relations, Bank of America

“C

oro is a life-changing opportunity that has created a foundation for me to grow as a leader.

In addition to critical leadership skill development and amazing relationships, Coro has provided many valuable lessons. The Youth Fellows Program has allowed me to see the world with a different perspective.

Coro has taught me that uncertainty can pave the way to growth and inspire the change makers.”

Social Change Through Leadership Development

S CORO

ince 1957, Coro Southern California has helped hundreds of individuals in Los Angeles become effective civic leaders through comprehensive fellowships and internships spanning city and county government, nonprofit, corporate, CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN and political spheres.

Its focus on youth leadership and mid-career professional training for women has built up leaders on the frontlines of issues ranging from immigration and education to transportation and housing. Your support enables Coro to empower leaders to work across differences and accelerate meaningful, lasting solutions to our most entrenched public challenges.

Thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program, all donations of up to $1,500 will be matched.

To learn more about Coro Southern California, or to donate, please visit corola.org.

CORO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Coro Southern California

www.corola.org 1000 N. Alameda Street, Suite 240 Los Angeles, CA 90012

– Arianah Rizzo

Youth Fellows Program Alum

KEY SUPPORTERS

TGL MATCHING CHALLENGE!

THE FIRST $1,500 WILL BE MATCHED Contact Info:

Natalie Samarjian, President and CEO natalie@corola.org (213) 267-6552

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Bruce and Toni Corwin The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation California Community Foundation Bank of America Aileen Adams and Geoffrey Cowan The California Wellness Foundation Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles City Councilmember John and Sarah Kobara Community Partners The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Cedars-Sinai Andrea Van de Kamp Edison International Angell Foundation Former California State Senator Carol Liu FivePoint Weingart Foundation The California Endowment Peter J. Taylor United Airlines

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| Los Angeles |

The Arts “What we found is that when you learn how to master an instrument, it does something to you creatively. Music helps kids have more perseverance. It helps their ability to improve cognitive learning.”

– Natalie Jackson Executive Director, The Harmony Project

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THE HARMONY PROJECT:

Give Music Mastery, Change Lives Indelibly

T

here’s no secret that there’s power in music. At the Los Angeles-based Harmony Project, giving children the power to play it has been transformative.

“What we found is that when you learn how to master an instrument, it does something to you creatively,” says Executive Director Natalie Jackson. “Music helps kids have more perseverance. It helps their ability to improve cognitive learning.”

The Harmony Project provides low-income, underserved children in Los Angeles with free musical instruments of their choice, classes and opportunities to perform in front of an audience. It currently serves more than 3,500 students across 17 program locations across the county.

Students who sign up are a part of Harmony Project for the entirety of their schooling, some from kindergarten through high school. The idea is that students shouldn’t just learn an instrument, they need to master it. And that ability serves them through other aspects of their lives beyond the classroom.

“For every kid, there needs to be some sort of a push to excellence in everything you do,” Jackson says. “Because we’ve noticed that when you have that push for excellence, for example in violin, you will do the same thing in your educational goals and professional goals.”

The program first started with 36 students at a small church in Hollywood and now is taught by 70 teachers across L.A. One of its programs is a youth orchestra done in partnership with the Los An-

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Along with learning how to play an instrument, Harmony Project students develop close bonds with their peers and establish a sense of community.

Harmony Project students perform at their Bach in the Subways event at Union Station in Los Angeles

geles Philharmonic and teaches 350 kids out of the EXPO Center in South Central L.A. Through the partnership, kids can also enjoy free master classes and Philharmonic musicians routinely come to coach the student ensembles.

And the program has shown results. About 97% of Harmony Project’s graduating seniors are accepted to a college or university. What makes Harmony effective is it also offers kids a sense of stability. As children move around from one elementary school to a new middle school and onward, at Harmony Project they stay in the same program, growing musically with fellow students they’ve known for years. Harmony Project also fosters community amongst its parents, encouraging potlucks after recitals and providing college ready and financial literacy meetings for them.

Jackson calls it a “holistic support system” and that extends to scholarships Harmony Project offers to its students. Any student who remains in the program more than three years gets $5,000 to use towards college. So far over 600 students have received the scholarship. They also offer alumni the chance to return in the summers for paid internships and work with the younger students.

“Our alumni regularly tell us that they’ve gotten so much from being a part of Harmony Project and offer to contribute to our mission in whatever way they can,” Jackson says. “I think that’s a beautiful part of what our story is.”

| Los Angeles |

“E

very year, I read college scholarship application essays and participate in interviews with Harmony Project students.

I am amazed and inspired by how each of them have overcome what appear to be nearly insurmountable challenges to become the first in their families to attend college. It is an honor to have played a role in building an organization that helps turn each child’s college dreams into a reality.”

– Howard Banchik Chair Emeritus

Harmony Project students perform outside of the EXPO Center, one of their longest lasting community partnerships

“S

pending time here at Harmony Project helps me grow, not only as a better musician, but as a better person by surrounding myself with people that care.”

– Astrid Trumpet

Give Students a Community Through the Sound of Music

E

ach year, the organization helps transform the lives of more than 3,500 underserved K-12 students by providing them equitable access to a tuition-free music education that also prioritizes their academic success and socioemotional development.

SCAN TO MAKE Harmony Project believes that A DONATION... combining rigorous music instruction with a robust social support network empowers students to become creative thinkers and confident learners capable of realizing their full potential as the next generation of leaders.

Generous contributions will not only help alleviate the financial and logistical strain placed on the organization as a result of the pandemic, but also support the organization’s ...AND LEARN MORE transition back to in-person programABOUT THE ming for the upcoming 2021-2022 HARMONY PROJECT academic year.

The Harmony Project

Natalie Jackson, Executive Director (323) 895-7703 natalie@harmony-project.org www.harmony-project.org 4322 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 101 Los Angeles, CA 90010

Harmony Project students perform at their Regional Youth Orchestra Seaside Serenade event in 2019

KEY SUPPORTERS The Ahmanson Foundation Banchik Family Foundation California Arts Council California Community Foundation The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks Hearst Foundations The Herb Alpert Foundation Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles City College Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Max H. Gluck Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Roddenberry Foundation Southern California Counseling Center United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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LA OPERA:

Greater than the Sum of its Arts

“O

pera is where all of the arts intersect... it connects us to each other through the communal experience of our shared humanity..”

–Christopher Koelsch

AKHNATEN

Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco President and CEO

(Photo by Craig T. Mathew)

O

pera is a timeless art form. Each night as the lights dim and the curtain rises, audiences share in a transcendent experience of music and stories that have been performed on opera stages for centuries. And as it has done for hundreds of years – through world wars, fire, and other hardships – opera endures.

On September 18, 2021, LA Opera returned to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage with a new-to-Los Angeles production of Il Trovatore. Guests were welcomed back to the theater by the iconic “Anvil Chorus” and the everlasting theme of unrequited love set amidst the conflict of two brothers on opposing sides of a civil war.

Audiences and critics hailed the production as a “triumphant season opening” full of “thrillingly big, bold voices.” It was a momentous start to the company’s 36th Anniversary season.

“Opera is where all of the arts intersect,” says Christopher Koelsch, the company’s Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco President and CEO. “This harmony of the arts connects us to a rich tradition that transcends borders, to heartfelt stories told through some of the greatest music ever written. And most critically, it connects us to each other through the communal experience of our shared humanity.”

To help make this extraordinary art form accessible to all, LA Opera Connects, its standard-setting education and community engagement efforts, offers more than 30 different programs that impact the lives of more than 135,000 people each season.

During the 2020/21 season, when LA Opera was unable to access its conventional stages for expression, the entirety of the company’s

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creative output found safe harbor and unparalleled reach on its digital platform, LA Opera On Now. Through hundreds of performances of full-length operas, newly commissioned work, concerts, recitals, special family features, intimate conversations, and behind-thescenes storytelling, the technology allowed the organization to maintain the vital connection between artists and audiences.

“In many ways, the changes that we enacted during the pandemic were a continuation and expansion on the work that LA Opera was founded on,” Koelsch says.

The support LA Opera received from generous donors during the pandemic helped it deliver digital programs while also supporting its hundreds of artists, artisans, and staff in anticipation of the return to the stage.

With each production employing as many as 500 people and ticket sales covering less than half the cost of performances, LA Opera is reliant on the generous contributions of individuals. Your support helps fund opera today and ensures that its power and beauty remains available for future generations to come.

The 2021/22 season features something for everyone. Verdi’s epic drama Aida returns to the stage for the first time in 16 years. The holidays will be filled with magic thanks to a joyous production of Cinderella. In early 2022, audiences will have an opportunity to experience a revelatory visual interpretation of Bach’s monumental St. Matthew Passion, widely regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces of Baroque music. Learn more at LAOpera.org.

| Los Angeles |

THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO (Photo by Craig T. Mathew)

LA BOHÈME

(Photo by Ken Howard)

MANON

(Photo by Robert Millard)

BILLY BUDD

(Photo by Robert Millard)

Your Voice Can Be Heard Too

D

onors to LA Opera provide critical support needed to bring the world’s best singers, directors, and designers to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage. Their generosity ensures the future of grand opera in the city and in doing so, contributes to a vibrant arts community that makes Los Angeles a great cultural capital.

Charitable contributions also help provide opera experiences to tens of thousands of community members each year – including students, teachers, senior citizens, veterans and hospital patients – as well as developing tomorrow’s opera talent through the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

LA Opera

John P. Nuckols Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer (213) 972-7256 jnuckols@laopera.org

“I

deeply believe in opera’s unique ability to bring artists and our community together through a shared musical and theatrical experience that moves and transforms us. LA Opera is one of our country’s leading arts institutions, and I have been inspired by the visionary leadership of Christopher Koelsch and his plans for the future of the company.”

– Keith Leonard

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT LA OPERA

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Chair, LA Opera’s Board of Directors

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SILVERLAKE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC:

Support Silverlake’s Musical Scholars

S

ilverlake Conservatory of Music (SCM) was founded in 2001

by Flea (real name Michael Peter Balzary) of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who first became interested in music through his stepfather, a jazz bass player in New York City. Flea’s lifelong passion for playing music blossomed in the 1970s, through the music program at Fairfax High School.

But Flea’s dedication to music didn’t end with rock stardom.

He was determined to create a nonprofit music conservatory in Los Angeles that would provide access to music study for any child with interest, whether they had the means or not. In 2001, motivated by severe cutbacks to arts education programming in L.A. public schools, including Flea’s alma mater, he and longtime friend and fellow musician Keith “Tree” Barry founded SCM. The school offers private one-on-one music lessons on all orchestral and band instruments as well as voice, as well as an array of specialized ensemble classes. Over time, the school grew to serve as many as 1,200 students per week with a robust choir program and its famous Live Wire band program, which develops group live performance skills.

SCM first opened its doors with a location at Sunset Junction, where the school’s founders recruited its first young musicians by distributing flyers at a local arts festival. Thanks to personal and corporate contributions, musical instrument donation and in-house

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fundraising activities, it boasts a proven track record of developing talented young artists, thus ensuring a lasting commitment to the enrichment to L.A.’s broader cultural community.

In October 2016, the Silverlake Conservatory moved to what Executive Director Jennifer Rey calls its “forever home” at 4652 Hollywood Blvd, a 1930s brick building featuring well-appointed art lesson studios, a recital space, and retail store all beautifully redesigned by Barbara Bestor. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the school’s student body spans L.A.’s socioeconomic demography.

It also offers scholarships to qualifying young musicians, providing free lessons, classes, and instruments for each student.

“Most of our students on scholarship are from low-income families who qualify for free lunch programs,” Rey says. “Our goal is to keep 250 students on full scholarship. We fully subsidize their instruments and supplies, and they have access to all ensemble practices and summer programs. There is no division. It’s just a community of people who value lessons and practice and all the things that come along with the study of music.”

Flea says that the school depends on its annual fundraising efforts and the generosity of donors to do its work. “We are an important element of the community,” he says. “I promise you with all my heart, we will continue to teach music like our lives depend on it. We live for it.”

| Los Angeles |

“T

he Silverlake Conservatory of Music has been collaborating with CoachArt as a Program Partner since 2005 by providing scholarships to our students to take free music lessons in various instruments. CoachArt is a nonprofit organization that serves chronically-ill children and their families by providing free arts and athletics lessons. As a partner, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music has accepted CoachArt students into their music program on an ongoing basis.

“Since the beginning of our partnership, the conservatory has provided a total of 5,600 lesson hours at no cost to our families. As a result, CoachArt students are exposed to various musical opportunities and are given the freedom to explore their interests further while learning from the conservatory’s exemplary instructors. The conservatory makes our students feel welcome and part of their community every year, and we are endlessly grateful.”

– Erick Rodriguez

Program Director, CoachArt

KEY SUPPORTERS

“W

e at Silverlake Conservatory have been doing everything we can to navigate through all these twists and turns over the past year and a half, keep our school going, take care of our teachers and staff, and keep steadily teaching students. We were closed down for the first few months of quarantine, but were able to open our doors and teach socially distanced private lessons.

“As a nonprofit organization, we’ve always operated at a financial loss, but our annual fundraising efforts and the generosity of our board and people like you have enabled us to grow the school since 2001.

“So, on behalf of all of us at Silverlake Conservatory of Music, I humbly ask of you to join in our efforts and donate. We are an important element of the community. I promise you with all my heart, we will continue to teach music like our lives depend on it. We live for it.”

Patti Smith Tracy Chapman Shepard Fairey Raymond Pettibon Cecily Brown Red Hot Chili Peppers Barbara Bestor Joe Braun Bo Gardner Eric Greenspan

– Flea

Give the Gift of Music

Michael Lerch Ian Montone John Silva Susan Wiesner SONOS Fender Gary Leonard Mitch O’Farrell Laura Friedman Warner Bros. Music

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

T

he Silverlake Conservatory of Music’s (SCM) mission is to facilitate a dynamic music education and to teach beginning and accomplished musicians of all skill levels.

At the heart of our organization is the conservatory’s thriving scholarship program. SCM grants music scholarships to children whose families would otherwise be unable to provide lessons, providing free private lessons, instruments, and supplies to over 200 students per year.

Given the decrease in arts education in schools, SCM strives to make music education accessible to the L.A. community at large.

SCM seeks $1 million to support the cost of its annual operations.

Thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program, all donations up to $1,500 will be matched.

Silverlake Conservatory of Music 4652 Hollywood Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90027 www.silverlakeconservatory.org

Contact:

Jennifer Rey, Director O: (323) 665-3363 | C: (213) 399-0981 jrey.scm@icloud.com

| www.thegivinglist.com |

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through January 15, 2022, the first $1,500 donated will be matched thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program

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Community Becomes Eclectic

I “What we’ve always tried to do at KCRW is build a sense of community, really a community organization in the form of media.

We have expertise in topics like music, food, literature, film, and, of course, news and we’ve woven this content together into the KCRW brand.”

n March 2008, an up-and-coming British singer stopped by KCRW’s studio on the campus of Santa Monica College to perform a few live sets on “Morning Becomes Eclectic.” Her debut album had been released a few months earlier to rave reviews back home, but the teenager was hardly known in the United States. KCRW’s imprimatur helped change that.

That singer was Adele. She is but one of many international stars who got an early break thanks to KCRW and the broad, influential audience of its premier music program.

And “Morning Becomes Eclectic” is but one of the many original programs – ranging from music and culture to public affairs – that have put KCRW at the forefront of public radio nationally and of civic engagement in Southern California.

“What we’ve always tried to do at KCRW is build a sense of community, really a community organization in the form of media,” says KCRW President Jennifer Ferro. “We have expertise in topics like music, food, literature, film, and, of course, news and we’ve woven this content together into the KCRW brand. I see that as a big strength going forward.”

– JENNIFER FERRO

KCRW President

As KCRW’s leader since 2010, Ferro has propelled the National Public Radio affiliate forward by introducing programs to attract new listeners among Los Angeles’s diverse population, expanding to Santa Barbara and embracing digital formats, like podcasts, Internet channels, and even video via social media, to connect with global audiences. Fortunately, it has also been able to resume large events like its long-running KCRW World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl.

“We like to say we represent the world to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to the world,” Ferro notes.

The strategy is paying off. When the COVID-19 pandemic all but killed the daily office commute for a year, on-air listenership declined, but the streaming audience soared. The number of overall listeners and KCRW members reached record highs in 2021, Ferro says.

For Ferro, that affirms the “relationship we have with people, that we’re their company, their friend, their trusted source.” Not just in Southern California and not just for public

“I

joined as a champion at the beginning of the COVID lockdown because of your 100% commitment to inclusivity, connectivity, and integrity... I am deeply committed to this too, personally and professionally. You are my extended family. In a world of physical distancing, you entertain, inspire, and expand.”

– CHRISTINE LEUTHOLD Producer, and Champion Donor

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| Los Angeles |

affairs and culture. KCRW is holding its own with music fans in an era when services like Spotify make everyone their own DJ. The fastest-growing markets for members – that is, listeners committed enough to donate – are outside of KCRW’s broadcast area, where the station’s taste-making music programming is the biggest draw.

KCRW was founded by Santa Monica College in 1945 to train World War II veterans in the emerging medium of FM radio. Today, the state-of-the-art KCRW Media Center on campus boasts two dozen studios equipped for on-air and online production and the col-

lege’s student training, as well as a venue for community events and live performances by current and future Adeles.

A rarity in public radio for its hybrid music-talk model, KCRW produces award-winning programs in both. Many of its agenda-setting shows are spawning offshoots, the kind of “on-demand” digital content that Ferro wants KCRW fans to be able to access anywhere when they are away from their radios.

For instance, Josh Barro, host of the widely syndicated political program “Left, Right & Center,” has added “All The Presidents’ Lawyers,” a podcast borne of the tumult during the Trump Administration.

“I

support KCRW because I like to learn, be surprised, tap into my own network to share new information, and stay relevant.”

– MIKE CHEVEDDEN Champion Donor

Shows that explore the essence of L.A. took on new forms to address the pandemic. Food and music converged when “Good Food” and KCRW Music teamed up for “Sound Bites,” a series of live events via Zoom. Each episode featured prominent chefs and musicians discussing how a year without diners and live audiences had affected them and the future of their respective fields. “Good Food” also launched a podcast, “In the Weeds,” a grassroots look at how small restaurant owners and workers are coping with the pandemic and the myriad challenges of running a small business.

“Inside food, there is so much. There’s the entertainment aspect of eating out, there’s exploring other cultures, and the business stories underneath that are really fascinating,” says Ferro, who began her KCRW career as a producer for “Good Food.” “We’re able to tell those stories to raise awareness and at the same time get people excited about trying these foods.”

Unlike crosstown station KPCC, KCRW doesn’t have a large newsroom. So, it focuses on “telling stories that have deep resonance, are emblematic, and tackle a problem in a deeper way,” she says. Take housing, which is and will continue to be a coverage priority. KCRW’s four-part series “Samaritans” in 2020 followed Christine Curtiss for a year as caring neighbors battled bureaucracy to find shelter for her after seven years on the street.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION AND LEARN MORE ABOUT KCRW champions@kcrw.org (424) 538-8879 www.kcrw.com 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Earlier, KCRW aired a veritable prequel in “There Goes the Neighborhood,” an eightpart series about how gentrification in L.A. was driving up housing prices and driving out longtime residents.

KCRW has long cultivated distinctive voices, such as Warren Olney, Madeleine Brand, and Harry Shearer. To engage the next generation of listeners, KCRW is elevating talent who bring new perspectives. For the first time, “Morning Becomes Eclectic” has co-hosts: Former late-night KCRW DJs Novena Carmel and Anthony Valadez, who have deep roots in both the L.A. music scene and communities of color. On the talk side, KCRW added “Our Body Politic,” a weekly show hosted by prominent Black journalist Farai Chideya that addresses politics and racial justice through the lens of women of color.

Meanwhile, KCRW is investing in initiatives to hire and nurture young talent in underrepresented communities. One example is a three-day Podcast Bootcamp that teaches audio production and storytelling to help participants hone their voices.

“There are so many people who don’t know about public radio, certainly in Black and Latinx communities,” Ferro says. “And that’s Los Angeles. We want to make sure we’re there. We think doing something like this will be really exciting and open doors for everyone.”

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| Los Angeles |

Animals to the Rescue “Robotics and machinery are getting better.

Technology is getting better. But dogs are still the best resource that an urban search and rescue task force has.”

– Denise Sanders Senior Director of Communications & Handler Operations, National Disaster Search Dog Foundation

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NATIONAL DISASTER SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION:

Rescue Dogs. Rescue People.

A

lthough you’ll seldom see them in comic books, search dogs are the closest thing to real life superheroes. Not only do they rescue people from crumbling buildings and sunken towns, but they also have a life-saving superpower: a wickedly sensitive nose that can detect and locate disaster victims from hundreds of yards away.

Los Angeles is home to one of only two internationally deployable human-canine search and rescue units in the whole country.

Teams like these are deployed all across the world, providing their skills to any county, country, or continent in need. But these canine superheroes wouldn’t be nearly the paragons they are without the proper training. For the elite dogs skilled-up by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, this means boot camp at this nonprofit’s staging facility in the sprawling hills of Santa Paula, California.

The foundation was started by Wilma Melville in response to the devastating 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing. Melville and her search dog Murphy were one of many search and rescue teams wading through the rubble that day. But the destruction was greater than anyone could have anticipated. Melville knew then that, as a civilian, she was not as well-equipped for search and rescue as a first responder or firefighter would be. In the wake of what she’d seen, Melville made it her mission to pair highly trained search dogs with experts in disaster relief.

Twenty-five years since its inception, the foundation continues to stay true to its mission: Rescue dogs. Rescue people.

“It was Wilma’s vision to rescue dogs and pair them with firefighters with specialized training,” says Denise Sanders, Senior

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Director of Communications & Handler Operations. Most of the dogs that come to the nonprofit are rescued from shelters, where many face euthanasia. Once on campus, the foundation’s caring staff provide the dogs with life-long medical support and a specialized training regimen that prepares them for the day they are paired with a handler. From there, the human-canine search teams train together on a variety of simulated natural disasters.

While robots have a place in disaster rescue operations, nothing compares to the combined skill of a highly-trained dog and its partner.

“Robotics and machinery are getting better. Technology is getting better,” Sanders says. “But dogs are still the best resource that an urban search and rescue task force has to quickly locate victims buried in the rubble.”

First responders depend on these dogs because they can accomplish what no available technology can. The dogs can move over all terrain, provide emotional support to disaster victims, and, critically, the dogs can survey a disaster area more quickly than any robot.

When time is of the essence, first responders rely on their dogs to locate disaster victims safely and efficiently. Although human-canine search and rescue teams are challenged by each deployment, where they must enter a new and unpredictable disaster situation, these life-saving task forces are bolstered by their world-class preparedness training at the Search Dog Foundation.

| Los Angeles |

“O

ver the years, the Search Dog Foundation has paired many canine disaster search teams that serve the Los Angeles area, and we are grateful to have these canines as a resource to call upon when needed for our urban search and rescue team as part of Los Angeles County Fire Department and California Task Force 2.

“Our task force is only one of two in the nation that deploys internationally, and the search dogs are a vital part of that response.

Whether earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides, or missing person searches, these highly trained canines are instrumental in completing our search missions, whether close to home or abroad.

“The Search Dog Foundation provides these canines as invaluable assets for our department and task force free of charge, ensuring we stand ready to serve our community when called upon to help.”

– Travon Espy

Battalion Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department; Program Manager, California Task Force 2

“W

atching the Search Dog Foundation grow from a small group of ardent volunteers into the nationally recognized organization it is today has been an inspiration and an honor. I value the opportunity to both encourage and be part of that growth.

Disasters Happen.

It’s Not a Matter of If, but When…

T

“As a longtime philanthropist and volunteer for many organizations through the years, the sense of passion, perseverance, and collective drive toward reaching a goal is one of the hallmarks of a great group of people united for a cause. The Search Dog Foundation’s staff, Board of Directors, volunteers, and many supporters across the country have drive similar to that of the amazing search dogs they train – that insatiable need to keep growing and improving their work and the services provided.

“As a team, we know we can continue to strengthen disaster response in this country. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of so many – both human and canine.”

o address a critical national need, Wilma Melville founded the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) in 1996 to recruit, rescue, and train shelter dogs to become search dogs, looking for survivors in the wreckage of – George Leis natural and human-made disasters alongside their first responder handlers.

Chair, Board of Directors, National Disaster Search Dog Foundation; SDF has proudly served our country and the world for 25 years, with search President & Chief Operating Officer, Montecito Bank & Trust dogs deployed to more than 200 disasters or missing person searches, including Ground Zero after 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the devastating Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011, BOARD OF DIRECTORS and the Nepal earthquake in 2015.

SCAN TO MAKE George Leis – Board Chair With active teams across the nation, including A DONATION...

President and COO, Montecito Bank & Trust Los Angeles, SDF continues to evolve and expand Dennis Kuykendall – Board Vice Chair its programs. Its ongoing work is to support current Project Executive, Balfour Beatty Construction search teams and the next generation of search Mike J. Diani – Secretary dogs, providing ongoing training and veterinary care President, Diani Building Corp. for their entire lives. Dogs unable to complete trainRichard Butt ing are career changed or placed in loving homes.

Retired EVP, Executive Creative Director, VMLY&R Once rescued, they will never need to be resRobert Dodge, M.D. cued again. And SDF has the support of people Family Physician, Brent Street Family Practice like you to thank for that.

Identity Medical Group Join SDF in supporting these incredible canine Robert Harris ...AND LEARN heroes and show them we believe in the power of Battalion Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department MORE ABOUT rescued dogs becoming rescuers.

George R. Haynes, Ph.D. NATIONAL DISASTER Be Part of the Search today.

Executive Director/CEO, SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION National Disaster Search Dog Foundation Wilma Melville Founder, National Disaster Search Dog Foundation National Disaster Search Dog Foundation Jeff Wenig rescue@searchdogfoundation.org Owner/President, Precision Cooling Co., Inc. (888) 4K9-HERO Crystal Wyatt (805) 646-1015 Leadership in Board Governance www.SearchDogFoundation.org and Creative & Sustainable Philanthropy 6800 Wheeler Canyon Road, Santa Paula, CA 93060 | www.thegivinglist.com |

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URBAN SADDLES:

Teaching the Cowboy Code of the West

Ugliest Horse Trailers in the West

U

rban Saddles is seeking to raise $50,000 to buy a used truck and two new horse trailers to add to its beat-up fleet. “We get teased,” Featherstone says, “‘cause we have the ugliest trailers around.”

E

very Saturday, a then-five-year-old Ghuan Featherstone would put on his cowboy outfit, sit in front of the TV, and tune in to The Lone Ranger.

Fighting a hundred bad guys. Saving the day to see another one. To live by the Cowboy Code: that all men are created equal; to fight for what’s right.

Every Saturday, a now-grown Ghuan Featherstone puts on his cowboy hat and boots and heads from his home in South Los Angeles to an equestrian center outside of town. It’s home to Urban Saddles, the nonprofit he founded with more than a dozen horses and a few beat-up horse trailers.

This is where he teaches young men and women from “the ‘hood the value of horsemanship,” he says. To sit tall in the saddle. To live by the Cowboy Code.

“The Cowboy Code is a set of standards,” Featherstone says, reeling off a partial list. “Live each day with courage. Be tough, but fair. Do what has to be done. Take pride in your work. When you make a promise, keep it. Remember some things aren’t for sale. Know where to draw the line. And always finish what you start.”

Since its founding in early 2019, Urban Saddles has taught 60 mostly Black youth how to stand by a horse, how to study a horse, its anatomy and components, how to care for a horse, how to tack up a horse, and how to muck out its stall.

And only then does each young man and woman learn to ride.

The South Gate-based agency has volunteer urban cowboys who serve as trainers, youth programmers, gang interventionists, and more.

The nonprofit’s 27 young members pay $150 a month to join the equestrian community, care for the horses, and ride along the Los Angeles River, or hop on the freeway to ride trails in the Whittier Narrows, or as far as Perris, in Riverside County.

Urban Saddles has also demonstrated horsemanship to more than 500 children at local parks, schools, and the Martin Luther King Parade.

Every afternoon after his job as a superintendent of commercial construction, Featherstone drives down to the stables, to teach, to ride, to help clean up. Then the father of five heads home to his family and in-house music studio.

“It’s worth it,” Featherstone says. “The main mission is to give them something to look forward to, other than gang violence. It’s all around them. We give them a different space. I am noticing the change. It’s something to see. They’re actually getting it. It really works.

“They’re cowboys.”

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| Los Angeles |

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through January 15, 2022, the first $1,500 donated will be matched thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program

Urban Saddles

Ghuan Featherstone Founder | Executive Director (424) 385-8887 www.urbansaddles.org 5543 Leeds St. South Gate, CA 90280

Urban Saddles

Building hope and opportunity for youth and community through the equine experience and the cowboy code of the West. (photo by Vivian Arcidiacono) | www.thegivinglist.com |

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Index A Home Within ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������172 A New Way of Life ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������210 Adventist Health Glendale ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 158 AdvoKids ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 112 Ahmos Hassan: Profile ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������200 Alliance for Children’s Rights ����������������������������������������������������������������������������226 Anti-Recidivism Coalition ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 214 Antonia Hernández: Profile ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 38 ARC-Cares.org ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������178 Arabella Advisors ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 32 Austin Beutner: Profile ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������116 Bayan Islamic Graduate School �������������������������������������������������������������������������132 Black Equity Collective ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������144 Boyle Heights Beat ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������58 Brady | United Against Gun Violence �����������������������������������������������������������236 Brotherhood Crusade ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 42 Bruce Corwin: Profile ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������232 California Children’s Trust ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������176 California State University, Northridge ������������������������������������������������������������14 California Youth Connection �������������������������������������������������������������������������������84 CalMatters �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������54 Capital Group ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 62 CASA of Los Angeles �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������106 Casey Wasserman: Profile ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 182 Centinela Youth Services ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 216 Children’s Law Center �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������228 City National Bank ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������48 Coro Southern California ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������238 Destination Crenshaw ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������40 Diana Ingram: Profile ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 128 Echo ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������100 Edgar Villanueva: Profile ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 92 Erika D. Beck: Profile �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20 Everychild Foundation �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 70 Facing History and Ourselves ���������������������������������������������������������������������������146 Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center ��������������������������������������������������46 Fostering Media Connections ����������������������������������������������������������������������������56 Friends of the Children �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������74 Fulfillment Fund ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 130 Goodwill Southern California ����������������������������������������������������������������������������190 GRACE/End Child Poverty in California ������������������������������������������������������72 Happy Trails ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������108 HIAS ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 204 Human Rights Watch ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������202 iFoster ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������110 Jacqueline Caster: Profile �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������66

Jewish World Watch �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 206 Jihee Huh: Profile ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 52 Jovenes ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 184 KCRW �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������248 Keck Medicine of USC ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������160 Kidsave ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������98 LA Family Housing ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 188 LA Opera �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������244 Learning Rights Law Center ������������������������������������������������������������������������������224 Leslie Gilbert-Lurie: Profile ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������104 Lisa Ling: Profile ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 142 Mazon ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������234 Mentors 4 College ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 134 Microsoft ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 138 Muslim Public Affairs Council ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 148 National Disaster Search Dog Foundation �������������������������������������������������252 National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform �������������������������������������������212 OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center ������������������������������������������������������������174 P.S. ARTS ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 124 Para Los Niños ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 76 Partners for Children South L.A. ������������������������������������������������������������������������44 Peace4Kids ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 88 Plastic Pollution Coalition ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 196 Point Foundation �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������122 Public Counsel ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������222 Ready to Succeed ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 82 Seneca �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������120 Silverlake Conservatory of Music ��������������������������������������������������������������������246 Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology �����������������������166 Social Justice Learning Institute �����������������������������������������������������������������������150 Southern California College Access Network ������������������������������������������� 136 Stanford Social Innovation Review ��������������������������������������������������������������������60 Step Up ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 186 Steve Nissen: Profile ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������220 The Children’s Partnership �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������68 The Harmony Project �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������242 The Rightway Foundation ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������86 UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital ������������������������������������������������������������������ 156 Urban Saddles ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������254 USC Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute ������������������������������������164 USC Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research ������������������������� 168 Venice Family Clinic ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 154 Violence Intervention Program ���������������������������������������������������������������������������96 Vision to Learn ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������118 White Buffalo Land Trust ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 194 William Briggs: Profile ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������80