In the streets, full-throated outrage and protest, with some devolving into violence in the community elected officials, civic leaders, and activists going into overdrive on social media and mainstream media with their anger local news and cable news network’s frothily filming tense standoffs between protesters and helmeted, protectively-clad police – with smoke and fire as the entertaining backdrop talking head experts on the news and editorial pages saying, “well this time we must see real change.” The fuse of national outrage has (once again) been lit, and I’m not entirely certain where and how this chapter of indignation fueled by blatant racism goes.īut we have seen enough of these infuriating incidents over the years and across our nation to recognize a pattern. On top of the very difficult times we are enduring with the savage health and economic impacts of Covid 19, I have weathered the loss of a key activist-strategist in Regional Director Beatriz Solis to cancer after 14 years of service here at TCE cared for my wife in her final days on earth battling cancer before losing her on April 30 and now, the searing pain of witnessing the live execution of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The past 100 days or so have been emotionally and spiritually challenging for us as a community, and for me personally. NEWS Bob’s Blog: Outrage is Good But Strategy is Critical If you’d like to join this group of funders, please contact me. Funders also got to meet for the first time our newest Smart Growth California team member, Kriselda Bautista, who lives in Southern California and played a leadership role in the logistics for the day’s event, which also included an informal happy hour that folks lingered at in conversation with each other for a long time. I’m excited to work with her and our other co-chair, John Guevarra from First 5 LA. We also confirmed our newest co-chair, Lisa Craypo, who serves The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation. After an informal lunch, we explored options for how we want to move forward as a group in the next year. Given the challenges of the last 2 ½ years, I asked folks to share a person, organization, or place in the region that grounds them and we then mapped that out in the courtyard, which was great to see. Hearing stories of how Bea influenced folks in the group moved me, and help create a broader narrative about centering community leadership and voice in the work to equitably implement progressive policies and funding streams in the region. We shared stories of her leadership cofounding this philanthropic table, which rooted us in racial equity. Beatriz Solis Conference Room, which includes a larger-than-life painting celebrating her life and legacy. Under the shade of trees and adjacent to the water feature, we started the day off with some check-ins and then walked over to the recently renamed Dr. Needless to say, it filled me with great joy to be back in that place with people who I’ve worked closely with over the years. I always love going to the TCE campus and was so happy to return! It’s a meaningful site to me personally because it’s actually where I met my wife way back in 2009, which now that we have three children, feels like a long time ago! It’s also a place where I presented numerous trainings over the years at the Center for Nonprofit Management, facilitated multiple gatherings for both the Los Angeles Funders Collaborative and Southern California Grantmakers Environmental Funders Group, along with numerous nonprofits over the years like the Green LA Coalition and Los Angeles Food Policy Council. We met in the peaceful courtyard of The California Endowment, a place that in many ways operates like a public square for the social and philanthropic sectors in Southern California. Like Smart Growth California’s recent Climate Funders Collaborative (Baja/Imperial/San Diego region) that took place last month, we held the entire meeting outside, one of the perks of a fall day in Southern California. It reaffirmed for me the value of meeting in person and what can happen when folks have the time to connect, reflect and strategize. On November 4th, after not meeting in person for two and a half years due to the global pandemic, the Los Angeles Funders’ Collaborative met in person at The California Endowment.
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