Philanthropy 831 Blog

We're Standing Up for Causes that Matter

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 23:24:42 GMT

The Fund for Women and Girls

Since the November announcement of our newly established endowment, the Fund for Women and Girls, we’ve raised $2 million towards our 2017 goal of $2.5 million!

We owe the fundraising success to our donors who agree that to level the playing field for everyone it's worth investing more in education, mentoring and job training to help local women and girls succeed.

We knew we couldn’t do everything that might help all women and girls in the county. So, we used local data and asked people already working in these areas where we should first focus our attention.

Both the data that shaped our grantmaking strategy and the people we talked with pointed to the Pájaro Valley and the overwhelming need among middle-school aged girls for greater guidance and help in charting a course for their future.

So, that’s where we start. Our first project, the Girls in the Pájaro Valley Initiative, targets a small group of middle-school age girls to benefit over three years from services devised through a collaboration of nonprofits offering after (and out of) school programs.

Nonprofits Rally

Wow! We had a great meeting with local nonprofits to discuss our first project from the fund on February 13.

In response to an invitation to apply, 18 different organizations came to meet each other and explore how they might work together, with us, the schools and families in the Pájaro Valley to improve the future for girls.

While acknowledging that collaboration isn’t easy, they shared some good ideas from their experience about why developing a collaborative partnership for this work is worthwhile.

Things like:

Keep your eye on the prize (i.e., the future success of girls in the Pájaro Valley).
Focus on what you do best, and trust the partners to do the rest.
Be sure your organization’s mission and plans align with the goals of the fund and first project initiative.
Commit to making the time needed to build relationships that are needed to work as a group.
Keep your board and staff informed so when key players leave your organization stays up to speed.
Consider your organization as part of a larger web of activity directed toward a cause, not as the hub of the action.

During our session, small groups practiced designing a collaborative or network of agencies that could meet the goals of the funds first investment:

Girls enter high school healthy, future-directed and academically prepared.
Youth serving organizations have the capacity to use data to design programs for girls within a larger network of partners.

I was inspired by the group's ability to put their own organizational interests aside and think hard about what might make the difference in getting a girl on the path to success.

As someone said, it was like we were creating a community hug around the girls!

Organizations will be working over the next six weeks to develop proposals for the initiative.

I'm excited to see and share what happens next!

Christina Cuevas is the program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to her blog posts and follow her on Twitter.

What I Love About My Job

Thu, 03 Mar 2016 21:41:37 GMT

Seeing young people get access to the quality education they deserve.

Along with former Community Foundation board members Donna Ziel and Leola Lapides, I joined those invited to Cabrillo College’s Crocker Theatre for the induction of a new crop of Pajaro Valley Unified School District middle schoolers into the Cabrillo Advancement Program.

The program, which began in 1991 at E.A. Hall Middle School, is a scholarship and enrichment program designed to prevent the drop out of low-income students at the middle school and secondary level.

The overall goal of the program is to increase the enrollment and success of low-income students at Cabrillo College.

The middle schoolers in the photo above will receive academic and social support as they traverse their way through middle and high school. When they graduate, they’re eligible for $2K scholarships to help cover costs of education at Cabrillo.

Sixty seniors who have been in the program since middle school were also congratulated during the program for their academic achievements in high school and plans to pursue post-secondary education.

Crocker Theatre was filled with proud families, cheering their kids on to greatness.

I smiled all night! Lucky me! I love my job. #LoveWhereILive!

Christina Cuevas is the program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to her blog posts and follow her on Twitter.

Philanthropy Is a Family Affair

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 18:25:13 GMT

I first met Cesario Ruiz when we moved to Santa Cruz.

My husband Gilberto met him at the gym, where they became friends and now both teach salsa dancing with Salsa Rueda in Santa Cruz.

Over the years Cesario worked as a fry cook at a Mexican restaurant in Scotts Valley, a prep staff at Gayle’s Bakery and a food service manager at New Leaf Community Markets.

I just know him as a foodie and a dynamite salsa dancer. We make tamales at Christmas and have shared many wonderful meals.

Let's Get to It: A darle que es mole de olla

A couple of years ago, Cesario decided to jump in and began experimenting with mole recipes.

He was brave enough to leave his full time job to research the history of mole, to learn how to get the various ingredients and to test recipes.

He did all of this with an eye toward developing a product he could take to market.

It seemed like a long shot, but he was determined to pursue his dream.

Around the same time, El Pajaro Community Development Corporation, in Watsonville, was building its new Commercial Kitchen Incubator Program.

Executive Director Carmen Herrera-Mansir was looking for someone to help get the incubator started and I suggested Cesario was the guy.

She tried him out as a part time staff person and soon learned he had the stuff to get the project moving!

As the facility manager for the kitchen incubator at El Pajaro CDC he’s helped it grow, gain visibility and learned a lot about the food business along the way!

For example, product development is important, but you can’t prepare and get food to market without first getting public health department approval. And you can’t forget about learning how to successfully market your product.

Whew…who knew.

My Mom's Mole is the Best!

Cesario just won the People’s Choice Award at the Mole and Mariachi Festival. It was his third try. I did the tasting (and serving) and agreed his creation of My Mom’s Mole was the best!

Now that Cesario has worked so hard to get his product to market, he’s ready to expand.

To raise the needed capital he launched a crowdfunding campaign on Barnraiser with the goal of raising $9K by October 16.

Cesario Not Crowdfunding Just for Himself

During his stint with the kitchen incubator he learned about a number of great nonprofits in the county and is ready to share some of his earnings with Food What?!, Digital NEST and the Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks.

This guy has done it all!

He’s a great example of local innovation and entrepreneurship!

For me, he brings to mind the old UFW motto and Chicano rally cry of Si Se Puede!

I am proud to be his comadre, friend and now a financial supporter (join me!) through his latest venture on Barnraiser.

What a guy!

Christina Cuevas is the program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to her blog posts and follow her on Twitter.

Our Time to Cheer for Our Country and People

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

The Times They Really are Changing!

Early mornings are a favorite time of the day for me.

I wake to the sounds of NPR’s Morning Edition on KUSP, get the morning paper and sit in bed enjoying a hot cup of café con leche with my husband.

Some days I rant about what I hear and read about: the latest environmental accident, terrorist attacks or seemingly senseless squabbles in Congress. But, not this day, June 26, 2015.

#LoveWins

Today, I threw up my hands up in a joyous shout hearing the announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision to make same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. It has been a long time coming!

Thanks to the courageous people who challenged earlier decisions by some states to not allow or honor same sex marriage and the advocates who helped galvanize public opinion.

While the Supreme Court clarified the law regarding marriage equality, we know that changing the hearts, minds and behavior of people takes more than legal standing.

The Community Foundation will continue to support programs to assure members of the LGBTQ community are respected and served equally in Santa Cruz County.

Through the Diversity Partnership, a permanently endowed fund created by our generous donors, we can continue the work as long as necessary.

A Win for Our Health Care

The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act is another win for equality. The ruling lets stand ACA’s aim to make health care accessible to all, regardless of ability to pay.

That ruling, along with the agreement by the California legislature and Governor Brown to include $40 million in the 2015-16 state budget to expand Medi-Cal to all income eligible children (around $50K for a family of three) regardless of immigration status, marks a positive step forward in how we address the needs of the poor.

Healthy Kids Santa Cruz County, our local solution to covering all kids, has been operating since 2004, launched through a collaboration of public and private agencies working together.

At the height of the program, it covered 98% of the uninsured children in our area. While it now serves a smaller proportion of uninsured children, we are poised to begin expanding the program again with the State’s expanded Medi-Cal coverage in 2016.

Are You Ready for the Work Ahead?

One of the reasons I started and have pursued a career in philanthropy is seeing the difference people, foundations and nonprofits working together can make in creating a better place for all.

Do I feel heartened and energized today? Yes!

Am I ready for the work ahead? YES!

Christina Cuevas is the program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to her blog posts and follow her on Twitter.

What I Love About My Job

Tue, 11 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Election Day morning I drive to Watsonville to visit Ecology Action’s Boltage and Active4Me programs.

Kids and their parents are streaming into school at 7:30!

They know the drill and head directly to the Active4Me sign to get buzzed in.

Students registered for the program each have a small plastic card with a barcode.

The kids know to flip it around so Ecology Action staff and parent volunteers can scan the cards.

Once scanned, the data is uploaded to a website and the kids see how many miles they traveled and how many calories they burned since first registering.

The kids also earn Active4Me miles and points they can use to purchase goodies such as pencils, notebooks, bike lights, etc. from the Active4Me store.

One student already accumulated $46.00 in mileage points and the staff was scrambling to find a big enough prize.

Housed at Mintie White, HA Hyde and Starlight Elementary Schools and led by Ecology Action's Transportation group, the programs encourages and rewards students who walk, bike or ride a scooter to school.

Everyone wants the kids to have fun while working together toward the programs' goals of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting health. What a great two for one program!

Though relatively new, the programs are taking hold. As I wound my way through the neighborhood to visit the programs, it was great to see many people on the street—and not in cars.

Of course there has to be a glitch—and the usual scanning mechanism couldn’t be used due to a district wide internet outage.

No problem . . . adults quickly whipped out their cell phones, downloaded the app and keep checking kids in. Wow! New technology works for so many things.

What a great morning and that's why I love leaving the office to visit programs in action—and sometimes even participate.

I'm proud to be part of the Community Foundation supporting Ecology Action in its efforts to address climate change and promote community health.

Christina Cuevas is the program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to her blog posts and follow her on Twitter.

Celebrating Queer Youth Leadership in Santa Cruz County

Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

I'm excited about the upcoming Queer Youth Leadership Awards ceremony, May 10, at New Brighton Middle School, an event we're co-sponsoring.

[Photo from 2013 Queer Youth Leadership Awards. Credit: QYLA Facebook page.]

The QYLA committee has been hard at work finding a venue, calling for nominations, developing the evening’s program and promoting the event.

Just a couple night ago a group of volunteers were here pouring over the nominations to make the award selections.

Sorry, no leaks from me!

Whomever the choices are I know they'll be deserving. Every year, I'm stunned by the level of talent and commitment that abounds in our LGBTQ community when the awards are announced.

Learning why youth are selected and hearing them talk about why they are active in promoting social justice for all youth inspires me and I know it'll inspire you.

On May 10, you're likely to see many familiar faces like those who attended last year: elected officials and public servants John Leopold, Don Lane and Gail Pellerain, nonprofit leader Yolanda Henry, educators like Pancho Rodriguez, religious community members like Kathy Goldenkrantz (Temple Beth El Aptos), our donors and supporters like Ralph Alpert, Mike Dively and Cynthia Druley and many others.

Will I see you there this year? Hope so! Get your tickets now, plan to attend and let's visit!

At the Diversity Center’s 25^th Anniversary celebration last month, Jay, last year’s QYLA youth emcee, spoke eloquently about the importance of supporting LGBTQ people of all ages. All people, especially young ones, need acceptance and support as they develop and grow.

The QYLA event May 10, is another way to show your support for our queer youth.

See you there!

Christina Cuevas is program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to her blog posts and follow her on Twitter.

We Can't Close the Book Yet on Talking About Diversity and Inclusiveness

Fri, 04 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

As part of my job, I get to hear about the great work, new ideas and positive results of our local agencies.

At the same time, I'm constantly learning about the challenges they face as they strive to advance their organizations' missions.

A couple of weeks ago, I was part of two conversations where interconnected issues were raised that I feel still don't get enough attention within our ranks: diversity and inclusiveness.

One discussion was with the Health Equities Leadership Group and the other with local nonprofit grantees.

In the first conversation, while I heard nonprofit leaders speak to their personal commitment to social justice within their organizations and for the people they serve, they also talked about the difficulties of creating agency wide policies to demonstrate this commitment.

Are you nodding in agreement?

Do you find it difficult it to create realistic actions around the issues of diversity and inclusiveness without generating defensiveness or bored stares?

In the second discussion, when talking about board recruitment, questions came up about the value of diversity beyond simply meeting funder requirements to working to have our governance and programs reflect the demographics, needs and values of those served.

A few years ago there was buzz around the topic of cultural competence. But, it seems to have lost traction.

As your local community foundation, are we not doing enough? And you? Is there more you and your agency can be doing?

I was still digesting our conversations and chewing on these questions when I read about Jesse Jackson taking Silicon Valley tech leaders to task for a lack of diversity in their board rooms, hiring and start-up funding practices.

I don't know why the article surprised me, but it did. To me it seemed like the tech world was fairly well attuned to the issue of diversity, despite some stumbles and corporate leaders understood the value of marketing to growing segments of the population and doing the right thing is part of the bottom line.

We all have a long way to go, don't we?

In another news article I read President Obama recently spoke at a ceremony in which 24 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam veterans were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after being denied recognition and ignored for decades.

“No nation is perfect,” the President said. “But here in America, we confront our imperfections and face a sometimes painful past, including the truth that some of these soldiers fought and died for a country that did not always see them as equal.”

I want to keep this conversation going.

Won't you join me and others on July 11, for a free lunchtime conversation about diversity and inclusiveness in our work?

You can also share your ideas and comments below.

Christina Cuevas is program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. Before coming to the Foundation in 1988, Christina managed grant portfolios at the Ford Foundation and the San Francisco Foundation and served as executive director of Latino USA, a nationally broadcast radio program of Latino news and culture. You can subscribe to her blog posts and follow her on Twitter.

What's Coming Down the Road in 2014?

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

As the new year begins, many of you are busy making personal and professional plans for 2014.

It's the same for us at the Community Foundation.

Our plans for the coming year (and beyond) benefit from the input of several hundred people like you who shared your visions of a better Santa Cruz County during our our Roadmap process.

A Resolution We Plan to Keep

Beginning in 2014, and based on your feedback, we'll put a larger share of our discretionary resources into programs that improve educational opportunities for young people. (By discretionary, we mean those financial resource not specifically allocated for specific uses, such as a grantmaking field of interest fund that has been created only for purpose x or y only.)

Taking this step forward requires more funds than we currently have available.

So, we'll be crafting a series of steps to move us toward a future where more of our youth are prepared to succeed in a chosen field of training, higher education or employment. This will require our financial and human resources, as well as your capital, talent and support.

One of the first steps we're taking is to revamp our priorities in our grantmaking interest area of education, where we'll support a limited number of programs already in place to help young people launch into careers, advanced training or college. This will be done through an invitational process during our spring grantmaking cycle.

We anticipate dedicating $150,000 to the first round of grants in 2014 for this purpose.

Look for Info on 2014 Grantmaking in February

We're happy to report that due to a positive year in the stock market our investments are up and we'll be supporting programs in all six of the our interest areas, not just education.

Except for the change outlined above, the priorities will remain unchanged in the five other areas.

Announcement of our grantmaking guidelines and due dates will be available online after February 3.

Christina Cuevas is program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to her blog posts and follow her on Twitter.

Creating A Roadmap For the Future

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Why We're Planning

In 2012, we began a series of community conversations to help our board get input as they began mapping a future course for the Community Foundation.

The board's intent is to create a roadmap we can use to maximize the impact of our work and prioritize resources and activities during the next three to five years.

Why?

The continued volatility of the economy and social changes within the county told us we needed to look for ways to work more efficiently.

You've also told us (and we agree), we should be more focused and selective in our work. We can't be everything to everyone or tackle every issue with equal energy.

So, we invited people to join us to discuss the possible future use of our discretionary resources.

Some of you were among the 200 community members who participated in one or more of the sessions held between May and September, where we listened and shared ideas.

See summary of the five sessions [PDF 311 KB].

Last October, our board reviewed the input. Now, in 2013, we begin digging deeper into some of the common themes that emerged from those conversations, specifically education and economic vitality.


Click on image for larger illustrated version.		Participants at the July gathering.

The Desired Results

As I described in my last blog post, the majority of our grants come from donor-advised funds.

We're committed to playing an active leadership role and want to be effective in using our available human and financial resources.

We undertook this to:

Broaden our knowledge of community needs and options for getting things done during the next three to five years;
Develop a strategic focus that can be evaluated and measured; and
Identify roles we can play in promoting understanding and cooperation among county residents as a means to reduce social and economic disparities.

Our Approach

Our board-led work group engaged Tom David to facilitate the process. His extensive background and use of the World Café method we knew would result in the kind of positive engagement we've seen so far.

What I Learned

This has been a good learning experience for me. Some of my takeaways so far:

a high level of concern about the social and economic disparities in the county;
consensus around economic vitality and education as key issues;
a desire for more access to education, employment and health opportunities; and
a desire to find a unified county-wide identity that bridges some of our long-standing geographic or cultural divides.

Moving Forward

We've much more to do, but are confident this work will lead us to some clear steps for action.

I'll keep you updated through blog posts and other information sharing.

Working together, we can accomplish great things.

Christina Cuevas is the program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can post comments below.

What To Expect From Our 2013 Grantmaking

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I want to share with you an update on what Santa Cruz County nonprofits can expect from us in 2013, for our competitive grantmaking.

In my next blog post, I'll share what's going on with the strategic roadmap process that many of you participated in, but first . . .

Good News About 2013 Grantmaking

We expect the grants total in 2013 to exceed last year—welcome news for all of us!

The discretionary grantmaking portfolio used to make our competitive grants has grown, as a result of the steady recovery of the financial markets.

There will be no major shifts in priorities in 2013. No big surprises.

We see 2013 as a transition year as we complete our roadmap process (to be described in a future post).

What We Mean By "Competitive Grants"

These are grants we make through an open, competitive application process. They are reviewed, vetted and approved by our board of directors.

They differ from donor-advised fund grants made at the donors' discretion. The donor-advised grants to many organizations in Santa Cruz and beyond continue unchanged.

We also make grants through initiatives, like last year's Go Green Grants.

All these make up our Community Grants program.

2013 Grants in All Six Areas of Interest

In 2013, we'll make grant awards in all our six fields of interest: Arts, Culture & History, Community Development, Education/Youth Development, Environment, Health and Human Services.

Applications will be managed through a competitive online grants process and drawn from the discretionary funds available to us for these awards.

All applicant must meet our elibility requirements, which will be posted in January.

Safety-Net Services To Again Receive Majority of Funds

In 2013, the majority of discretionary funds for competitive grants will go to organizations providing basic services, such as food, shelter, health and human services.

We expect the application process to begin in the spring, with awards made in early summer.

Specifics on the application process and due dates will be announced and posted online in January.

2013 Grants For THE Arts and Environment

Later in the summer, we'll accept competitive grant applications for local groups working in Arts, History & Culture and Environment.

Specifics on the application process and due dates will be announced and posted online in January.

2013 Grants From Diversity Partnership Fund

In 2013, we'll invite competitive grant applications for support from our Diversity Partnership Fund, to support programs promoting diversity and social justice.

As we recover from the recession, we are pleased to again make grants from this fund.

Specifics on the application process and due dates will be announced and posted online in the first part of 2013.

More News As We Have It

These are all the details we have at this point. After reading this, you may already have questions about eligibility, the application process, etc.

We'll share information on our website and through our social media channels as we have it.

Once we post the information, we'll be happy to take your questions.

I appreciate your patience.

Christina Cuevas is the program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County.

You Go Green!

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Wow! Last week, I met with leaders from eleven local nonprofits and left energized about their efforts to go green.

You'll see why when you check out our YouTube video.

In January, we awarded small grants plus technical assistance to these eleven to help them get certified as sustainable green businesses, under the Monterey Bay Green Business Program.

The eleven nonprofits we're helping go green

The pay off

These eleven organizations, one with only three staff, all found ways to go green. How'd they do it? Through simple steps like printing double-sided and purchasing green cleaning and recycling supplies.

They reported already seeing savings in their operations. More expected when they begin comparing costs on products and energy use over time.

The technical assistance provided by the Monterey Bay Green Business Program, consultant Jane Rogers, the County of Santa Cruz Public Works and Ecology Action was said by the nonprofits to be what got them so far in such a short amount of time.

The Benefits for You

As more local nonprofits adopt sustainable green practices everyone benefits. Healthier workplaces are created for their employees and for you when you visit for services. Plus, we save on scarce resources.

Christina Cuevas is the program director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You'll sometimes see her riding her bike to work.