Northern California Grantmakers

By Laila Mehta, Director, Civic Engagement Fund (AAPIP)

In philanthropy we know that story-telling is a critical way to illustrate impact. A new video — Post 9/11: The Impact of a Funder Collaborative – tells the tale of what we learned through the Civic Engagement Fund. The CEF is a collaborative fund that supports little-understood communities that were propelled to the spotlight after 9/11, and remain invisible yet hyper-visible in mainstream America even today.

In the Bay area, a network of grantmakers recognized that they have Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities in their regions but did not know how they were impacted post 9/11 or what organizations existed to serve these communities. The funders involved recognized that the narrative around AMEMSA communities, even 12 years after 9/11, was too often shaped by misperceptions, bias or ignorance.

A recent Bay Area Muslim Survey, also supported by a collaboration among Bay area grantmakers and AAPIP, finds that Muslims from all walks of life continue to face ongoing Islamophobia that results in fear and mixed effects on their civic engagement (measured by donating, community participation, and voting).

Ultimately, the true value of the Civic Engagement Fund isn’t in the dollars distributed, but in the capacity built and relationships developed. We hope this video spurs conversation about how foundations are addressing these and other underserved communities that are a vital part of our regions and nation. We also hope it inspires grantmakers to strategically include and invest in AMEMSA visibility, voice, leadership and capacities. Our call to action is to develop meaningful partnerships with AMEMSA community leaders and organizations.

Here are some lessons we learned that apply to philanthropy, policy makers and advocates:

• Partner with funders for deeper engagement and to mitigate risk
• Resource new and emerging leaders who address unique or persisting challenges
• Keep up with changing demographics & issues to stay relevant and be effective
• Engage in conversation with community organizations from the start
• Build capacities, relationships and collaborations
• Commit to long-term investment that will empower the community
• Facilitate dialogue and build bridges within AMEMSA communities
• Include racial and religious profiling in the immigration conversation

Watch video here:

NCG member Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) is currently conducting a Corporate Citizenship Survey. If you are a corporate funder, please consider taking a few minutes to help advance corporate citizenship by participating in this survey.

The purpose of this survey is to better understand how Bay Area companies are engaging in citizenship both locally and globally through philanthropy, employee engagement and other activities. The goal is to analyze responses in the context of the social and economic needs of the Bay Area, compare local corporate activity to national trends and to identify some of the most promising and innovative practices underway. The findings will be published in a report which will debut in December and will be shared with all participants.

The SVCF will be accepting partial responses for all surveys.

For more information, please contact us at bizservices@siliconvalleycf.org. The survey will close on July 19, 2013.

Take the survey now.

July 24, 2013
7:15 am – 10:00 am
Hilton San Francisco Union Square
Grand Ballroom B
333 O’Farrell Street
San Francisco, CA

On July 24th the San Francisco Business Times will honor the Top Corporate Philanthropists in the Bay Area at the 2013 Corporate Philanthropy Summit and Awards, followed by a panel discussion featuring a diverse group of leaders in corporate philanthropy discussing their philanthropic practices and policies.

Call For Nominations

The San Francisco Business Times invites Bay Area corporate grantmakers attend this year’s summit, as well as, nominate a worthy Bay Area corporation to one of the four “Beyond the Check Awards”:

1. Community Partnership in Sustainability
2. Community Change and Impact
3. Community Health Partner
4. Community Education Partner

These “Beyond the Check Awards” are not about the money or size of the company but rather the success of the corporation’s initiative in your community that is making a difference.

Nomination Process

Please go to www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/nomination/ to fill out an award category form for the corporation you are nominating. Please direct any questions to Tom Van Ess, Community Partnership Manager at the San Francisco Business Times at tvaness@bizjournals.com or 415.288.4932.

Select one of four categories in the 2013 Corporate Philanthropy Awards program. It is possible for a company to be nominated in several categories. However, please select the category you feel the company is most qualified for and respond to the questions. Each company is eligible to win in one of the four categories per year. An independent selection committee will request supplemental materials only if clarification is required.

The independent selection committee consisting of experts with backgrounds in corporate community affairs, philanthropy, non-profit management, education, and healthcare will select one winner in each category. The San Francisco Business Times will notify award recipients in mid-June. Recipients will be honored at the 13th Annual Corporate Philanthropy Summit & Awards on July 24th at the Hilton San Francisco on O’Farrell.

Nomination deadline is June 7, 2013.

nominate now >>

register for the 2013 summit and awards >>