All posts by Justin

One of my favorite events in philanthropy concluded this past weekend – the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) Annual Conference. Several colleagues from the philanthropic and nonprofit sector, ABFE Fellows (I’m class of 2011), and allies from across the country converged in the city of Chicago to assess our call to action to improve conditions affecting black communities in America. This year’s theme  focused on coupling innovation with investment as a means to delivering greater impact through individual and collective efforts.

Chicago served as a fitting city to hold such a convening as its black community has been plagued by high unemployment rates (top five in the country), low high school graduation rates and highest dropout rates (55% and 42% respectively), and strings of highly publicized acts of violence among black men, women, young adults, and children. I think we can agree that blacks in Chicago are living with and experiencing trauma ad nauseum. (more…)

This week the Kapor Center welcomed the President and CEO of the National Association for the  Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Benjamin Todd Jealous, to our Oakland diggs. Jealous is no stranger to the Bay Area.  He is a Monterey native and the former President of the Rosenberg Foundation, based in San Francisco.

Jealous was cool enough to take a quick break from his relentless pursuit of equity for all – not just black folks – and spoil us with an intimate conversation touching on the org’s 104 years of existence, expansion of social and racial justice issues – including marriage equality, and use of tech to accelerate its campaign and membership base.

Jealous credits Kapor Foundation founders, Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein, with helping him and his team think forwardly about tech and its potential to ignite membership engagement and accelerate national organizing efforts. For example, the NAACP utilized two of the most prolific social networking mediums – Twitter and Facebook – to galvanize communities across the country for its Save Troy Davis – Too Much Doubt campaign. That year #TooMuchDoubt was the second most trended hashtag in the twitterverse. (more…)

After returning from my first SXSWedu experience – yes, I got digitized – I have now had enough time to digest the digital overload and make sense of all  that I experienced. See, I arrived the Lone Star State capital a SXSW newbie, not knowing what to expect or what exactly to look for. My ignorance soon became dwarfed by an eagerness to consume as much information, materials, and swag as possible.

Each day, I strolled through the wide hallways of the Austin Convention Center and neighboring Hilton with my head on a swivel and ears attuned to what I called “tech talk” – conversations among individuals who are either starting, securing funding for, investing in, or acquiring a startup. Believe you me, there was no other conversation happening unless it was regarding what food truck was worth paying a visit to. Being cognizant of the directional pivot that we as an organization have recently made, I naturally wiggled my way into these annular conversations to become more familiar with what innovators and technologists were thinking.

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Friday, February 1, 2013 – 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Exhibit Hall, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael

This conference provides training, toolkits, and professional development in college access and success practices to Bay Area nonprofit organizations, community agencies, middle and high school counselors and administrators, organization volunteers, mentors and other adult allies.

Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, this event is free. Food and raffle prizes are included.

Conference registration is required by Tuesday, January 22, 2013.
Register by clicking here.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dr. Joseph E. Marshall, Jr.  |  www.street-soldiers.org
Co-founder and Executive Director of Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers, author, lecturer, radio talk show host, and community activist

Dr. Francisco Reveles  |  www.l7studio.com/MenteBrava
Chair, Department of Educational Leadership at CSU Sacramento, author, researcher, gang mediator and film maker

CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS (subject to change)
*    Parent Engagement Strategies
*    Successful Transitions to High School
*    Career Pathways: Education with a Purpose
*    Cultivating GRIT and Perseverance
*    Financial Aid Updates and the DREAM Act
*    College Campus Cohorts: Peer Groups for Persistence
*    Leveraging Social Media and Technology
*    DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
*    Engaging African-American and Latino Males
*    Students in Crisis: Tools for non-Crisis Counselors
*    Planning Effective Student/Parent Events
*    Student Voices: “Sometimes everyone needs a push”

CONFERENCE SPONSORS
*    Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership, San Rafael
*    West Contra Costa Public Education Fund, Richmond
*    Anonymous

Akili Terry  is commonly referred to as ‘Brother Akili” by fellow Brotherhood Leadership Advisory Council members. It’s a nickname given to him by his peers as a sign of respect towards his outward demonstration of being black and proud to be college bound.  He embodies an old soul and projects wisdom beyond his years.

Over the past years, the College Bound Brotherhood has been fortunate to work with Akili and see him develop into a leader on the Council and in the community.  But these are not the only places that Akili has demonstrated growth; as a senior at Marin Catholic High School he has emerged as a star student-athlete.

Over the holiday break, Akili helped lead his team to the Division III state football title game. His championship quest and life-path was highlighted in MaxPrep.com, an CBS affiliate featuring prep sports and their stars. To read more about Akili’s  humble journey from West Oakland to Marin, and his balancing act click here.

Great job Akili! Continue your path towards greatness.

photo source: Dennis Lee

“IN THE SPIRIT” AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED
TO COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTORS IN DIVERSE GENRES

Recognizing the Gifted & Giving During 2nd Annual Celebration
Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 ~ Scottish Rite Auditorium, Oakland, CA

Oakland-based organization In The Spirit will host its second annual awards celebration in honor of civic, community, academic, entertainment, healthcare, media, ministerial and sports leaders who work, reside in, or are otherwise associated with the San Francisco Bay Area.  We want to congratulate Ms. Jacqueline Rushing, Founder and Executive Director of the Young Scholars Program, a College Bound Brotherhood grant partner organization, as she will be recognized at this year’s ceremony for her leadership and commitment to youth excellence. (more…)

This past week in New York the Open Society Foundation hosted its Innovation & Impact Forum for Black Male Achievement, “What Winning Looks Like: Investing in What Works”. This one-day convening took a deep DIVE into the state of black male achievement and its future, and was organized by the hard-working folks at OSF’s Campaign for Black Male Achievement.

The morning kicked off with Mayor Michael Bloomberg taking the stage and candidly expressing why the city of New York was deepening its investment in black male achievement as well as why he was making a personal investment of $30 million (via Bloomberg Philanthropies) in this campaign.
Following Mayor Bloomberg was a panel discussion, which included George Soros, founder of Open Society Foundations; Geoffrey Canada, CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone; Dr. Robert K. Ross, President and CEO of The California Endowment; and Alexis McGill Johnson, Executive Director of American Values Institute. The panelists engaged in a rich dialogue on why this particular issue resonated with them and what they considered as the next steps to improve the outcomes for black males.

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The Foundation Center and Open Society Foundation recently released, Where do We go From Here?, a joint report highlighting various philanthropic investments across the country in black men and boys. As folks may know, creating equitable systems for black men and boys has been a hot topic in philanthropy. Foundations nationwide are making themselves visible and approachable and are partnering with policy advocates, practitioners, and community leaders to disrupt the alarming trends of poverty, poor graduation rates, and high incarceration rates among black males.

The Kapor Foundation, through its College Bound Brotherhood Program, was recognized for its contribution and was identified as a small foundation that is making a large impact in this movement (pg. 32).  Cedric Brown, CEO of  the Kapor Foundation, commented on how the Foundation has been able to have such a measurable presence. “We have had to be really specific about what we support and expect. Looking at all the complexity, we have always been driven by the question: ‘what slice of this can we take that will have an impact?”  To read more on how the Kapor Foundation and other organizations are establishing themselves in this national conversation please click here.

What do you get when you bring music, dancing, food, and change agents together under one roof? If you don’t know, then you obviously missed Power’s 15th Anniversary Gala last Thursday at the First Unitarian Universalist Center of San Francisco.

POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights) is a membership organization made up of low-income African American and Latino workers and tenants in San Francisco.  Through community and electoral organizing, leadership development and movement building, POWER brings a human face to important policy debates, transforms individual lives and brings about broad-based policy change at the city, state and national levels.

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Future graduates,

Welcome to your final year of high school or, what I would like to dub, the beginning of the next chapter of your life. I know you’re probably saying to yourself, “Huh? Wouldn’t this kind of speech be more appropriate for graduation?”.  Yes, it usually would be. However, for you, my young brothers, I feel that it’s more important that you hear it now.

I get that you may feel like coasting and riding the tailwind of the past three years of hard work.  Believe me, I was once there. You’re probably thinking a mild case of senioritis won’t hurt you.  Or will it? Too many students are advancing through their senior year without a plan, one that clearly outlines what their next steps will be as they transition out of high school into adulthood. I encourage you to begin thinking about what your plan is right now!

As you begin mapping out your plan, whether it includes enrolling into a four-year college, community college, or vocational training, consider what it is that you’ll need to help you get to where you want to be.  For example, if you’re planning on enrolling in college next fall, then you should be asking yourself whether or not you’ve:  a) completed your A-G requirements, b) registered and taken the SAT or ACT,  and c) filled out a FAFSA application.  Become proactive in identifying what steps you must take in order to see your goals, academic and otherwise, come to fruition.

The journey begins now.  Do not wait until June to begin making moves. Remember to be proactive rather than reactive. If you need support developing your plan, then seek advice from your high school counselor, college and career center on campus, or your after school program. If you need to locate a college readiness provider, then please visit www.collegeboundbros.org. For a complete list of SAT dates and registration information please click here.

All the best this year and beyond,

Justin