Mitchell Kapor Foundation Weblog

My name is Richard Raya. I’m seventeen years old, and will be a senior this year at Berkeley High. I would have to say that I’m something of a nerd- albeit a sociable and athletic one. I love being lazy, reading, writing, playing video games and watching movies. And yet in spite of some of these somewhat immature mannerisms- or perhaps because of them- I have an intense fascination with concepts like equality and justice, and the entire idea of people helping each other. It seems to me that we all have a responsibility, to our communities and to ourselves; to be the very best we can and contribute to the lives of those around us. Thus, I’m very excited to be interning at the Mitchell Kapor Foundation. The work that gets done in the field of social justice is vital- it is the act of helping restore equilibrium to people that have long been marginalized so that we can all become more self sufficient and more powerful in our society. This entails ensuring that people have the means to support themselves, and their community, economically, socially and politically, which subsequently entails community organizing. However, during community organizing endeavors, one key demographic is often overlooked: youth. Youth make up a significant part of a community’s size and creativity, and as such can make a significant impact in the world around them. Young people, although they may lack the power to vote and may not have as much financial power as adults, still retain passion and idealism, and as such can contribute greatly to any social justice campaign’s volume and direction. This summer, I will be delving into various methods of facilitating youth organizing to ultimately conclude what organizations like the Mitchell Kapor Foundation can do to effectively aid youth organizers.

We’re very proud to share that our own Carmen Rojas has been tapped to serve on the EPA’s Environmental Education Training Program Task Force, one of five people in the *nation* to serve in this capacity!! The task force is charged with reviewing education materials that are developed and distributed to low income communities on pressing environmental issues. Many congrats to Carmen for representing community interests at the local, state, and federal levels!

Just wanted to thank Adrian Henderson and the M. Robinson Baker YMCA in Oakland for presenting me with a Community Service Award at their Juneteenth celebration last Saturday (the Kapor Foundation has underwritten their college fair costs for the past two years though the College Bound Brotherhood).

This is a definite honor, considering that these are folks who embody community service through their everyday work in the heart of West Oakland. So the feeling is mutual – thank YOU for your thoughtfulness and dedication to community! (And my apologies for wearing shades onstage, lol).

Late last year, CompassPoint released a wonderful study: Creative Disruption: Sabbaticals for Capacity Building and Leadership Development in the Nonprofit Sector (download here). The report analyzes the myths and actual benefits of  nonprofit leaders being able to step away for a well-planned break – a sabbatical – during which the individual benefits from a period of rejuvenation and the organization’s “second tier” of managers get to further develop their leadership skills.

Here at the Kapor Center (which includes our sibling organizations, Level Playing Field Institute and Kapor Enterprises), we’re testing out a new sabbatical program, and yours truly has the privilege of being the pioneer. As this Thursday, July 1, I’ll be out of the office until September 1st.

Of course I’m looking forward to it, since I haven’t had an extended break (beyond a two week vacation) in 17 years. And while I know that this will be a challenge in many respects (dealing – or not dealing – with email is a big one!) I’m fully confident in my staff colleagues to hold down the fort until we’re all together again. So please feel free to continue to contact the appropriate Foundation staff with questions; they’re prepped to answer own their own and in my stead. Meanwhile, have a great summer! Namaste.

Last week, Justin, Carmen, and I had the unique opportunity to attend Ernst & Young’s Northern California Entrepreneur of the Year Award ceremony in San Jose.  We were guests of the founder and CEO of Universal Giving, Pamela Hawley, who was one of the finalists for this prestigious award.  Pamela was recognized for her social entrepreneurship in creating an organization that allows people to give to and volunteer with top-performing projects all over the world.  We are proud of Pamela’s work and were excited to attend the event on her behalf.

Some of the other entrepreneurs being recognized were the founders of Method Products, Inc., Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan; the founder of the Flip video camera, Jonathan Kaplan; and the co-founders of SunRun, an organization that provides solar installation to consumers at no initial cost, leasing the equipment to them, making it easier for folks to live sustainably.  These were just a few of the amazing entrepreneurs we heard about.  One of the most amazing entrepreneurs was a 13-year old boy who created a special gate to be used with sliding doors.  Amazing!

The most important thing I took away from this event is that it doesn’t pay to just come up with a great idea.  We need to put ideas into action in order to add value to the communities we live in.  In the words of Thomas Edison, “Vision without execution is hallucination.”  Be inspired.

Pictured in photo: Carmen Rojas, Pamela Hawley, and Tiffany Price

The San Francisco Foundation, in collaboration with National Community Development Institute, has launched a new directory of San Francisco Bay Area capacity builders of color.  This database includes all kinds of consultants and technical assistance providers of color, many of whom specialize in working in low-income communities and communities of color.  The directory was created to help community-based organizations, nonprofits, and foundations find consultants of color and to assist local consultants of color in marketing their services in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

My favorite feature of the website is the Specialty Search.  Using this function, you can find consultants who specialize in everything from community organizing to health and technology.  This directory is a much-needed resource, so get the word out to your friends and colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to be added to the database or have comments and suggestions about the database, please provide feedback using the ‘Contact Us’ link on the database website.

Image source: The San Francisco Foundation website

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Council on Foundations Conference in Denver under the theme of “Intersections: Social Change, Social Justice, and Social Innovation.”  I got to hear great presentations and to network with some inspiring people, and the conference was filled with a stunning cadre of speakers like Al Gore, Geoffrey Canada, Ben Jealous, and more.

I started the conference with a session starring the Kapor Foundation’s Mario Lugay on ‘Organizing for Impact: Making the Case for Advocacy and Organizing.’  During the session, I listened to various foundation folks talk about their organizations’ efforts to integrate advocacy and social justice into their missions.  One foundation told a horror story of program staff wanting to do more progressive funding but having to ‘hide’ their social justice agendas in conservative language that got presented to a conservative, high-powered board.  Most of the board members had served 15-20+ years with no term limits. The board finally approved a 16-year term limit this year, but existing board members start the countdown anew.  After hearing this story and others like it, I am even more proud to work for a foundation that wears social justice on its sleeve!

I got to witness three great individuals get awarded by the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), including Rashid Shabazz and our own Cedric Brown!  The third person was Crystal Hayling, ABFE’s James Joseph Lecture Award recipient, who mentioned the following ‘5 Things We Know But Keep Forgetting‘ in our work efforts.

1) Take more risks. Heart-stopping risks.
2) The time is now. Re-envision relationships and communities. The problems we’re facing are big and require new, outside-the-box approaches, conversations, and partnerships.
3) Design matters. Hayling mentioned the power of design in the example of an innovative $20 blanket solution to the high death rate of third-world low-birth-weight babies due to the unavailability of $20,000 incubators.
4) Technology is just a tool, but it’s a power tool.
5) We need new leaders. Hard power is getting people to do what you want.  Soft power is convincing and inspiring people to want what you want.

These are just a few nuggets I took away from the conference that I wanted to share with you.

Image source: Council on Foundations website

Six months ago, Melanie Cervantes (Akonadi Foundation), Luke Newton (Common Counsel), Kazu Haga (Peace Development Fund), and I joined forces to establish a place for progressive funders to get together, talk about our work, and identify opportunities to collaborate in our grantmaking.  We are very excited to invite you to the launch of the Bay Area Justice Funders Network this Wednesday in Downtown Oakland!