Our grantmaking and community engagement will advance climate justice. This can include supporting frontline communities in building resilience to climate change, addressing environmental consequences of our fossil fuel economy, and providing benefits from the transition economy. As an initial part of our Climate Justice Grant Round, SV2 is connecting with community changemakers to understand what climate justice in the Bay Area means, community strengths and challenges, and the opportunities to make an impact.  We’re learning these opportunities include frontline communities addressing causes of injustice and leading positive change, supporting equitable access to solutions and resources, and ensuring that diverse perspectives contribute to driving policy and advocacy.

The Grant Round is led by Partners Jennifer McFarlane and Nancy Grove, and staff member Amy Badiani.

Here is a visual that helps clarify the difference between equality, equity, and justice:

Image credit: Mobilize Green

SV2 Partners and Community Partners (Grantees), please join us at an Open House on Zoom on Thursday, August 25th from 6:30-7:30pm to learn more about the Grant Round and opportunities for engagement. RSVP here. Also email Amy Badiani (abadiani@sv2.org), if you’d like to nominate Bay Area nonprofit or fiscally sponsored organizations and/or join the research and community engagement team.

Some guiding details for this Grant Round:

We strive to advance equity and trust based philanthropy throughout our learning and relationship building. SV2 will allocate $160,000 of unrestricted, multi-year funding across two organizations ($80,000 each). SV2 will also offer the selected organizations beyond-the-dollars support as helpful and friendship!

SV2 can best support organizations / Community Partners who match the following criteria.

SV2 is interested in deploying a greater share of grants to organizations led by underrepresented people of color.

• 501(c)(3) nonprofit or fiscally sponsored.
• Has work and community reach in the Bay Area with executive leadership and Board presence in the Bay Area.
• $500,000-$4 Million in revenue.
• Organizations that are at “growth” stage in their lifecycle, they have a proven model and initial evidence of impact, and are still building their internal organizational capacity (e.g. learning and evaluation, strategy development, talent and human capital, operations and systems, finances and fund development). Typically, the organization is on the young side; if it has been in existence longer, it’s in some sort of “renewal” period.
• Addressing inequities and root causes (i.e. creating conditions to reduce the prevalence of an issue). 
• Has not previously received a three-year grant from SV2 (current Community Partners here, former Community Partners here).

 

SV2 Partners: If you’d like to participate in the Grant Round, please join the Environment Group on mySV2 in order to receive future communications and access to files. Please contact Amy Badiani if you have questions about the Grant Round or trouble accessing mySV2.

This past Spring, we checked in with our Community Partner Grantees and invited them to connect and share updates at a meeting in June. They continue to deepen impact and grow their organizational capacity, in the midst of ongoing crises and challenges. These inspiring changemakers and leaders are listening to communities they engage, adapting, deepening, and pivoting. All organizations received continuation of unrestricted funding from SV2. 

Here are some things these organizations are proud about and want to amplify:

• Braven Bay Area – strong early progress by successfully working with the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering to implement Braven as a technical elective option, and with the new Data Science major to add Braven as a recommended elective for students in the major.
• ICA – Case study co-authored between ICA and Firebrand Artisan Breads, a West Oakland-based baking company that has partnered with ICA over the last ten years, that examines how small businesses can create high quality jobs while scaling up. They also highlighted the 2021 ICA Annual Report.
• Mujeres Unidas y Activas – 3 key policy victories at the local, state and national level respectively:
  • The City of San Francisco Domestic Worker Paid Sick Leave Ordinance will create the first ever mandated paid sick leave system in California.
  • The Domestic Worker Health and Safety Act will establish the first ever workplace health and safety guidelines for domestic workers throughout the State of California.
  • Changes to the Department of Justice rules regarding the grounds for asylum in the United States in July 2021. This victory could save the lives of tens of thousands of survivors of violence, including many MUA members, who will be protected from deportation to their home countries. This victory was reported in the New York Times, which featured the story of a MUA member who provided her testimony to the government. 
• One Life Counseling – building and creating immigrant focus and mental health center that doesn’t exist in San Mateo County. Launched Una Vida. 
• Safe & Sound – Center for Youth Wellness and Safe & Sound (merged) enhance each other’s strengths in improving the health and wellbeing of children and families. Launched Lunch and Learn series open to the community.
• StreetCode Academy – named 2021 Nonprofit of the Year for California’s 13th Senate District StreetCode Academy Named Peninsula’s 2021 Nonprofit of the Year, selected as one of 40 organizations nationwide to receive a grant and partnership with the NBA Foundation, 100% staff team retention, and strengthened Ravenswood School City District partnership.
• SV@Home – had another very successful Affordable Housing Month is past May. They uploaded the majority of the 50+ Affordable Housing Month events to the SV@Home website.
• Upward Scholars – has an awesome and highly valued staff team! Also there are Upward Scholars’ small businesses which you can support.  

We’re also honored and delighted to welcome our newest Community Partners: Code Tenderloin, College is Real, Puente de la Costa Sur, and Redwood City PAL. 

Here are some more things we learned as we connect with all our Community Partners:

• Based on community realities, programs and activities are becoming more deeply intersectional – e.g. education, job ready-ness, and mental health, environment and social justice, community organizing and workforce development, and housing and economic inclusion. 
• Our Community Partners are also experiencing various challenges including the emotionally burdensome work of dismantling inequitable systems, expanding geographically and into new communities successfully, doing community engagement well in a hybrid format in the continued realities of COVID, retaining staff, sustaining team wellbeing, and having systems and processes that effectively keep up with growth. 
• There is more collaboration and less “re-inventing the wheel”. 
• Teams are growing and deepening (staff and board with diverse lived experiences), staff are being paid better.
• Operational efficiency is improving, and impact measurement and sharing is more robust and intentional. 
• SV2’s trust-based unrestricted funding, relationship building, and support has clearly contributed to these successes. 

We continue to be honored to be in community together to advance equity and social impact, and contribute to a Bay Area in which everyone can thrive.

We are thrilled to welcome four new members to SV2’s Board of Directors: Gatanya Arnic, Kelly Pope, Dr. Linda Prieto and Zelica Rodriguez-Deams. As part of our Strategic Plan’s emphasis on equity and power sharing, three of the new Board members — Gatanya, Linda and Zelica — are current or former SV2 Community Partner Grantees, a first for SV2. We are so excited to bring Gatanya, Kelly, Linda and Zelica’s talents and experience to the SV2 Board!

Gatanya Arnic

Gatanya is a visionary leader with over 19 years of experience in leadership development, healthcare, and nonprofit expertise. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Center for Youth Wellness, a program of Safe & Sound, where she is also the Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to joining the Center for Youth Wellness team, she spent three years with a leading senior housing organization in Chicago. As an Executive Director, she has developed strong leaders, streamlined operational costs, developed and executed internal and external strategies, and managed and led several large scale community events. Gatanya holds a B.S. in Community Health from Illinois State University and is working on completing her MBA. She was a former LeadingAge Leadership Fellow and a 2021 Gratitude Network Fellow. Gatanya has also held several different leadership and board membership roles in her career and is an Americorps VISTA Alumni. In 2018, she became a Honoring Excellence Award nominee. Gatanya practices Vipassana meditation daily, and on the weekends, you can find her doing outdoor activities, reading, traveling, and spending time with her daughter and friends.

Kelly Pope

Kelly Pope is a social entrepreneur and strategic advisor focused on creating opportunities for the youngest (0-5yrs) learners and their families. She consults with and advises young edtech start-up companies on business models, design thinking, and technology implementation. Prior to her social sector work, Kelly spent 25 years in the software industry as a software technology executive, managing diverse high tech organizations. She built and led cross-functional teams to deliver robust and engaging end-user products ranging from medical diagnostic software to consumer video games to web-based interactive curriculum for students and teachers. Kelly serves as Vice Chair on the New Teacher Center board and is also on the board of Growing Up New Mexico, working to bring structural change to early childhood care and education in New Mexico. Kelly holds a B.S. in electrical engineering/signal processing from U.C. Davis, and she was one of the first women to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Linda Prieto
As the daughter of immigrants who left México to give their children a better life, Linda grew up working in the agricultural fields of the central San Joaquin Valley in California, but her heart was in the classroom. In second grade, her teacher was the first person she ever heard say the word “college.” Until that point in her life, she didn’t know anyone who had more than a sixth-grade level education. But like her parents, she too believed that education could break the cycle of poverty. A belief in education drove Linda to earn a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from Stanford, a Master’s degree in education from Harvard, and a Ph.D. in education from UT Austin. She began her work in the nonprofit sector as vice-president of programs at ALearn, a Santa Clara-based math and college readiness program for underserved students. Linda now serves as Executive Director of Upward Scholars, whose mission is to provide adult immigrants the boost they need to move up the economic ladder through education and career development support. In addition to this leadership role, she is raising her son to be just as excited about learning and service as she has always been.

Zelica Rodriguez-Deams
Zelica has nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit field as a community organizer, advocate and community builder.  Her prowess is in research and analysis, strategy development and program impact. Zelica currently serves as Director of Santa Clara County’s Office of Immigrant Relations. Previously, she served on the leadership team at SOMOS Mayfair for 8 years, first as Director of Programs and then as Associate Director. While at SOMOS, Zelica launched the “In Our Hands” initiative, spanning 13 programs, all focused on dismantling inequity and addressing the multi-generational crisis in Mayfair. She also led the development of a collective impact model across five local organizations (the Si Se Puede Collective) which has built a robust eco-system supporting families in the Eastside. She also led the creation of an immigrant women worker-owned cooperative that has gained visibility across the county as experts in sustainable community engagement. Before joining SOMOS, Zelica served as the Director of Policy & Organizing for SIREN, where she developed and won advocacy campaigns to increase equity, access, resources and rights for immigrant families. She also led SIREN’s robust civic engagement strategy that resulted in a multi-language civic campaign to increase awareness of voter rights and responsibilities amongst the immigrant community. Born in El Salvador, Zelica came to this country as a child.  She earned her Master’s in Political Science from San Francisco State University in 2007.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Latin American and Latino studies from University of California, Santa Cruz. She is married to Dewayne Deams, proud BART Train operator, and has two daughters, Mikaela and Lina. 

Join us in welcoming these terrific new Board members!

We are deeply grateful for the many contributions of outgoing Board members Dan Barritt, Aarti Chandna, Paru Desai, Lisa Jones, and Rick Tinsley. Dan has served as a Grant Round leader and member of the Grantmaking and Impact Investment Review Committee (GIIRC) of the Board. He also has offered his professional expertise in user experience on beyond-the-dollars projects for Grantee Community Partners, and in helping to identify and design SV2’s internal collaboration platform. Aarti has served as a Grant Round leader and has led SV2’s Impact Investing Working Group for many years, tirelessly sourcing deals, conducting diligence, and serving as a Lead Partner for multiple Investees. Paru’s leadership includes the Get Proximate initiative, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) working group, serving as Grant Round leader and on the GIIRC, hosting multiple social events in her home, and most recently, joining the SV2 staff team on an interim part-time basis to help with new Partner recruitment. She has been a champion of Partner-led efforts at SV2, founding and leading the Social Impact Book Club and piloting a Partner trip to the US South next fall for deep learning about social justice and civil rights. Lisa was an early impact investing leader at SV2 and has served as a Grant Round leader and member of the Board’s Finance Committee. She also led SV2’s DEI working group, crafting our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) training and paving the way for many of the equity commitments in SV2’s current Strategic Plan. Rick has been engaged in SV2’s grantmaking and impact investing work, serving as a Lead Partner for both Grantee and Investee Community Partners. His thoughtful input on the Finance Committee has helped to shape SV2’s fiscal policies.

We appreciate these stellar leaders, and all they have given to the SV2 community during their time on the Board. Thank you!

We’re pleased to report that three SV2 Investees had exits this year, and that SV2 made four additional investments, all with a focus on environment or climate adaptation and mitigation. We benefited from a terrific learning series on Investing in Climate Solutions, led by Partners Jennifer McFarlane, Tony Stayner, and Paul Traina. As we enter our eighth year of impact investing at SV2, we’re poised to continue and deepen our practice together.

Exits
SV2 had three portfolio exits this year: OpenInvest and Nepris were both acquired at significantly increased valuation, returning 8x (OpenInvest) and 6x (Nepris). Village Enterprise’s Development Impact Bond was repaid at the maximum rate, returning 1.3x. 

OpenInvest is a Public Benefit Corporation offering a transparent, values-oriented alternative to traditional investment portfolios. Using technology, OpenInvest tailors investment portfolios according to the specific values of investors to help promote social and environmental good. SV2 invested $50,000 in July 2017, and received an 8x return (71% IRR) in June 2021 when OpenInvest was acquired by J.P. Morgan.

Nepris connects educators and learners with a network of industry  professionals virtually, bringing real-world relevance and career exposure to students. Nepris also provides a skills-based volunteering platform for organizations to engage in education outreach within the future workforce. SV2 invested $25,000 in August 2016, and received a 6x return (42% IRR) in November 2021 when Nepris was acquired by PSG Equity.

Launched in 2017, the Village Enterprise Development Impact Bond (DIB) funded a ‘graduation out of poverty’ program run by the non-profit Village Enterprise, enabling more than 14,000 first-time entrepreneurs, 75 percent of them women, in Kenya and Uganda to start small businesses and form business savings groups. This first ever development impact bond for tackling extreme poverty in Africa exceeded its targets, sustainably improving the livelihoods of 95,000 East Africans. Under the impact bond model, investors (including SV2) provided upfront funding for the work, with ‘outcome payers’ repaying the investment according to the results achieved. Since all agreed targets were met, the outcome payers repaid Village Enterprise the maximum amount. SV2 invested $25,000 in March 2018, and received a 1.3x return (8% IRR) in February 2022 when the outcome payers repaid the loan.

Learning
SV2 Partners Tony Stayner, Jennifer McFarlane, and Paul Traina worked together to plan and lead a six-part learning series on Investing in Climate Solutions. This learning series covered various approaches which investors might consider for personal asset allocation in support of climate solutions, including Public Investments, Real Assets, Venture Capital, and Defensive Strategies. Our guest experts’ slides and recordings of the sessions can be viewed here. 

New Investments
Following the Venture Capital presentation, SV2 Partners considered two climate-focused venture funds and recommended a $50,000 investment in Buoyant Ventures. This is SV2’s second investment in a venture fund and the first in a fund led by a 100% women-owned VC firm. The fund invests in companies offering digital solutions to communities and businesses to mitigate ( i.e., reduce emissions) and adapt (i.e., address the risk to lives and livelihoods today as well as climate justice and equity) to climate change. Buoyant Ventures invests in seed through Series B rounds. Impact is best summarized by the fund’s primary targets, UN SDGs: #13 – Climate Action, #7 – Affordable Clean Energy, #6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, and #12 – Responsible Consumption and Production. Buoyant seeks to invest in and help build high performing diverse teams. 

SV2 made three other investments this year in companies focused on environmental impact. Change:WATER Labs and Sanivation both work on sanitation. Poor sanitation is responsible for a wide range of problems including the spread of disease, diarrheal deaths, and water pollution. Sanitation affects all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Croptix is a smart Ag subscription platform using data and machine learning analytics to help farmers detect and manage fatal diseases in permanent crops to save their farms. This means saving the livelihoods of many farmers, not just for that year, but for several years, as Croptix is dealing with permanent crops.  Early detection also stops the unnecessary use of pesticides. This company’s work is related to SDG 12 ( Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 8 ( Decent work and Economic growth).

As we enter our eighth year of impact investing at SV2, we are poised to continue and deepen our work as we apply lessons learned. We invite you to join us! If you’re new to impact investing, learn more about how it works at SV2 by checking out this overview. The SV2 Impact Investing Working Group meets monthly to discuss prospective impact investment opportunities, hear pitches from social entrepreneurs, and perform due diligence in order to make informed investment decisions on behalf of SV2. All Partners are welcome to begin regularly attending IIWG meetings at any point in the year or are welcome to audit meetings on a drop-in basis. This is a fantastic way to hear from inspiring social entrepreneurs and participate in a hands-on and highly engaged investment process. Please reach out to Jody Chang with questions.

College is Real (CIR) provides guidance and tools for “college-aspirational” students at Richmond’s three public high schools in order to have as many students as possible apply to, attend, and graduate from four-year colleges. CIR wants to change the lives of the students in the program so they can ultimately improve the lives of their families and change their communities.

Redwood City Police Activities League (PAL) joins police professionals and community members in a unified effort with a mission to provide school-age children and their families with access to academic support, life skills and personal development activities, with a focus on producing successful opportunities for underrepresented and underserved communities throughout Redwood City.

In our Equity in Education Grant Round, we had a “Chat with Youth” and other changemakers and leaders to learn more about what equity in education means, sourced organizations to consider based on community nominations, and engaged current Community Partners / Grantees in our organization shortlisting process. We selected these two deeply successful and growing organizations to each receive $125,000 in multi-year unrestricted funding, beyond-the-dollars support as helpful, and friendship!

More about the selected organizations: 

College is Real

Founded in 2005, College is Real (CIR) provides guidance and tools for “college-aspirational” students at Richmond’s three public high schools in order to have as many students as possible apply to, attend, and graduate from four-year colleges. CIR wants to change the lives of the students in the program so they can ultimately improve the lives of their families and change their communities.

CIR provides academic counseling, application assistance, college tours, community service, scholarships, test prep, tutoring, mentoring, summer bridge program, and career education. College is Real wants to change the lives of the students in the program so they can ultimately improve the lives of their families and change their communities.

College is Real serves 430+ students in the program, both male and female, predominantly LatinX and African American students, which is consistent with demographics of communities and schools they serve. Richmond has the lowest high school graduation rate and the highest poverty rate of any city in the Bay Area. They hope to grow to 500+ high school students by 2023 and are well on their way to that goal in spite of setbacks with COVID.

Angelica Arriaga, Executive Director, is a charismatic and focused leader who was born in Lynwood, California, raised in Riverside, California, and is the first in her family to attend and graduate from a four year university. Angie impressed our Partners with her passion and talented leadership in providing direct services to the students to ensure that they become the first in their families to go to college and how she is the students’ trusted academic / college advisor. 

Redwood City PAL

Founded in 1995, Redwood City Police Activities League (PAL) joins police professionals and community members in a unified effort with a mission to provide school-age children and their families with access to academic support, life skills and personal development activities, with a focus on producing successful opportunities for underrepresented and underserved communities throughout Redwood City.

PAL’s programs with kids and adults focus on community care and enrichment, healthy lifestyles, and city initiatives. This includes after-school and summer camp for youth ages 5-13, healthy lifestyles initiatives such as community sports and fitness classes, toy drives, a cadet program, and a tattoo removal program. 

PAL serves 400 school children annually, and has served 15,000 children and youth since its founding in 1995. 98% of their clients are Latinx. They provide programming on Zoom for busy families, and also at their facility in North Fair Oaks and at three schools in the Redwood City School District. 

Ivan Martinez, Executive Director, is a dynamic and collaborative leader who was born and raised in North Fair Oaks. He has deep ties and passion for the community, and impressed our Partners with his collaborative approach, equity commitment, and leadership not only in direct services to youth, but also in systems change work like fostering community dialogues with the police department.

More about our learning, community engagement, and grantmaking process:

In our Equity in Education Grant Round, we had a “Chat with Youth” and other leaders to learn more about what equity in education means, sourced organizations to consider based on community nominations, and engaged current Community Partners / Grantees in our organization shortlisting process. We selected these two deeply successful and growing organizations to each receive $125,000 in multi-year unrestricted funding, beyond-the-dollars support as helpful, and friendship!

Here are some of our key takeaways about equity in education principles and practices (and we keep learning and growing!):

• Access and Opportunity: 
• • Equal opportunity and equal access to learning and resources
  • A fair first chance
  • Every student can thrive and realize their full potential
  • Accepting that people have different paths in life
  • The chance to explore passions in nontraditional subjects and connect with the real world
  • Self advocacy

• School Culture:
  • Welcoming and belonging
  • Activate students to think about and change their systems (in a paid way)
  • Committed and dedicated teachers who care about student success and students as people 

• Community Support:
  • Social mobility
  • Prioritizing mental health
  • Having sufficient funding throughout schools and districts

• Anti-Racism, Diversity and Representation
  • Having knowledge of selfhood and ways in which our selfhood has been shaped by who we are as a nation
  • Being socially accepting and more inclusive

We also further applied our knowledge of key success factors in our education system:

1) Expanded Learning/OST
2) Social-Emotional Learning/Mental Health
3) Family/Parent Engagement
4) Teacher Development
5) Community Power Building/Policy Advocacy

Thanks to all who participated, and special kudos to Jennifer Min and Kelly Pope, Partner Co-Leaders of the Grant Round for their thoughtful re-design, community listening and grounding, and gracious facilitation, all as volunteers of this massive effort!

The 2022 Partner Survey Results are in! This survey is one way of understanding SV2’s impact on Partners and how we can continue to achieve our mission, learn, make positive social impact and cultivate community. Everyone can read more highlights. SV2 Partners can also read the full report. Thanks to all Partners who completed this survey!

Some highlights:

• Involvement with SV2 had a significant impact on Partner learning about community needs and solutions, advancing equitable practices in social impact, giving to social impact causes – funding and time, and effectiveness 
• Partners self-reported ~$1.1M in follow-on funding to organizations they learned about through SV2 
• Positive Partner experience, Net Promoter Score of 39.6 (over 0 is positive, over 50 is excellent)
• We connected with several well respected Community Leaders (nonprofits and funders) to inform Grant Round and Learning Session topics listed in the survey.
• Noted improvement opportunities include diversifying our membership, having more experiential learning opportunities, and adjusting the format of our events based on our “new normal” – e.g. hybrid events and in-person events as safe to do so.
• Top three requested Grant Round topics are Education Equity, Economic Inclusion, and Environment followed by Leadership Development (e.g. training and support for black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), youth, LGBTQ and other individuals from the community to amplify voice, power, and representation for economic and social justice and equity)
• Top three requested Learning Session topics are Get Proximate, Nonprofit Strategy Development, and Financial Diligence with an Equity Lens followed by Impact Investing

Community. By itself, it is already a powerful word. On Sunday, May 22, as the newest member of the SV2 team, I got to witness it first-hand.

More than 80 Bay Area locals passionate about social impact gathered in the Noe Valley backyard oasis jointly shared by SVP Partners Rose and David Bloomin and 10 of their friends in adjoining houses. Against the backdrop of colorful shades, Laura Weinbach entertained us with French jazz and serial entrepreneur and angel investor Tony Lam generously shared the cold brew Vietnamese coffee of one of his social ventures Omni. 

SV2 welcomed summer with its first big in-person social gathering since the pandemic, marking an exciting time for SV2’s collective leadership. There were many reasons to celebrate—from the launch of SV2’s new strategic plan focused on equity and power-sharing to the progress of grant recipients from years before. Following the warm words of welcome by hosts Rose Bloomin and SV2 CEO David Onek, SV2 Board Member Kwok Lau, Linda Prieto of Upward Scholars, and Diana Phuong of Braven shared the impact SV2 has had on their organizations and people. 

SV2 plans to host another Backyard Impact Social before fall, welcoming SV2 Partners, Board members, Community Partners (Grantees and Impact Investees), strategic allies, and friends to come together to create community. 

We can all see and feel vividly the effects of climate change in our own experiences: sea level rise, wildfires, heat, floods, drought, etc.  But what we don’t see, is their disproportionate impacts on our frontline communities who are far more exposed due to their location, decades of discrimination, limited resources, and ignored voices.

Our “Get Proximate Climate Justice” event, held in mid-March in East Palo Alto, provided us an invaluable perspective on these impacts.  We heard from 5 community-based organizations (CBOs) within San Mateo county who are responding urgently to their communities’ needs to mitigate and adapt to climate change, through  securing resources and advocacy. We found that these voices were powerful and impactful: Climate Resilient Communities, North Fair Oaks Community Alliance, Nuestra Casa, Rise South City, and Youth United for Community Action.

Key to making this event successful was our amazing co-lead, Thrive Alliance, a nonprofit that supports more than 200 CBOs throughout San Mateo.  Thrive knew the CBOs that were most active in climate justice and encouraged them to lead the design and implementation of this event.

This “Get Proximate Climate Justice” event, initiated by SV2 Partners Jennifer McFarlane and Paul Traina, featured two variations from SV2’s traditional approach.  First, we made it collaborative, inviting like-minded groups  such as SVCF, PACF, TPW and Toniic, as we can have a greater impact by working together. Second, our goal was to foster ongoing engagement in climate justice following the event, so we paired each CBO with an SV2 Partner to be their Champion at the event, and to encourage ongoing interest.  A huge thank you to Dennis Debroeck, Nancy Grove, Jon Goulden and Tony Stayer who volunteered alongside Paul and I for this undertaking.

The event took place in a new community building at Cooley Landing, EPA – a symbolic location as it had once been a toxic waste dump that was closed in 2007 with the help of YUCA, one of presenting CBOs, following years of EPA violations.  

From the start of the event, there was a palpable buzz from the about 15 community members who had gathered to make this event a success.  They were excited to engage with us, as well as to reconnect with each other again in person in the ‘defrosting’ Covid world.  

With about 45 in the room, Ever Rodriguez (ED of NFOCA) kicked off the event, talking about his own journey from feeling powerless as a day laborer, to empowerment when he first understood that immigrants could have a voice.  He got a degree at night and has felt empowered ever since.

Although each of the 5 CBOs had distinctive missions, they all had common themes: importance of empowerment through developing local leaders; the ongoing challenge of getting key decision makers to address their issues and their own strong bias to self-reliance, reflecting decades of discrimination and neglect by others.  

We found the presentations from each of the CBOs (see below) completely engrossing, and the 2 hours passed in a flash. We couldn’t wait to get to lunch where we had the chance to connect with each of the leaders; and became only further engrossed — our lunch lingered well past our scheduled end time!

We gained so many insights from this experience: a greater appreciation of “the quality of the organizations’ dedication and work”; “unique perspectives and issues across different communities”; and “the significance of trust”.  And perhaps, most importantly “climate justice is no longer abstract and now seems actionable”.

Next Steps:

We are encouraged with the level of interest from numerous  participants and hope to schedule an informational Zoom event soon, with 1-2 donor organizations that have recently funded some of the CBOs.  Stay tuned!

CBO and Presentations Summary

Nuestra Casa: Miriam Yupanqui leads this established organization which focused on education, leadership development and advocacy for the Latino community in/around EPA.  While long-time issues have been focused on housing, food security and clean water, Nuestra Casa has recently become a leader on issues of sea level rise, helping to change BCDC’s (SF Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission) Sea-Level Rise Plan to address the many historic inequities in frontline communities.  Nuestra Casa builds on its self-reliance through their funding of data on key concerns (eg water quality) as well as of community-generated solutions.

Youth United for Community Action: Founded in 1994, YUCA focused early on environmental justice issues, having helped to close the toxic site at Cooley Landing.  Led by Ofelia Bello, YUCA combines the power of youth, with an impressive horizontal power structure and a fierce focus on action ‘now’.  YUCA has been influential in getting their voices heard by organizations such as SFPUC, and in securing resources ‘now’, before it’s too late.  They have helped to increase both water security through rainwater barrels, and food security with local sustainable gardens.

Climate Resilient Communities: Founded by Violet Saena as a project of Acterra (a SV2 grantee), CRC’s focus is to educate CBOs about climate change so they can mobilize their own communities; engage decision makers; and to ‘turn up’ the volume to secure grants to fund resilience and mitigation.  Violet, a 20-year climate change veteran, is the glue and respected leader on ‘all things climate’. The CRC participates in over 20 climate focused  partnerships in the Bay Area including County Governments, NGOs and Stanford – with the goal of securing resources for others.

North Fair Oaks Community Alliance was recently established by Ever Rodriquez to increase that community’s resilience through securing grants and building local disaster resilience plans through ‘Block Action Teams’.   North Fair Oaks, as an incorporated area of San Mateo, is effectively left to its own devices in addressing climate issues such as heat and wildfire smoke.  Ever is aiming to change this.

Rise South City was founded very recently by Julio Garcia, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of voices of South San Francisco communities at the ‘tables of power’ (such as SFPUC, BCDC, CalTrans and PG&E) on issues such as sea level rise, air quality, flooding and contamination.  Julio is just getting started by further educating these communities especially around the need for climate resilience. 

To end: we want to acknowledge the invaluable support of the whole SV2 team in making this happen: Amy Badiani, Jody Chang, Paru Desai and David Onek.

Written by Jennifer McFarlane, SV2 Partner, Climate Justice Initiative Co-Lead

We are thrilled to welcome Bonnie Lin to the SV2 staff team and community as our Director of Strategic Partnerships! Bonnie will lead our growth strategy, Partner recruitment, and marketing communications. Please feel free to reach out to Bonnie at blin@sv2.org to say hello. 

Bonnie has 23 years of experience as a global executive, investor, and advisor working with family offices, corporates, and governments on impact investing, venture capital, and ecosystem development in the US and Asia Pacific. Previously, Bonnie served as Vice President of Business Growth and Innovation for the Columbia River Economic Development Council and on the boards of the US District Export Council and Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition under the Obama Administration. She is currently a Board Trustee of The Fogarty Foundation.

A cancer survivor who grew up in a Buddhist monastery, Bonnie is led by a purpose to drive the responsible transfer of intergenerational wealth, knowledge, and power for the greater good, and is an advocate for education, entrepreneurship, and women in leadership. When she is not hiking, writing, doing yoga, or cooking for loved ones, she can be found mentoring entrepreneurs or facilitating change leadership anywhere in the world, from the Australian outback to Silicon Valley.

Bonnie is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and holds a BA in Sociology and International Politics from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.