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The Way Forward in 2017 – An Alliance for Collective Impact
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We begin 2017 ready to move full-speed ahead in our mission to expand opportunity for our boys and men of color. As an alliance of foundation leaders who are aligned around improving outcomes for Latino, African American, Native American, and Asian and Pacific Islander men and boys and their families, we accomplished quite a lot over the past year. Together, we:
- Adopted an investment strategy focused on three areas in California, Oakland, Los Angeles County and Sacramento;
- Worked closely in our three RACs to identify priority needs and partnerships in each region;
- Formalized our partnership with the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color and supported their efforts to develop the first-ever Bill of Rights for boys and men of color;
- And, moved forward on communications strategy to change public perception of boys and men of color by conducting statewide polling and focus groups of boys and men of color themselves.
New Structure, New Name, Strengthened Collaborations
At our final membership and steering committee meetings of the year, we also made some key decisions regarding how we will work together in 2017 and beyond. Since its inception, the CEA has been governed by the Steering Committee, comprised of leadership from Sierra Health Foundation, College Futures Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation, The California Endowment and the California Community Foundation. This structure was necessary to form and solidify the CEA and, together, we have adopted place-based and communications strategies that will guide our work moving forward. At the final Steering Committee meeting, we agreed that the strategic support, guidance and direction of the CEA will come from the Regional Action Committee (RAC) Co-Chairs and statewide investors, with the backbone team’s support.
This means that, in 2017, we are adjusting our structure to focus more on consistent and collaborative action and less on process. The new structure will allow CEA members to operate more as a funder network, learning, organizing and investing in key issues in the priority places we worked together to identify—Oakland, Los Angeles County and Sacramento. This model also will allow us to be more flexible in supporting investment efforts within the network that will help us advance the place-based strategy.
Regionally and statewide, we will be working closely with the Alliance for Boys of Men and Color to advance policy and organizing that is powered from the ground up. Throughout this year, we will be asking for your attention, collaboration and investment as we present you with issues the Alliance is taking on, campaigns they are launching, and support needed.
In the first quarter of 2017, we intend to announce the investments that have been made in the CEA Place-Based strategy, the anticipated grants to the field, as well as the funder collaborative to support the Bay Area Young Men of Color Employment Project. These announcements are just the beginning.
Finally, we will be changing our name to California Funders for Boys and Men of Color. Our name change will bring clarity to others in philanthropy and in the field about who we are and what we stand for. As always, boys and men of color remain our highest priority.
Defending Progress, Expanding Opportunity
Today, with an incoming administration and the continued fight for equity and justice for all here in California and nationally, our mission is more critical than ever. The political climate has been poisoned by hate, division and exclusion. Our communities are grappling with uncertainty and real fear about what is to come. We know that we will face opposition as we work to defend and advance progress on all the issues we hold dear, from health and education to housing and criminal justice reform. We also know that the communities we are committed to serving—communities of color and low-income and immigrant communities—are at risk, with boys and men of color remaining the key targets.
This moment calls for us to redouble our commitment to standing up and standing together against the forces that threaten our deeply held values of justice, inclusion and equity. It calls for us to fully leverage our partnership with efforts on the ground like the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color as we work to dismantle barriers and demand basic rights for boys and men of color throughout California. This moment calls for us to work in a different way, to be nimbler, responsive, entrepreneurial, vocal and clear about who we are and what we stand for. With these changes, in 2017 and beyond, we will be doing just that.
Now more than ever, we can’t move forward alone or in silos. We need to work across issues and in partnership—with each other, with bold advocates and grantees, and with boys and men of color and their families—for deeper, collective impact. Together, we will ensure that California becomes a beacon of hope, fairness and opportunity for all communities, including for our boys and men of color, lighting the path forward for other states—and our nation.
Thank you for continued leadership and partnership in the year ahead.