Northern California and San Joaquin Valley nonprofits receive Leadership Development for Racial Equity grants
We believe that nonprofit organizations are essential to the flourishing of communities, and a vibrant society requires both effective community-based organizations and strong, diverse leadership throughout the nonprofit sector. Since 2016, The Center at Sierra Health Foundation’s Leadership Development for Racial Equity program has strengthened the capacity of organizations with leaders of color who work with youth in low-income communities of color to address racial inequities through policy and system change.
In partnership with The California Endowment and Sierra Health Foundation, The Center recently awarded a total of $100,000 to 10 organizations in Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley. Learn more about the program and the awarded organizations.
Photo: The 2018-19 Leadership Development for Racial Equity cohort and staff
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Countdown to Census 2020
Region 6 partners and Kern Complete Count Committee launch census canvassing efforts
With less than six months until Census Day, The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, Kern Complete Count Committee and their community partners are ramping up informational outreach efforts across Kern County. The partners organized a press conference in Bakersfield on Oct. 30 to launch Kern’s 2020 Census community canvassing efforts. The Center at Sierra Health Foundation is the Region 6 Administrative Community Based Organization for census outreach.
The Dolores Huerta Foundation and Faith in the Valley began canvassing neighborhoods in Kern County. The canvassing teams are engaging community residents at their homes with the goal of significantly increasing the self-response rate of Kern’s hard-to-count communities. Canvassers are distributing materials to each residence they visit, but are not collecting information from households.
The decennial census determines how $685 billion will be distributed to communities across the country for essential resources. An undercount in 2020 could put many valuable programs at risk of losing federal funds.
Next month, we will report on the Fresno County census press conference and canvassing launch.
Census Resources
California Census web site
California Census social media posts
The Center’s Census 2020 News and Resources web page
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Consultant needed for Medication Assisted Treatment Access Points Project documentation
The Center at Sierra Health Foundation has released a request for qualifications for consultants or consulting groups to document the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Access Points Project and identify lessons learned.
To implement the MAT Access Points Project, The Center developed and deployed enhanced processes for several tasks related to financial management, communications with subcontractors and reporting functions, among others. The purpose of this project is to map the decisions made, describe factors that influenced decisions at key points, and provide a set of lessons and recommendations.
Responses are due by Dec. 11. See the request for qualifications.
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Report provides reflections and learnings on San Joaquin Valley Health Fund participatory evaluation
The Center at Sierra Health Foundation traditionally has used third-party evaluators to learn whether and how our investments have contributed to the outcomes achieved by community partners and how we can improve our support. In 2017, we decided to try an approach that more closely aligned with The Center’s mission of advancing health and racial equity, and that was consistent with the movement toward equitable evaluation in philanthropy. Instead of us driving the evaluation, we turned the reins over to three clusters of community partners funded through the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund.
The approach we used was participatory evaluation, which centered the engagement of the clusters, and the communities they serve, in the design and implementation of the evaluation. Each cluster was tasked with developing evaluation questions, planning data collection, analysis and interpretation strategies, and using the evaluation process and findings in their community mobilization and advocacy activities.
The recently published San Joaquin Valley Health Fund Participatory Evaluation Technical Assistance Final Reflections and Learnings, written by consultants at Learning for Action, summarizes the participatory evaluation activities of partners and the technical assistance they received. The report also provides lessons for funders and others who are planning similar approaches to evaluation. The project was funded by W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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Exhibit shares powerful San Joaquin Valley voices and images
Visitors to our Conference and Education Center have the opportunity to view our current exhibit from the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund’s PhotoVoice project. The exhibit highlights stories and images from 10 community members who share their experiences with immigration, family separation, working in agricultural fields and pesticide exposure. They share their personal challenges, frustrations and fears, as well as their triumphs and perseverance. Organizations that participated in the project are working together to advance health and racial equity in the region. The exhibit includes a total of 20 posters in English and Spanish. See the photos and stories on The Center web site.
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Andrea Lopez-Diaz joins our Community Economic Development team
We’re pleased to introduce Andrea Lopez-Diaz, who recently joined our team to serve as a Program Associate of Community Economic Development. The Center is taking a collaborative leadership role with the city of Sacramento and community partners who have a commitment to develop and implement inclusive economic growth strategies in underinvested neighborhoods. We’re pleased to welcome Andrea to this team.
Born and raised in Sacramento, Andrea recently moved back after seven years in Seattle, where she supported nonprofits in youth development programs, coalition building and community organizing. Previously, she provided technical assistance and helped build capacity for community health worker coalitions across Washington state. Before that, she served as a Program Fellow for the American Friends Service Committee, researching systemic barriers that impact low-income communities in King County. Andrea speaks Spanish and holds a black belt in Taekwondo.
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Chet P. Hewitt featured in REDFworkshop’s Let’s Get to Work podcast series
REDFworkshop helps employment social enterprises grow their businesses and increase their impact, and creates ways to connect the social enterprise field with inspiring talks that cover current issues. They created the Let’s Get to Work podcast series to feature conversations with thought leaders and innovators who are making a difference in communities, and to challenge all of us to think creatively and differently about the ways in which we can achieve success through employment social enterprise.
In episode 5 of the podcast series, Chet P. Hewitt, President and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation and The Center, talks with Carla Javits, REDF President and CEO.
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Fresno County joins Black Child Legacy Campaign
As part of the Black Child Legacy Campaign’s statewide expansion, more than 40 community members with robust energy from Fresno County gathered for the Black Child Legacy Planning Meeting on Nov. 14. Collectively, the group looked at a targeted approach to build community action plans to advocate for the needs and policies that save African American babies, youth, women and men.
Following this meeting, the Black Child Legacy Campaign held its Celebrating Black Motherhood Forum in Fresno, giving mothers an opportunity to share their experiences about motherhood and pregnancy. The community forum was hosted at First 5 Fresno in partnership with Cultural Brokers, Inc., Sac Cultural Hub and Dr. Flojaune Cofer. Projects and events such as this provide an opportunity for communities to share stories, collect data and advance policy and change for healthy maternal birth outcomes. Current projects include the Black Child Legacy Campaign Maternal Digital Health Storytelling Project, the Birthing While Black documentary produced by Black Women for Wellness, and forums and data collection across the state.
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