May 2013  
In This Issue
From the Desk of Paul Vandeventer
Program in the Spotlight
Project News
Welcome Our Newest Projects
Events & Learning Opportunities
From the Field
About Us

Quick Links


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Catalyst Team

Ravi Shah
Program Associate

Lauren Kay
Communications Manager
From the Desk of Paul Vandeventer
Asphalt Matters

Let me risk boring you with something excitingly dull.

 

I say you might feel bored because I'm revved up about a valuable venture that has all the allure of asphalt. It's concerned with mundane things you don't notice when they work smoothly. Things like good accounting systems, on-time payroll, honest fiscal oversight, ethical business practice, useful advice at just the right time.

 

Virtues similar to that of good asphalt are what compelled us to work with colleagues from across the country to conceive and start the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors (NNFS). 

 

Recall just how little you think about a road without flaws. Now imagine a couple of potholes, or cracks and poor striping, and traveling that road quickly turns annoying, unreliable. You start noticing the hell out of it. Every mile you curse the sin of institutional neglect. You realize how quickly disrepair can turn downright dangerous. 

 

To read the entire article, please click here.  

Program in the Spotlight

Community Partners Helps Kaiser with HEAL

 
(From left) Roberta Tinajero of Kaiser Permanente, Community Partners Senior Program Director Judy Harper, keynote speaker Herminio Escalante with his wife Alicia and their children.

They are everyday citizens. Young and

old.  Monolingual and bilingual. Some male, but mostly female.  They came from as far north as Ventura and Lancaster, as far South as Lemon Grove, and from many places in between. They took time away from families and jobs and busy lives to address a single urgent issue - their children will be the first generation in two centuries with a life expectancy shorter than that of their parents. The reason:  our nation's alarming rates of childhood obesity. 

 

These 70 resident leaders - of neighborhoods and schools  -- gathered recently at Cathedral Plaza in downtown Los Angeles as part of the ambitious Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) initiative for Southern California. Community Partners staff, which partners with Kaiser Permanente on the effort, brought the residents together on this sunny, bright day as a way  to inspire their efforts to transform their neighborhoods into hubs for healthy eating and active living. 

 

Since 2011, Community Partners has worked with Kaiser Permanente to support the development of HEALsites in ten low-income communities throughout Southern California.  

 

To read the whole story, please click here.

 

Project News

A diverse network of activists gathered downtown for a SoCalCOSH press conference last week. Project leader Shirley "Sumaq" Alvarado-del Aguila is in the foreground, at left.

 

A colorful new mural depicting the contributions of immigrant workers was unveiled during a press conference held by the Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (SoCalCOSH), a project of Community Partners. The event called attention to Workers' Memorial Day and coincided with the release of the report, "Dying at Work in California" report. The report tallies the cost of job-related deaths, injuries and illnesses, and tells the stories of the 196 Los Angeles workers killed on the job last year. See news coverage from ABC and La Opinion

 

Baby2Baby celebrated a donation of 1 million diapers from Huggies with a recent Mother's Day Garden Party. Project leaders Kelly Patricof and Norah Weinstein along with celebrity hosts Rachel Zoe and Molly Sims welcomed parents and children for a morning of brunch, crafts, music and a give back station where families created diaper bags for the children of Baby2Baby. Baby2Baby supplies Los Angeles families in need with essential baby gear and clothing through over 50 nonprofit partner organizations.  

If you've ever wondered why there aren't more parks in your neighborhood, tune in to KCET at 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 10 for an investigation into the laws that govern L.A. Parks. The program will feature an interview with Robert Garcia, project leader for The City Project.


ABC7 News featured Streetwise Media's In One Instant safe driving program at Uni High in Los Angeles. The emotional but powerful program simulates an accident scene, the emergency response, and the victims' funerals as a way to educate teens on the dangers of distracted driving and to empower them to make smart decisions when behind the wheel.  The next program will take place at Culver City High School on May 29th at 9 a.m. 

Welcome Our Newest Projects

 

Out of Many One: Los Angeles 

Project Leader: Nicole Maloney  

 

Uses the visual medium to promote the concept of a pluralistic civic society. The project will develop community and youth programming to create opportunities for community dialogues, discussions, and hands-on youth involvement.

 

Untitled Prints & Editions

Project Leader: Richard Neilsen 

 

Cultivates the creative instinct in order to inspire and create new artists. The project supports local artists, brings together small groups of like minds, and provides space for artist exchanges, all with the goal to inspire and enrich the Los Angeles community and beyond.

 

 

California Legislator Corps 

Project Leader: Jerry Mundel 

 

Creates a cost effective way to leverage the expertise of California's many former legislators to increase the nonprofit sector's impact on public policy. A bipartisan corps of former legislators will provide consultation and technical assistance to improve the advocacy efforts of local nonprofit organizations.

 

 

Events and Learning Opportunities

L.A. Needs Commissioners. Are you one of them?
Application Deadline:  May 17

Los Angeles has more than 50 boards and commissions with more than 300 appointed members who oversee key agencies and programs that impact the quality of life for local residents. Liberty Hill is offering a Commissions Training Program to ensure that these appointees are drawn from diverse communities and can help civic leaders make good decisions for all communities.     

Free Saturday Conservatory of Music Student Recitals
Saturday, June 1 and June 8

The Saturday Conservatory of Music, a project of Community Partners, invites everyone to its annual free Spring Quarter Student Recitals on June 1st from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., and its free and final concert of the 2012-13 season on June 8th. 

   

 

From the Field

Crowdfunding:  How to Create a Successful Campaign

 

Crowdfunding is the hottest trend in fundraising. To help nonprofits take advantage of this new tool, the Chronicle of Philanthropy hosted a live chat with a co-founder of a crowdfunding platform and a nonprofit that successfully raised $100,000 from the crowd. Here are five quick takeaways:

  1. Planning is everything. Successful campaigns are built on weeks of planning and preparation.
  2. Videos are important too. Videos are the easiest and best way to share the work that you do with potential donors. The ideal video length is less than three minutes.
  3. Set realistic goals. If you only have 500 contacts on your list, then a $25,000 fundraising goal may be too ambitious.
  4. Email is the most effective outreach tool. Facebook is next.
  5. Nearly 85 percent of crowdfunding donors give because they have some kind of connection to the cause.  
 

A New Place to Convene for Los Angeles Nonprofits

 

The California Community Foundation has just announced that its new Joan Palevsky Center for the Future of Los Angeles is now accepting reservations. Organizations whose work is aligned with CCF's mission of strengthening Los Angeles communities are invited to visit the website for additional information regarding eligibility, availability, and to submit reservations online. Developed with a vision to foster collaboration across sectors and communities, the Center is dedicated to convenings on philanthropy, civic engagement and issues of importance to communities of Greater Los Angeles.  

 
 

California Community Foundation's New Arts Program Officer

 

James (Jim) E. Herr has recently joined the California Community Foundation as the new program officer for the Arts Program. Jim has 16 years of experience in corporate philanthropy, most recently as senior manager for global corporate citizenship at the Boeing Company.  He currently serves on the board of directors for the Liberty Hill Foundation and the Southern California Leadership Network.

 

About Us

Community Partners works with social entrepreneurs, grantmakers and civic leaders to imagine possibilities, design solutions and see them through to results. Our work includes fiscal sponsorship, grantmaker partnerships, thought leadership and knowledge sharing..   
1000 N Alameda St, Suite 240                             Phone 213.346.3210                  info@CommunityPartners.org
Los Angeles, CA 90012                                       Fax 213.808.1009