 March 2013 |
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Catalyst Team
Ravi Shah
Program Associate
Lauren Kay
Communications Manager |
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From the Desk of Paul Vandeventer
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First Project Leaders Reflect on What They Learned
Twenty years ago, a group of four impressive college graduates came to then-fledgling Community Partners with a great new idea: to help promising students from low-income families achieve higher aspirations through college.
College Marketplace was new and innovative, and it was an ideal first stab at fiscal sponsorship for us. The project helped open higher education's door to hundreds of kids, most of them the very first in their family ever to seek a college degree. It helped elevate awareness of the need for college access support in ways that have achieved movement scale today in communities all across America.
That alone is a proud achievement. But I know that all four of these leaders stayed in education, long after College Marketplace was absorbed by another nonprofit. What impact did their experience with us have on their lives and careers in the long-term, I wondered. And what can our current projects take away from this? We all checked in via conference call recently to delve into this question a little deeper.
To read the entire article, please click here.
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Future Thoughts
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Looking Ahead to L.A.'s Next 20 Years
What should nonprofit leaders be thinking about as they plan and prepare for the next 20 years? Five of our project leaders - all 2012 recipients of our Albert R. Rodriguez Civic Legacy Awards - were asked to weigh in with their thoughts on the forces they see shaping the region in the decades to come. Check out the video:
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Project in the Spotlight
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Tani Ikeda
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imMEDIAte Justice
A recent panel discussion reflecting on the 50 th anniversary of Betty Friedan's groundbreaking feminist novel "The Feminine Mystique" included our own Tani Ikeda, project leader of imMEDIAte Justice. Poised and outspoken, she offered a 20-something's perspective as a counterpoint to an impressive group of women decades older than herself, including two stalwarts of the feminist movement Carol Downer (Feminist Women's Health Center) and Kathy Spillar (Feminist Majority, Ms Magazine). If she was intimidated, it didn't show.
"Oh, I was incredibly intimidated," she said of the recent event, part of the ALOUD series at the glorious downtown Central Library. "Very intimidated. But they were such a warm and welcoming group, and such incredible resources...it was an invaluable experience and I look forward to fostering those new relationships, which is all part of movement building."
As a new wave of young feminists, Tani is working to build the summer workshop and community outreach program for girls she founded in 2008. It's a unique project devoted to revolutionizing sex education through filmmaking, transforming it from "awkward science class to an opportunity for empowerment and personal growth."
This summer, in addition to another workshop in Los Angeles, imMEDIAte Justice will conduct workshops for a community advocacy group in San Francisco called Forward Together and will help Planned Parenthood rethink their approach to sex-ed for youth here in L.A. Tani said the project will now step up its fundraising efforts and is currently searching for strong new champions to join the board. Learn more at http://immediatejusticeproductions.org/
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Projects in the News
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KCET's SoCal Connected featured a moving piece about post-partum depression which included an interview with Caron Post, project director for L.A. County Perinatal Mental Health Task Force. The Task Force raises awareness of the needs of women suffering from perinatal mood disorders, trains health professionals and others providing care to women, infants and children and advances public policies on a county and statewide level.
Las Fotos Project was featured online by KCET for a program that incorporated photography and exploration of the San Gabriel Mountains as part of a leadership program for girls.
Circle of Friends -- an organization pushing to bring special needs people into mainstream life -- received coverage from NBC for their one-of-a-kind partnership with UCLA that offers young adults with autism a taste of the college experience.
Harvey Frankel, of College Match, was quoted in a Bloomberg story about the added financial burdens poor and minority students face at private universities.
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From the Field
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Destination: Inbox
Email remains an organization's primary communications tool - the dependable workhorse we all tend to take for granted. But are your all-important email newsletters, e-blasts and other messages winding up in a virtual wastebin? By taking a little time to understand the ins and outs of spam filters (are you unwittingly using spam trigger words?), and following some other email best practices, you can increase the likelihood that your emails reach their inbox destination.
- Top spam trigger words and a subject-line testing service are included in this piece from the Nonprofit Quarterly.
- 'Clean bad emails regularly' is one of 5 ways to avoid being flagged as spam recommended by this nonprofit software firm.
- And, not surprising, Constant Contact, the largest of the email marketing platforms, offers a wealth of information on the topic.
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Create Your Own Infographics
Creating simple infographics no longer requires Photoshop skills or a graphic design background. TechSoup has compiled a list of the best tools and resources to help you create visually appealing infographics to share your data.
Looking for free shapes and icons to use in your infographic? Check out The Noun Project and IconsDB.
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What Are Your Blind Spots?
Your strategy to influence decision makers and effect change may run into problems because of an unintended 'blind spot.' In a new report, Spitfire Strategies' founder and president Kristen Grimm has identified seven common blind spots that can derail your efforts at every turn. Click here to learn more.
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Learning Opportunities
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Fundraising Academy Application Deadline Extended
The Fundraising Academy for the Communities of Color has extended the application deadline to March 22. The Academy helps organizations from communities of color to raise funds they need in a more sustainable way by developing relationships with community donors and increasing the diversity of income sources.
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Families in Schools Alliance 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
Sacramento, CA
Families in Schools will be hosting Alliance 2013, a day-long event in the state's capital intended to build partnerships and alliances to strengthen advocacy initiatives, fortify local advocacy efforts, and learn effective family engagement practices aimed at assuring student success.
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Free Nonprofit Webinars in March
Webinars are a convenient way to boost your knowledge and organization's capacity. Wild Apricot has compiled a list of free nonprofit webinars in March covering a variety of topics, including building your email list, approaching foundations, leveraging social media to promote events, and developing your strategic plan.
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Grant and Resource Opportunities
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Paid Internships for Partner Organizations
The Archdiocesan Youth Employment Services (AYE) is looking to place youth and young adults with local organizations through its paid internship program. Ideal partner organizations should be interested in providing first work experiences for young people in a safe and supervised environment. For more information, please click here or call (213) 736-5456.
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About Us
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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.
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1000 N Alameda St, Suite 240 Phone 213.346.3210 info@CommunityPartners.org
Los Angeles, CA 90012 Fax 213.808.1009
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