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Strengthening Nonprot Minority Leadership and theCapacity of Minority-Led and Other GrassrootsCommunity-Based OrganizationsA Report from the Foundation CoalitionDecember 2008
 
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Strengthening Nonprot Minority Leadership and theCapacity of Minority-Led and Other GrassrootsCommunity-Based Organizations
Executive summary
California’s future depends on all residents enjoying meaningful opportunities to improve their qualityof life. And, as one of the most diverse states in the nation, that future depends signicantly on thesuccess of the communities of color that together comprise a majority of its population.Engaged over the last year, a group of foundations, known as the Foundation Coalition, foundcommon interest in working together to help California’s nonprot community broaden and deepenits ability to better meet the needs of all Californians.Over the past four months, these foundations held individual meetings and small-groupconversations with nonprot representatives and other leaders around the state, the result of whichidentied gaps that, if lled, would help nonprots have greater impact at greater scale.Prior to the formation of the coalition, our foundations had already invested signicant resourcesin support of nonprot organizations that benet diverse communities in California. But, as thefoundations heard from the community, in addition to
multiyear, exible support
,
 
nonprotorganizations still need
leadership training and board development
and
 
other 
capacity-buildingefforts that are culturally appropriate and locally based.
Recognizing the value of this targeted, additional support to their existing commitments, thesefoundations announce a new multiyear, multimillion-dollar set of grantmaking activities focused onminority-led and other grassroots community-based organizations serving diverse and/or low-incomecommunities.The foundations will work collectively in new
funding partnerships
, through
individual foundationcommitments
and by
investing in ongoing research
. Specic support will be through:1. Increased grant support—over and above ongoing commitments—from individualfoundations to nonprot organizations serving minority-led and other grassrootscommunity-based organizations serving diverse and/or low-income communities
totalingmore than $20 million.
2. Joint community-based regranting programs in Northern and Southern California toprovide leadership training, technical assistance, and organizational capacity supportto smaller, minority-led and other grassroots organizations. The total commitment over three years will be in excess of 
$10 million.
3. Research and analysis (including evaluation of these new initiatives) that continuesefforts begun in 2008 to help all interested parties better understand the current state of minority leadership in California’s nonprot community and how best to support thoseleaders and organizations.The recent and dramatic economic downturn has hurt institutions of every kind across California,including foundations, but only reinforces the need to nd better ways to strengthen smaller,community-based nonprot organizations. Each of the Foundation Coalition participatingfoundations will continue to reach out across the foundation sector, including engaging together again as appropriate and through individual grantmaking, to build on these efforts in the yearsahead.
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