Minutes from April 8, 2014 Open Meeting-Funders Alliance

Tuesday, April 8, 2014


 Open Board of Directors Meeting
 San Bernardino Community College District
114 S. Del Rosa Drive
San Bernardino, CA 92408

Minutes 

Present:  Dimitrios Alexiou, Don Averill, Carole Beswick, Erin Brinker, Ann Bryan, Ron Fremont, Ron Griffin, Scott Hofferber, Matthew Issac, Mark Kaenel, Lowell King, Bill Lemann, John Mirau, Brian Reider, Larry Sharp, Paul Shimoff, Steve von Rajcs, Phil Waller, Janet Weder, and Ray Wolfe. 

Guests: Todd Warden 

Announcements:   1) The advocacy trip to Sacramento is planned for Tuesday, May 20, 2014, with the option of arriving on Monday, May 19th.  Reservation forms have been sent by e-mail.  Please respond by April 30, 2014, if you will participate on the trip. 2) Members present discussed California AB 2574 an act to amend sections of the Public Utilities Code relating to the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority.  

M/S/P: Minutes from April 1, 2014. 

Erin Brinker introduced Greg Bradbard, President & CEO, Inland Empire United Way and Chairman for the Funders Alliance. 

Leaders from the largest funders of nonprofits and quality of life causes in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have come together to form the Funders Alliance.   

The Funders Alliance is a collaborative group of large regional funding agencies that have joined together to increase communication, collaboration, and coordination among each other.

The primary goals of the Alliance include:  

  • Regional networking and information sharing between large funders
  • Advocacy for the needs of the region
  •  Leveraging of funds to maximize impact on common goals
  • Increasing the capacity of service providers within the regionThe Inland Empire Capaciteria connects professionals, volunteers and organizations to resources available to strengthen the Inland Empire’s nonprofit sector.  They are the Inland Empire’s nonprofit resource directory.  Their web site is http://www.iecapaciteria.org/Nonprofit organizations reduce negative social costs, provide direct services and bring new money from outside the county. The needs in our county are great and the resources are few.
  • One in four children – or 24.9% – in San Bernardino County, and 21.8% in Riverside County are living in poverty.
  • Educational attainment rates in the Inland Empire are 39% lower than the state average.
  • Of 25 major metro areas nationwide, the Riverside-San Bernardino region ranked #25 – last place in the areas of education, health and income.San Bernardino County received about $3 per person and Riverside County received $51 per person in grants from private and community foundations – compared to the state average of $119.  San Bernardino County receives approximately $21 per capita in Federal grants compared to $1,507 per capita for California, and $1,653 per capita nationally.

The new Expanding Nonprofit Excellence Initiative program (ENPE) funded by the County of San Bernardino & The California Endowment will focus on the following:

  1. Inventory nonprofit agencies poised for growth/scaling up
  2. Identify unmet community needs/service gaps where increased nonprofit capacity is needed.
  3. Select 20 organizations for ENPE cohort training/coaching Organizational Development Consultants – The Center for Nonprofit Management, Los Angeles
  4. Assist selected organizations in developing advocacy campaign to attract additional investment in Inland Empire nonprofitsThe ENPE will conduct Outreach/Advocacy Campaign.

The goals are to place IE funders in front of out of region foundations/funders to:

  1. Build trusted relationships & develop connections to our region
  2. Highlight regional needs and the case for supporting the IE
  3. Promote investment into promising strategies/programs within the Inland Empire 

The next steps are:

  •  Hire Outreach Consultant to coordinate campaign…June – December 2014
  •  Identify key funders and systems leaders to be targeted – primarily those outside the Inland Empire
  •  Develop message points and communication plan, including promising practices/key strategy recommendations
  • Coordinate outreach plan to place Funders Alliance members, business leaders and County officials in front of a minimum of 20 targeted stakeholders 

A Q & A period followed. 

Meeting adjourned at 8:30a.m.