Stories of Philanthropic Leadership in Advancing Regional and ...

EQUITABLE PUBLIC INVESTMENTfrom the asthma, environmental health, andenvironmental justice fields came together andcollectively outlined a draft policy agenda to reducediesel pollution in the Bay Area. Furthermore, in thesummer of 2004, RAMP and Urban Habitat cohosteda workshop on the connection betweenhousing and asthma. This meeting, too, attractedover 100 participants—including asthma advocates,public health officials, nonprofit housing developers,and tenants’ rights groups—who came to learn moreabout the relationship between these issues and thespecific strategies used in the Bay Area. Yet moreimportantly, participants were connecting with eachother and developing collaborative opportunities thatcould benefit from a regional approach.Lessons Learned“At a time when needs are enormous and funds arecontinuously being cut, the [TALC] grant made usthink about how to do grantmaking in a differentway. There is no way that our funding can ever meetthe need. We thought what was best was to use ourresources in a way that supported systems change andcapacity building,” shares Yamashiro-Omi from TheCalifornia Endowment.Echoing the same thoughts around the need to investin system changes and capacity building, TheEndowment’s Standish explains that, “RAMP hasincreased the capacity of local coalitions across theBay Area to address policy and systems change.” Shenotes that RAMP has created a sophisticated networkof advocates, made asthma an issue in the legislature,and found ways to lift up innovative ideas and bestpractices, all steps geared to improving the work ofcoalitions in the Bay Area.This capacity building needs to start from “from thebottom up,” states Anthony at the Ford Foundation.Through the efforts of the SEC, there is now acommitment to building the communityinfrastructure that understands “from the bottomup” how regional issues play out and how lowincomepeople and people of color are affected. Healso points to some concrete results, such as theacquisition of properties to build mixed-incomecommunities in Richmond, a developer forum thatbrought together developers from across the countryto plan for the development of mixed-incomecommunities, and the development of a “first sourcehiring” ordinance which will need to be approved bythe City Council and will ensure that local residentsbenefit from job creation in Richmond. Anthonynotes that people of color must be able to participatein these policy processes to achieve regional equity.According to Anthony, “People have been talkingabout regional planning for many years but little ofthese conversations took place in poor communities.It is important to engage people in vulnerablecommunities in these conversations and to engagethem early in the process.”Funders have also learned from their involvement inthese Bay Area efforts. For Surdna’s Brooks, onelesson has been recognizing that transportationreform addresses “systemic problems that are verycomplicated and inter-connected” and that the work“is a long-term effort.” But, he adds, “It isn’thopeless. Funders can make a difference.” Yamashiro-Omi at The California Endowment finds, “Thebiggest lesson is the critical importance of taking arisk and stepping outside of the box and remainingopen to newopportunities.” TheEndowment’s “The biggest lesson is theStandish finds that critical importance of takingthe lessons boil down a risk and stepping outsideto what makesof the box and remainingRAMP so successful.open to new opportunities.”She cites RAMP’sknowledge, its ability — Dianne Yamashiro-Omito inspire confidenceand trust, itsreliability as a resource on health issues, and itsability “to stay ahead of the curve. They feel outwhere there are opportunities for change and try toengage their partners in thinking through them.They are continually scanning the field to look forinformation, resources, and opportunities.”Innovation, collaboration, growth, learning,inclusiveness, and the connection of varioussocioeconomic issues are the key success factorsbehind these projects involved in creating significantregional equity changes within the Bay Area.61Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities