NCCPC’s 2nd Annual
Funders’ Convening

thank you to our sponsors and esteemed colleagues

Thank you to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Community Space for welcoming us to their venue in Redwood City! It provided a space for healing around the issues that plague our multiply marginalized and underserved students, and it brought us together. 

Thank you to our co-host Elizabeth Wells, Executive Director of the Foundation for College Education for welcoming attendees and sharing why funders should come together to collaborate. “… it’s so important for me personally and for FCE to be here and to be part of the conversation today to discuss how we can ensure alternative pathways to higher education for underserved students. I want you to look around this room – This is a powerhouse coalition.” 

A huge thank you to our keynote speaker, Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President and CEO of the Colleges Futures Foundation, for his inspirational words on the importance of investing in organizations like NCCPC and our members.

“The word “promise” in “college promise” has always been a very intentional word. And we’re making commitments to every learner and community throughout the state. But promise is at the core of everything we do. It is certainly helpful when we have resources to help fulfill this promise. But at its core, the promise is a commitment to continue to work together. And through partnerships, we’re able to bring to fruition all the things that we want to accomplish for our students.”

“The word “promise” in “college promise” has always been a very intentional word. And we’re making commitments to every learner and community throughout the state. But promise is at the core of everything we do. It is certainly helpful when we have resources to help fulfill this promise. But at its core, the promise is a commitment to continue to work together. And through partnerships, we’re able to bring to fruition all the things that we want to accomplish for our students.”

Thank you to our Member Panel participants, Steering Committee Chair David Silver with California Volunteers Fund, Campus Partnership Co-Chair Katherine Zepeda with Beyond 12, Workforce Partnerships Co-Chair Kaitlyn Endo with Making Waves Education Foundation, Policy Committee member Nadja Jepsen with College Track, and Communities of Practice Committee Co-Chair Rose Allen with Students Rising Above, for their insight on our collective impact work. They described why it’s critical to work together across roles, organizations, and city boundaries. They demonstrated how shared leadership can lead to an impact on our students.

Thank you to Jonny Moy, Program Associate with Skyline Foundation for providing recommendations for how the philanthropic community can support community programs like NCCPC and our members.

“What we are able to accomplish here may have a ripple effect on the rest of the country. The “how” as we think about it is multi-year general operating support – something we hear constantly from most grantees. The most helpful thing to do is to give as much flexibility to grantees as possible.”

“What we are able to accomplish here may have a ripple effect on the rest of the country. The “how” as we think about it is multi-year general operating support – something we hear constantly from most grantees. The most helpful thing to do is to give as much flexibility to grantees as possible.”

And, thank you to Hana Ma, Program Officer with Sobrato Philanthropies for responding to our panel’s question, “Are funders open to the idea of funding direct service AND collective impact?”

“We really believe that, as Eloy stated, partnerships can’t be overstated, and there are things that we can do collectively that we can’t do individually. So we do believe that, Yes, systems change is important but at the same time we can’t not invest in all the immediate urgent needs that are faced by our communities and our students.”

“We really believe that, as Eloy stated, partnerships can’t be overstated, and there are things that we can do collectively that we can’t do individually. So we do believe that, Yes, systems change is important but at the same time we can’t not invest in all the immediate urgent needs that are faced by our communities and our students.”

Thank you to Dora from Excite Credit Union for committing to sponsoring our November 2 Mayors’ Circle, introducing us to prospective members, and sharing our CSA & College Promise Case Study.

And thank you to Lorna Contreras-Townsend, Head of Social Impact, and Alexis Rosenblum, Global Head of Sustainability & Social Responsibility with Capital Group, for announcing their new multi-year investment in NCCPC!

“Our three-year partnership with NCCPC will focus on research on wealth disparities in California and across the rest of the US. At the root of what you all do is economic mobility and Capital Group is committed to its clients, its associates, and the communities that we do business with a focus on the mission to improve people’s lives through successful investing.”

“Our three-year partnership with NCCPC will focus on research on wealth disparities in California and across the rest of the US. At the root of what you all do is economic mobility and Capital Group is committed to its clients, its associates, and the communities that we do business with a focus on the mission to improve people’s lives through successful investing.”

Thank you to Dr. Martha Kanter, CEO of College Promise for lifting up NCCPC as a national model through our case study!

Thank you to René Alvarez, Dean of Academic Success and Student Equity at San Jose City College for their commitment as NCCPC’s first community college partner AND a new Steering Committee member with their San Jose Promise and Milpitas Promise programs.

And thank you to Alex Lochoff, Executive Director at Elevate Tutoring for committing to joining as our newest member!

Attendees were able to benefit from the hybrid program, whether they were in Redwood City or on Zoom. Robert Bunce, Executive Director, West Contra Costa Public Education Fund, fiscal sponsor of NCCPC, noted

“It was a fantastic funders meeting. You struck the right balance on information, interaction, and blended the online/in person format wonderfully. It was a best practice in how to engage funders!”

“It was a fantastic funders meeting. You struck the right balance on information, interaction, and blended the online/in person format wonderfully. It was a best practice in how to engage funders!”

Thank you to our Emcee Rose Allen for facilitating our Convening!

Finally, a huge thank you to all our attendees, Beth Norber of BN Events, the team at CZI Community Space, the NCCPC staff and to you, our members and community partners, for making this event a success.

Meetings such as this are critical to develop a multi-pronged, strategic, collective impact strategy in education, workforce development, and addressing income/wealth disparities in BIPOC and multiply-marginalized communities. We appreciate the time and energy you’ve committed to college access and success efforts by spending part of your day with us. 

With gratitude,

Mer and the NCCPC Team

P.S. If you haven’t already, please complete our Exit Ticket!

P.S.S. Hope to see you at our 3rd Mayors’ Circle scheduled for November 2, a hybrid event at Chabot College in Hayward!

We had over 100 people across 68 organizations register and the majority joined us! 

Funders

• Skyline Foundation
• Sobrato Philanthropies
• Stupski Foundation
• The James Irvine Foundation
• Tipping Point Community

Postsecondary Leaders

• San Jose CC President Dr. Rowena Tomaneng

Elected Officials

• Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas

Partners

• Management Leadership for Tomorrow

Advisory Council Members

• Libby Scaaf (Emerge California)

Members

• ScholarMatch
• Stockton Scholars
• Students Rising Above
• Silicon Valley Education Foundation
• The Education Trust-West
• The NROC Project
• The Village Method
• Uprooted Academy
• Multiple Advocates