Svcf Philanthropy Now Podcast

In today’s episode, Vu-Bang Nguyen, program officer for SVCF, is interviewing key stakeholders involved with the fight for water in East Palo Alto in anticipation of the upcoming release of our report titled: East Palo Alto’s Water Crisis: History, Impacts and Opportunities. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org 

This episode explores the motivations, challenges and opportunities that exist when two Bay Area nonprofits merge. Our speakers will discuss how TeenForce and Silicon Valley Children’s Fund merged to become the new Silicon Valley Children’s Fund. The merger of the two organizations is the outcome of Microsoft’s YouthSpark program, which creates collaboration among participating nonprofits. The four speakers are Eli Latimerlo, manager of corporate responsibility at SVCF; Jakob Rosenberg, philanthropy and civic engagement coordinator at Microsoft Bay Area; John Hogan, founder and former CEO of TeenForce; and Elise Cutini, CEO of Silicon Valley Children’s Fund. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

The episode features Vu-Bang Nguyen, program officer for SVCF, Nadia Aziz from the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley and Maria Martinez from the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. They describe the struggle to save a small, low-income community in Palo Alto. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

This episode features Misti Sangani, our chief donor experience and engagement officer, and Leah Wilberding, a philanthropy advisor at SVCF.They discuss a some local organizations that have been supported by SVCF donors, are making a positive impact in our community and could benefit from support to further their work. The organizations include the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, Camp Kesem, Presidio Tunnel Tops, Project WeHOPE, Sojourn to the Past, Thorn, and Valley Medical Center Foundation. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal set of goals, targets and indicators that United Nations member states are usingto frame their agendas and political policies over the next 15 years. There is a significant movement for the private sector toalso adopt the SDG framework and become key actors role in achieving these goals through their corporate responsibility efforts. On Dec. 13, 2017, to celebrate the launch of its new report about how companies can approach the SDGs within their businesses, Silicon Valley Community Foundation hosted a moderated discussion among corporate responsibility leaders about their experiences integrating the SDGs into their companies. The discussion was moderated by Stuart Burden, vice president of corporate responsibility at SVCF. Panelists are:Debra McLaughlin, senior manager, corporate responsibility, Symantec; Emily Stone, co-founder and CEO, Uncommon Cacao; and Mary Mazzoni, freelance journalist and sustainability author. Access the full sh

Valerie Cuevas, interim vice president of strategic initiatives and grantmaking at SVCF, discusses the 10 nonprofit projects that received anniversary grants from SVCF in 2017. SVCF’s 10th Anniversary Grants program awarded a total of $1 million in the following focus areas: economic security; education; immigration; building strong communities and civic engagement using technology. Valerie also shares her thoughts about how the anniversary grant recipients will have an impact on their communities.  Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

Immigrants represent more than one third of the population in San Mateo County. In this episode, Manuel Santamaría, interim chief community impact officer at SVCF, speaks with Jasmine Hartenstein, coordinator of the Immigrant Support Services Department with the Office of Community Affairs in San Mateo County. They provide a look at how the county provides services to immigrant residents –from resources for legal and translation services to emergency food assistance –while helping them transition into the local community, and they offer an overview of the county’s immigrant population. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

In this episode, Valerie Cuevas, interim vice president of strategic initiatives and grantmaking at SVCF, provides an overview of SVCF’s five new grantmaking strategies. These strategies were approved by the SVCF board of directors earlier in 2017. Valerie will also discuss how these strategies focus on crucial needs in the community, and are issues upon which SVCF’s grantmaking can make a significant positive impact. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

This episode was recorded Oct. 12, 2017, at SVCF’s Regional Meeting event, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The panelists are Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League. The discussion is moderated by Dr. Emmett Carson, CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. In today’s national environment, there are mounting concerns about protecting the civil rights of immigrants and refugees, about the spike in hate crimes, and about threats to women’s rights and the rights of the LGBTQ community. These speakers are uniquely qualified to discuss these issues and address how the civil rights of all people can be protected. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

With our new Philanthropy Now podcast series, we explore trends in the world of philanthropy, social impact initiatives in Silicon Valley and beyond, and look at how SVCF promotes innovative philanthropic solutions to challenging problems. In Episode 21, SVCF corporate responsibility manager Blessing Okorougo speaks with Julie Lata, program manager in global community affairs – Applied Materials, and Jessica Erskine, head of U.S. consumer communications at StubHub Foundation.  Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org  

On the Table will bring together thousands of Silicon Valley residents to have a meal, talk about our region's housing challenges — and think about what we can do to solve them.   In this episode, Manuel Santamaria, SVCF’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Grantmaking, and Mauricio Palma, SVCF Director of Initiatives and Special Projects, describe On the Table. It’s a one - day event on November 15th that will feature meal-time discussions all over San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and it’s a chance for people to make new connections and inspire action.   Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

California is failing its children, but the next governor could change that. Avo Makdessian, vice president and director of the Center for Early Learning at SVCF, and Pete Weldy, external relations officer with the Center for Early Learning, discuss Choose Children 2018. This SVCF-led initiative will inform, educate and engage the 2018 candidates for California governor about the importance of prioritizing public investment in young children in their campaign platforms. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

Gina Dalma, vice president of government relations for SVCF, and Kona Shen, co-founder and CEO of My90, discuss how technology is being used to help strengthen relations between communities of color and law enforcement agencies in the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara, California. My90 is a text-message-based community feedback system.   Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

It’s no secret that getting around Silicon Valley using public transit is tough. SVCF program officer Vu-Bang Nguyen and representatives from Youth Leadership Institute, one of SVCF’s grantee organizations, discuss the history of public transit in our region and the challenges to access and affordability of public transit in San Mateo County specifically. Youth Leadership Institute speakers are Fahad Qurashi and Montzerrat Garcia.  Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

As part of Affordable Housing Week 2017 in Santa Clara County, a distinguished panel of policymakers discuss ways to address the lack of affordable housing in Silicon Valley. Moderated by SVCF CEO Emmett Carson, the panel includes State Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Carolyn Coleman of the League of California Cities, and Paul Nieto of the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

Erica Wood of SVCF speaks with Supervisor Cindy Chavez about what happened to enable the passage of Measure A for affordable housing last November in Santa Clara County. This $950 million obligation bond is a big deal for the community, as housing and homelessness has been targeted as a top issue with voters recently. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org

Episode 14 is a two-part podcast that covers the highlights of a dynamic event held on Jan. 21, 2017 – the Community Trust in Policing Forum, held at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. The event was a collaboration between SVCF and the San Francisco 49ers and featured speeches, panel discussions and group sessions that allowed our community to debate the status of trust in policing in our community.  Part 2 features the second half of the day's events. We will start the podcast by hearing parts of a panel discussion featuring moderator Dr. William Armaline, director of the San Jose State University human rights program; Torrey Smith, philanthropist and former wide receiver with the San Francisco 49ers; and Dr. Harry Edwards, sociologist and founder of the Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change at San Jose State University. Walter Katz, then independent police auditor of San Jose (who has since moved to a new position as the Independent Police Auditor of Chicago), describes the role o

Episode 14 is a two-part podcast that covers the highlights of a dynamic event held on Jan. 21, 2017 – the Community Trust in Policing Forum, held at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. The event was a collaboration between SVCF and the San Francisco 49ers and featured speeches, panel discussions and group sessions that allowed our community to debate the status of trust in policing in our community.  In Part 1, we hear from Walter Katz, independent police auditor of San Jose; Sam Liccardo, mayor of the City of San Jose; Jed York, CEO of the San Francisco 49ers; Emmett Carson, CEO and president of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; and Chief Eddie Garcia of the San Jose Police Department.  Part 1 also features a discussion with a panel of community leaders: Panteha Saban, deputy public defender in Santa Clara County; Priya Murthy, policy and advocacy director for SIREN (Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network); Peter Ortiz, East San Jose native and school board member for Mount Pleasant Sch

Today, Avo Makdessian, vice president and director of SVCF's Center for Early Learning, and Andrea Jones, initiative officer for The Big Lift, talk about The Big Lift program. The Big Lift is an initiative aiming to rapidly raise the literacy of our third-graders here in Silicon Valley. Right now, only 50 percent of third graders are reading at grade level - which has stark implications for their education as they get older. Avo and Andrea discuss how the Big Lift is a four-part, comprehensive initiative that focuses on providing high-quality preschool, attendance, the summer gap, and family engagement. Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org 

In this episode, we hear from SVCF CEO and President Emmett Carson on a panel about the new book, The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age.. Alongside David Callahan, the book's author, Emmett discusses the developing style of philanthropy pursued by some of the world's wealthiest people and how it can help fuel a Renaissance of philanthropy. Emmett and David discuss how the huge influx of wealth to donors is creating a more diversified, decentralized style of philanthropy. Rather than fitting in with the traditional large foundation approach of the past, donors today are going deep into important issues and forming partnerships with the foundations they help fund. They also take audience questions and debate the realities of wealth being concentrated among so few people, and how entrepreneurship is shaping new philanthropic efforts.  Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org