Being a part of The San Francisco Foundation’s Multicultural Fellowship Program has driven me to think about my work in a way that it is reflective of the Bay Area’s spirit of cultivating change and closing gaps of social inequity.

In the months before the start of my fellowship, it had been my hope that I would have the chance to be involved in the multitude of programs and initiatives that run throughout The San Francisco Foundation. I wanted to understand the issues of community development in the Bay Area and understand what issues were being taken on by our Public Policy and Civic Engagement Program. Eight months into my fellowship I have been able to experience exactly what I was hoping for. I have had the opportunity to collaborate on several exciting projects that span the breadth of fields that the Foundation works in. Together with our Environment team, we’ve funded initiatives that bring healthy, local food to community schools, and with our Arts and Culture Program, we’re funding art education in community schools throughout the Bay Area.

We’ve worked with the Immigrant Integration Fund to co-fund an advocacy group that works with Bay Area immigrant communities to address LGBT immigrant youth issues. And together with the Community Health Program, we funded LGBT Legal Aid organizations to advance their work in addressing LGBT health equity issues in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act throughout the state of California.

These experiences have helped me understand how The San Francisco Foundation works collaboratively to support and build on the strengths of the community. It is my belief that this is essential in understanding how social justice work must address the interconnected nature of the communities being served. It has been an invaluable opportunity to see what happens when these values are embedded, not only in our funding objectives, but in the very groundwork of The San Francisco Foundation.

Because each cohort of incoming Fellows comes to the Foundation with an enviable track record of meaningful work experience, an eager and inquiring spirit, and the courage to question the status quo.

Because it allows me to repeatedly see our Foundation leaders at their best—opening up to the Fellows’ countless questions, continually opening doors that help Fellows build enduring professional networks, and gently explaining why we do what we do in the midst of a constantly changing world.

Because the Fellowship, as a locus for learning, provides an opportunity to explore issues, like class dynamics, that are often strangely silent in philanthropy.

Because the Fellowship alumni are energetic, creative leaders funneling resources, influencing policies, and running programs from reading and the arts to affordable housing and water systems.

Because the Fellowship opens the door, especially for people of color, to what has been the historically closed and elite—some would say elitist– circle of philanthropy.

Because working with Fellows allows me to guide, counsel, and cajole Fellows and then witness the blossoming of a wealth of talent, passion, and skills that lead to positions of greater influence, authority, and lives full of meaning.

Because our communities and neighborhoods all deserve to benefit from the richness of skilled, experienced, values-based leaders of color, our Multicultural Fellows.

Note: The deadline to apply for the fellowship is this coming Monday, March 11th.

As California and the country brown, the need for civic engagement and leadership indigenous to the various racial ethnic communities increases; leadership and engagement within and across communities is the platform upon which our civil society, our very democracy, rests. One of the ways in which we at The San Francisco Foundation are—and have been—addressing this critical issue is through our Multicultural Fellowship Program. What now looks like a stroke of genius started as an experiment. The Fellowship program was established over 30 years ago partially to address the lack of diversity in philanthropy; today there are 70 alumni exercising leadership in various sectors.

The program focuses on becoming an effective grantmaker via hands-on experience; it also provides an array of training, networking, mentoring, career coaching, and opportunities to strengthen the Fellows’ professional networks. The direct, on-the-job approach is a stepping stone to the next career opportunity. “My success in managing the CHANGE Coalition is a direct result of my experience managing a coalition at The San Francisco Foundation,” explains Kathryn Alcántar, Environment Fellow, 2005 – 2007. “This experience taught me the skills to manage obstacles, deal with challenging conversations, and keep people excited and motivated to work with each other.”

And just as important, it provides the Fellows with the opportunity to explore the most pressing societal issues with their teams, with our Foundation leadership, and with their cohort, creating professional relationships that often endure for the rest of their careers. Jaime Cortez, Arts & Culture Fellow, 2006 – 2008 observes that “it is hard to overstate how important it has been to build this network of authentic relationships. This is how I learn of professional opportunities; this is how I learn of art opportunities (calls for entries, performances, panels, openings, lectures, etc.).”

Today, February 7, we will be welcoming about half of our alumni whose homecoming will allow them to catch-up with each others lives and continue to learn from each other. The agenda allows an opportunity for alumni to share effective strategies that lead to greater engagement and leadership opportunities within and across many racial and ethnic backgrounds. The topic is timely; the expertise is abundant; the passion unfailing. These are our Multicultural Fellows.