by Contributing Writer, Elika Bernard
The Sacramento African American Nonprofit Coalition (SAANC) held its 2nd annual Black History Month Luncheon featuring President and CEO Judy Belk of The California Wellness Foundation as the Keynote Speaker. Courtney Dempsey, Anchor/Reporter of Good Day Sacramento hosted the event and a very insightful Q&A with Belk that left many feeling inspired and well informed. With over 200 local African American executive directors, small business owners/entrepreneurs, and community leaders in attendance, there was lots of mingling, networking and catching up in the room.
The meat of the event was none other than Judy Belk as she informed us that California Wellness Foundation received an endowment from Health Net after it went public. Belk is responsible for overseeing thirty five million dollars in grants for nonprofit organizations and provides the largest community based health clinics in the country.
The big question in the room was “how?” How can African American nonprofits gain access to grants that we often get passed over for? Below are the top five ways and reasons a nonprofit can maximize its probability and reduce errors in the pursuit of raising money.
- Emerging Organizations: The larger the budget the larger the grant. Smaller grants are harder to come by but having a larger budget gives access to larger grants. Liberty Hill is one of the few that do give smaller grants. The problem in the African American community is that there is a high need for service but a small capacity to meet those needs. Emerging together allows for shared resources and a larger budget.
- Raise Your Nonprofits Visibility: Donors with a heart to give often find nonprofits because they read an article or op-ed piece that related to them. Telling our story (and frequently) and using media to raise visibility bridges the gap between what donors know about you and what they may not know which could lead them in.
- Board of Directors: Having a strong and connected board of directors that are dedicated, and successful helps alleviate some of the responsibility of raising money.
- Check Your Nonprofits Online Status: Many nonprofits don’t know what they look like financially online. GuidStar lists how much your company made and how much it gives out.
- Endowment Campaign: Having an endowment campaign will offset their operating expenses by the interest of the investments, and therefore eliminating the need to withdraw from the principle.
Being that Belk is dedicated to health she left us with one piece of information. That is the need for HIV screening and treatment for African American women. Her concern that we are still contracting the disease at a higher rate than any other race is one that she believes deserves open dialogue and immediate attention. She was not the only one who raised concerns but also solutions for the African American Community.
Mayor of Sacramento Darrell Steinberg addressed the crowd not sounding like a politician but a father and man of principle. “There’s been a lot of doubt to whether or not some levels of government can respond to the challenges of modern day America. We have a lot of conversations about ‘what can we do?’ We can either despair or we can raise our gains and step up our efforts… There are so many great things going on here in Sacramento and excitement about our economic potential and our ability to grow… if we accomplish that, we will be a good or very good city, but if we connect all that growth to our communities, especially to our young people… Sacramento will continue to be a great city…. nonprofit communities don’t nearly get the credit that you deserve.” He went on to honor the work he sees being done in our communities to educate our young people under the leadership of Sojourner Truth African American Museum and also Building Empowerment Skills Today offering neighborhood beautification and life skills. Mayor Steinberg then made quite an announcement. The City has put forward several million dollars for thousands of high school juniors to have access to attain paid internships in areas that are relevant to their interest.
Tina Roberts who is the cofounder of the Roberts Family Development Center gushed at the success of the event stating that even after over 30 years of experience in managing a successful nonprofit she still “learned something today.” Councilmember Rick Jennings and his wife Cassandra Jennings, Executive Director of the Greater Sacramento Urban League both attended the event and said, “This was a great event, there was lots of wonderful people being energized to support each other, and to raise money to help our community.” The ever charming Courtney Dempsey was also pleased that her community was getting back to what she said she saw her grandmother do when she was growing up, and that was getting back to “working together in a cohesive manner to do bigger and better things.” Dempsey was also candid about the worry she had over the current White House administration and the policies that will affect the African American community. After today she felt hopeful and that the pressure from Washington has caused our community to “put their boots on, strap up and get to work.” Thanks to the guidance and wisdom of Belk, the energy in the room after the event commenced showed just that.
Senior Minister Kevin Ross of Unity of Sacramento provided the invocation and also the call to action message for the “Why of Giving at any amount on a consistent level to Black Nonprofits is important!”. Minister Ross praised the work of these nonprofits and their leaders as he encouraged everyone in attendance to commit a pledge by giving to their favorite nonprofit of SAANC (partners include: Black United Fund of Saramento, Building empowerment Skills Today, Images Theatre Company, Sac Cultural Hub Media Foundation, Sisters of Nia, Sojourner Truth African American Museum, Travelers Aid Emergency Assistance Agency, and Yes2Kollege Education Resources). He commended the performance of Black women in their role of Executive Directors for their diligent and tremendous work in the community with offering a pledge himself and completing SAANC’s Advance Donor Commitment Form.
Partners of SAANC were elated with the overwhelming attendance and support received from everyone. SAANC raised over $10,000 from the luncheon for an advance commitment towards 2017 Big Day of Giving (BDoG), due to ticket sales, generous individual donors along with sponsorships from the California Wellness Foundation and SMUD as well as table sponsors and community partners that included: UC Davis Office of Campus Community Relations, The CENTER at Sierra Health Foundation, Sierra Donor Services, Fortune School, Roberts Family Development Center, Centers for Fathers & Families, J&L Staffing, Greater Sacramento Urban League, Sacramento Observer, California Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Sacramento Sister Circle.
Pleshette Robertson, Executive Director of the Sac Cultural Hub Media Foundation thanked all of the volunteers, guest presenters, exhibitors, table sponsors, corporate and foundation sponsors, and community partners for supporting SAANC. “Everyone, please SAVE DATE of Big Day of Giving – Thursday, May 4, 2017 and we appreciate you for supporting SAANC. Your presence at this luncheon means the world to us!”, Robertson stated.
Video highlights to be placed on the THE HUB LIVE youtube channel and more photos from the 2017 2nd Annual Black History Month Luncheon to be posted in March in the Sac Hub Photo Gallery. To learn more about SAANC and its 8 partners, go to: http://www.sacculturalhub.com/saanc
