Welcome Kshama Kanakoor & Camila Andrea Mena

We are thrilled to welcome Kshama Kanakoor and Camila Andrea Mena to our consulting team. These individuals join the organization with a commitment to their communities, a diverse range of experiences, and exceptional professional backgrounds. Join us in welcoming them to the Community Vision family!

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Ask a Community Vision Consultant: Fall 2020 Edition

This month’s question: Given the pandemic, how can I safely offer my programs in outdoor spaces? Answer: Several of our clients are operating at limited capacity or in a different capacity than previously, due to health and safety parameters around COVID-19. The safety concerns and ensuring people’s well-being has prompted organizations to pivot operations and to find creative ways to host pop-up events, small business marketplaces, and cultural performances.

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Rooting Deeper with Community

We share this message amidst a confluence of events that have taken place this year: a global pandemic, a long-overdue demand for racial justice, wildfires across our home of California, and the recent election season that will bring in a new presidential leader for the United States.

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Q&A with Zakiya Harris, ArtsWeb’s Alameda County Business Navigator

In 2020, Community Vision partnered with SVCreates and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation to develop ArtsWeb, a new online Bay Area arts hub. In Summer 2020, we welcomed Zakiya Harris to lead ArtsWeb’s business navigation across Alameda County. Zakiya, a cultural architect, brings more than two decades of experience working at the intersections of art, activism, and spiritual entrepreneurship.

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St. Mary’s Center: Investing in Our Elders

In 2006, St. Mary’s Center Village in West Oakland took shape, first through leasing and then purchasing two properties. In 2007, Community Vision provided a $580,500 acquisition loan for a third building, increasing St. Mary’s space to more than 3,000 square feet, allowing it to scale up its services to better serve the community.

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Investing in Black Liberation: An Update from Community Vision

Updated on February 28, 2023 In October 2021, Community Vision and the Alliance of African American CDFI CEOs (the Alliance) joined forces to expand the Black Liberation Scorecard. Renamed the African American Equity Impact Scorecard (AAEIS), this tool helps financial institutions measure, evaluate and increase their investments into Black communities nationwide. After a year of…

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S.F. Mayor London Breed Announces $3.1 Million in Grants for Nonprofit Organizations

Twelve organizations awarded funding to protect and expand opportunities for youth in affordable housing and the foster system; provide multilingual support to domestic violence survivors; introduce women, girls and gender nonconforming individuals to creative industry careers; and provide essential legal services. Crossposted. Previously released by the City of San Francisco on Friday, August 7, 2020. …

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RYSE

RYSE Commons: Investing in Our Young People

Based in Richmond, RYSE emerged from the needs articulated by local youth organizers of color following the killing of four high school students in 2000. After many years of planning, the organization opened its doors in 2008, addressing the emotional, mental and political health of local young people. Since opening, RYSE has served nearly 4,000…

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Food for the People: Swift & Creative Responses Amidst COVID-19

California’s food industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that consists of many different types of businesses and organizations that grow, process, and distribute food across the state, country, and around the world. Ownership across the food system has seen decades of corporate consolidation, resulting in negative social and economic impacts. From seeds to land ownership to retail distribution, profit is the driver of our conventional food system rather than nourishing our communities. It is well documented that people most burdened by chronic health issues and lack of access to nutritious food are people of color, women, children, low-income individuals, and food system workers; not surprisingly, the same people who are being most impacted by the pandemic.

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La Clínica: Expanding Community Health in Downtown Vallejo

La Clínica de La Raza was founded in 1971 by a group of UC Berkeley students. Originally located in an East Oakland storefront, La ClÍnica has grown to be one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in California. As a community-based clinic, La Clínica provides culturally-appropriate, high-quality preventive and primary healthcare to everyone,…

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