Exciting team highlights from our first half of the year.

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Summer 2024

Dear John,

I am excited to share how the CZI Community team is driving impact in partnership with our stakeholders, partners and communities through our inaugural bulletin.

The bulletin will provide bi-annual updates to the exciting work happening with many of you all, an opportunity to get to know the team better, and bring greater visibility to our programs and portfolios.

The CZI Community team is working to build an equitable, inclusive, and just California, where everyone and every community has the power to shape their future, breaking down barriers that hold people back, whether it's supporting entrepreneurs to start businesses or making sure everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home.

We believe building and sustaining thriving communities are the cornerstone to a healthy and equitable society, providing a sense of belonging and support for individuals, fostering economic opportunity and innovation, and creating environments where everyone can reach their full potential.

We are focused on building thriving communities through three key areas: advancing economic mobility and inclusion, addressing housing affordability throughout the state of California, and supporting the San Mateo County community through targeted partnerships and responsive giving.

Investing in community driven solutions strengthens the economic fabric of a community and nurtures the human potential within it, ensuring a brighter future for all.

In Community,

Ruby Bolaria Shifrin

Vice President, Community

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Housing Affordability

Image of Partnership for the Bay's Future and CZIers ([link removed] )

- Partnership for the Bay’s Future ([link removed] ) (PBF) celebrated five years this past spring. Launched in 2019 around a shared commitment to increase housing affordability for all and build vibrant communities through racial equity and economic inclusion, PBF uses innovative financing and leverages the power of leaders in the field who approach the housing crisis from diverse perspectives. There is a lot to celebrate with PBF including the protection of over 73,000 tenants and financing over 4,400 homes for 11,000 people.

- Deep-rooted challenges have made it difficult to produce and preserve housing in California, including high cost of construction and land, barriers to financing newer models of housing, and insufficient funding for affordable housing. We launched an Innovative Housing Finance RFA ([link removed] ) to tackle these challenges by supporting investment funds that are implementing creative solutions to financing the production and preservation of housing in California. We received 80 letters of interest (LOI) and invited 19 to submit full proposals. We will evaluate these proposals to move forward several investments this year and next. Learn more in our latest Op-Ed ([link removed] ) .

- Everyone deserves a safe, stable and affordable place to call home. But right now, demand for housing outpaces supply across California — contributing to the state’s affordable housing crisis. In honor of Affordable Housing month, we published a refreshed version of our “7 Creative Solutions to Affordable Housing in California” ([link removed] ) .

Economic Mobility and Inclusion

We invite you to listen to the podcast ([link removed] ) episode from Lemonada Media titled “From Charity to Solidarity.” Hoja Lopez chats with Ruby Bolaria Shifrin and Claudia Arroyo, Executive Director of Prospera ([link removed] ) . In this podcast, they discuss the value of supporting Latinx entrepreneurs and putting female-owned businesses at the forefront of their local economies.

San Mateo County Partnerships

We launched our annual Community Fund ([link removed] ) supporting non-profit organizations across San Mateo County that are increasing access to the building blocks of social and economic well-being — like housing, healthcare, education, job and career skills, and supporting civic engagement — so people have the power to shape their lives and communities. Using the participatory grantmaking framework, we incorporate community voice in our grantmaking process, learn more in this case study ([link removed] ) . We received 182 applications and look forward to funding about 40 organizations. Our newest round of Community Fund grantees will be announced in the fall.

Image of dancers on stage ([link removed] )

This spring, we were honored to host incredible cultural performances by the Pacific Islander Community Partnership, Noorani Dance and Stir Fry Stories, funded by our partner Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation. Using dance, poetry and powerful conversations, they shared stories of identity, resilience, and activism, enriching our understanding of AANHPI (Asian American, Northern Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) communities.

Learn more in our latest blog ([link removed] ) .

Image of dancers practicing together ([link removed] )

Image of performer on stage ([link removed] )

Meet the Team

Meet Amaya

CZIer Amaya Bravo-France works with organizations across the affordable housing space to develop and implement new ideas, technologies and models to create more housing and make housing more accessible and affordable for all individuals and families.

"The way we build, finance, and own housing has historically been exclusionary, siloed, and lacks innovation. Investing in rebuilding our housing system and supporting entrepreneurs across communities is essential for making housing more accessible, sustainable, and inclusive for generations to come."

Amaya’s current favorite books and podcasts: Lovett or Leave It, which is a politics, current events, and comedy live show. A book she’s loving is "Trust" by Hernan Diaz.

News and Announcements

- Partnership for the Bay's Future ([link removed] ) is thrilled to announce that they are now accepting applications for the next cohort of the Policy Fund Grants! These grants aim to bring together Bay Area local governments and community partners to catalyze equitable policy innovation in tenant protection, and building and preserving affordable housing in local communities. Whether you’re a returning applicant or considering applying for the first time, the Request for Proposal will guide you through the process, offering detailed timelines, session information, and support mechanisms to aid your application. Application Deadline: August 30, 2024. Apply Today!

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- Nineteen partners representing CZI’s 10 housing narrative grantees descended on CZI headquarters in May for the 3rd annual partner convening. Grantees dug deep into CZI’s latest MEL work and narrative research findings ([link removed] ) , and surfaced ideas for deeper cohort collaboration and shared narrative infrastructure needs. Beyond the many learnings and reflections, participants deepened their trust and partnership — key ingredients to molding a powerful, unifying narrative ([link removed] ) that helps advance efforts to improve housing affordability.

- About 250 people joined us in the Community Space in the spring for the OnBoard networking event by our partner Thrive Alliance ([link removed] ) . The event aimed to connect community members with local nonprofits looking for board members to help them craft a better world. Fifty organizations had the opportunity to share their missions with attendees and engage potential board members.

- To close Affordable Housing Month in May, Ruby Bolaria Shifrin talked housing affordability with Jenny Schuetz of Brookings Metro ([link removed] ) , a researcher focused on improving housing and land use policies. A collaboration between CZI, the East Bay Housing Organization, SV@Home, and the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, the fireside chat focused on how local, state, and national housing policies affect people and communities and the importance of advancing cross-sector, collaborative housing solutions so all people can live, work and thrive in California and beyond.

Attn: CZI Grantees

The following cohort opportunities are offered by the CZI Capacity Building Partners team to CZI grantees.

Digital Communications Cohort

- Cultivate Strategies ([link removed] ) will be holding a Digital Communications Cohort from October-November 2024. This cohort is best suited for organizations with an email program and one or more social media channels. The focus of this year’s cohort will be on harnessing communications to engage your key audiences. Please read the full program description here ([link removed] ) . Apply here ([link removed] ) by August 5th.

AI Integration in Fundraising: Practical Applications and Tools

- Thread Strategies ([link removed] ) will be holding an AI in fundraising cohort designed to introduce fundraisers to opportunities to incorporate AI-powered tools into their fundraising strategies and practices. This cohort-based learning opportunity is best suited for organizations that are actively fundraising from philanthropic sources (individual donors, foundation funders, corporate partnerships). Please read the full program description here ([link removed] ) . Apply here ([link removed] ) by August 7th.

Stay Connected With the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

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