Quixote Foundation, Inc.

The Center for Social Inclusion (CSI) sees the roots of racial inequity in the landscape of public policy: racial injustice in its primary form is not about individual attitudes, but about collective decisions that shape how resources are allocated.  CSI develops ideas, builds leadership and moves public will to promote structural transformation on racial, gender and class equity, ultimately increasing prosperity for all.  CSI develops tools and leadership for dismantling structural racism.  This effort requires research, analysis, testing and public education to expose the structural arrangements that exclude communities of color and weaken our society as a whole.  It also requires investment in communities’ leadership, engagement and strategy capacity to form multi-racial coalitions that can translate the changing demographics of the U.S. into a new source of political power.

Quixote Foundation’s partnership with CSI began with a convening that brought together a new “Brain Trust” of economic developers, investors and community leaders to talk about how to support green energy ownership in communities of color.  The convening explored ownership models, feasibility and specific energy sources-where issues of environmental protection and racial equity are inseparable. The Brain Trust is working on a white paper to contribute to a national conversation about promoting community-based green energy or energy related businesses and CSI has begun to share issue briefs with the field.

You might have known the Center for Media Justice (CMJ) when it was the Youth Media Council. If you’re lucky, you’ve heard one of director Malkia Cyril’s public speeches, or maybe you’ve used CMJ’s Media Action Center to make your voice heard.

The name has changed and so has the energy behind this great organization-it has grown. The CMJ still works in the San Francisco Bay Area but has expanded into its role as a “movement builder” for people of all generations nationwide whose voices have been pushed to the margins of public debate. Center for Media Justice is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in racial justice, media justice and youth rights.

Why would Quixote Foundation support a grantmakers association outside our home region of the Pacific Northwest? The Northern California Grantmakers (NCG) tagline provides a good answer: “inspiration, community, leadership,” and NCG shows these characteristics at every turn.

We’re inspired by the staff’s frank style of communication. We appreciate the way NCG reaches beyond its regional community to educate grantmakers about progressive issues. Most of all, we admire the fact that NCG is willing to lead rather than follow its members by taking strong, conscientious positions on philanthropic, tax, justice, and other policy debates.