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8/1/2019 Imagine - Elva Salinas
1/12
m a r i n p h i l a n t h r o p i s t m a g a z i n e | S P R I
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Printed on 100% recycled content, 50% post-consumer waste paper.
Marin CoMMunity Foundation
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8/1/2019 Imagine - Elva Salinas
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wm makig i i Mai ....................... ..................
wm giv back: he ew ce phlhp
w a MCF:
A Portrait of Marin .............................................
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Mag Fas: sep he ...................................
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Sall Masisi: m he kche w ..........
conten
Editor/WriterFred Silverman
Art Director/Designer
Suzuki Cady
Photographer
Eric Slomanson
Contributing Writer
Barbara Tannenbaum
M Cmm F
5 Hml Lg, Se. 200
nv, Ca 94949 | 415.464.2500
www.marinc.org
13
W a dvig ms f is iss
f Imagine to the tremendous spirit,
resourceulness, and creativity o
women in Marin.
In our work here, were lucky to
interact with women at many dier-
ent stages o their lives and in many
dierent roles.
Among our donors we are grate-
ul to work with people like Margot
Fraser, who built a edgling business
into a national icon and who contin-
ues to inspire other women. MCF
both through our discretionary
grants and with grants recommend-
ed by individual donorsis proud to
support the work o leaders like Sally
Matsuishi, whose passion or equity
and excellence changes lives every
day.
Youll also read about the trium-
phant successes o women who, with
their own determination and with
support rom local nonproft organi-
zations, have overcome challenges in
their lives to truly thrive.
And youll read how women
including one o MCFs longtime
donors, Susie Tompkins Buellare
changing the ace o philanthropy.
Finally, youll have a chance to
learn about creative ways in which
individuals and oundations are us-
ing their fnancial assets to provide
products and services to low-income
people around the worldincluding
a special opportunity we oer our
donors to make an impact here in
Marin.
I these stories inspire you as
much as they inspired me, I know
youre in or a good read.
Dr. Tom PetersPese CEo, M
Cmm F
19
3
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3 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
How fve women are meeting the cha
by Barbar
8/1/2019 Imagine - Elva Salinas
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5 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12
5 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12
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LaDa B: g hekes ec
LaDonna Bonner, a single mother o three romMarin City, shakes her head rueully when she thinksback on her job as a medical technician at Kaiser. Iearned more during that period than Ive ever made
in my lie, she says. But I didnt know how to save. Itwas never enough. Bonner, 41, retains an upbeat, e-ervescent manner despite a recent struggle with heartdisease and a re that orced her amily to leave theirNovato home and move in with her mother in MarinCity.
My mother always stressed the value o hard workand education, she says, remembering the yearsshe attended private school in Mill Valley. Bonnerdreamed o attending Spelman College in Atlanta, buther grades werent good enough. I struggled with ad-diction and substance abuse, she says. Bonner wasaccepted at another Atlanta college but, as she puts it,let ater one semester, came home, and started hav-ing babies.
With counseling rom Families First, a Marin non-prot, Bonner turned her lie around, eventually return-ing to school to earn a bachelors degree in 2002 anda Master o Science in Education degree in 2004, bothrom Dominican University o Caliornia.
In 2007, her oldest daughter, Jessica, entered herlast year as a highly motivated and successul studentat Saint Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco.With her grades, I knew she would get into any col-lege she wanted, says Bonner. And she deserved it,too. But I had to worry about the expenses. I reused tosay, You cant go.
In researching scholarships and aid packages,Bonner heard about EARN, a nonprot whose missionis to break the cycle o poverty by helping low-incomeworkers create assets or college-related expenses,
launching a business, or buying a rst home. Partici-pants receive nancial coaching as t hey make monthlysavings contributions that are matched t wo-to-one.
In 2009, when Jessica began applying to college,Bonner was ready. My girl got into six schools, includ-ing Spelman, she says with pride. She had to go.Tuition, however, was $34,000, with only $1,000 innancial aid.
Bonner tapped her EARN account to marst payment and purchase a laptop and boodaughter, and she relied on aith to gure ousteps. By the next deadline, she learned abotal loan program, and her daughter qualiedditional grants and scholarships. Her daughpart-time to contribute.
Last summer, Bonners daughter won a h
petitive internship to work on the Google caMountain View, and the emphasis on savingner learned through EARN was embraced bJessica. To commute rom Marin City to MoView, the college student did not buy a car. down to the Manzanita Park & Ride stop acrway 101 at 7 a.m. every morning. She did thecommute all summer by shuttle, says Bonn
As a result, Bonners daughter was able t$14,000 rom her summer job and pay or hyear o college. Bonner has opened EARN aor her other childrenJasmine, 20, who attCordon Bleu culinary school in San Francisphen, 17, a senior at Redwood High School.
Education is the key to the best that Amoer, Bonner says. Thats where Ive ocus
made my sacrices.
Cassada Ksig: svvg
In 1989, Sausalito resident Cassandra Kersta successul art gallery close to her home ancondent about opening a second in Oaklanburgeoning art district. Then a series o ditook their toll. Divorce was soon ollowed byPrieta earthquake and the recession o the eEven the need or street repairs kept touristSausalito. Kersting decided to close her 15-ygallery on Bridgeway and see i she could ke
Oakland site going. Instead, she remembeclobbered nancially.
Ever resourceul, Kersting parlayed her einto a new career as an independent sales rethe garment industry. Eventually she soughretail stores and was at San Raaels Yardbirthe Great Recession struck. She was laid o along with 7,000 others, when the parent co
LaDonna Bonner with her daughter Jasmine at their home in Marin City
spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
on pp. 3-4: Cassandra Kersting at her gallery
8/1/2019 Imagine - Elva Salinas
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7 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
closed the entire chain.It was a hard time, she remembers. But I met the
CFO o Womens Initiative or Sel Employment at mygym. He said they help women get back on their eet,and that inspired me.
Founded in 1988, Womens Initiative provides train-ing and unding or low-income women to help themlaunch businesses and become successul entrepre-
neurs. Executive director Jane Winter describes manyo her Marin-based clients as older women sueringrom either generational or situational poverty. In theormer, women lack education, language skills, or so-cial skills to nd jobs in todays dicult economy. Inthe latter, women who have lost their job, home, sav-ings, or car nd themselves unmoored rom the middleclass lie they previously experienced. Starting theirown business is oten their only option to cl imb out opoverty.
Kersting enrolled in February 2010. She l earnednew computer skills and social media marketing anddeveloped both a vision or going orward and a de-tailed business plan. Andrea was a great acilitator,she says o her workshop leader. She helps you dene
your goals and keeps you on track.Kersting decided she was ready to return to the
world o art andwith a $10,000, ve-year loan romthe Womens Initiativeopened the new CassandraKersting Gallery in Sausalito in early January. The gal-lery eatures paintings, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, andother artwork designed or the home, yard, or oce.Located near popular shops and restaurants, the gal-
lery is requented by locals as well as tourists.Womens Initiative helped me recapture my en-thusiasm or art and sales, she says. It made sense toreturn to what Im good at. At my age, this is like my lastchance. I cant give up. Im determined to make it work!
elva Salias: llce whsccess
For many years, Novato resident Elva Salinas had awell-paying job with health benets and the fexibleschedule she needed to raise her two children, nowages 22 and 8. She managed a Shell gas station conve-
nience store until she was let go in 2003. Thats when aseries o challenges began.
Salinas divorced her husband in 2006, three yearsater beginning a new career as a house cleaner. Workwas not steady. You never know i your clients will benasty or nice, she says. Or i youll get a raise, even iyou work hard. Such problems became moot when therecession hit and Salinas clients either cancelled her
services or cut back her hours.Seeking to improve her employment opportunitiesand skills, Salinas explored the certicate program atthe College o Marin but rst needed to improve herEnglish skills. A riend told her o Canal Alliancescontinuum o bilingual, amily-oriented services. InJanuary 2011, Salinas enrolled in two courses, one inEnglish, the other in computer basics. The only thingI knew about technology back then was how to turn t hecomputer on, she laughs.
Friendly and outgoing, Salinas oered child careservices or other amilies attending Canal Allianceclasses held at San Raaels Pickleweed Park Communi-ty Center. It was there she learned about the nonprotseconomic development program.
Working closely with Noah Harris, Canal Alliances
Business Services Coordinator, Salinas received coach-ing in budgeting and saving when she opened an In-dividual Development Account (a ederally-sponsoredsavings program similar to the one run by EARN)that matched $2 or every $1 she saved, or a total o$2,000 over a two-and-a-hal year period.
With inormation rom ellow workshop attendees,Salinas researched an investment in a ja nitorial ran-chise with Vanguard Cleaning Systems, a San Mateo-based company. She perormed due diligence, speak-ing with past and current ranchisees; wrote a busi-ness plan; listed specic, measurable objectives; andreceived eedback on her plan by Canal Alliance sta.Noah even met the local owner-operator o Vanguardto make sure they were legitimate, she says.
Salinas made the investment. As a result, her roster
o janitorial clients now includes the Richardson BayAudubon Center in Tiburon and Navitas Naturals, aood store in Bel Marin Keys. I dont have to knock ondoors anymore, she says with relie. They provide asmany clients as I have time or.
Mad Gilbs: ew pge
To describe the support that several Marin noered 26-year-old Mandy Gilberston as ano societys saety net is to miss the point. agencies were more like the compassionate,ing hand we expect rom our amily. In Gilbcase, the emergency housing provided by HBound o Marin, the ood provided by St. ViPaul Society, and the counseling provided bAbused Womens Services (housed at the CDomestic Peace) were among the many servgave a rightened, pregnant, and homeless tpathway to her uture.
The ormer Santa Rosa resident moved wamily to Marin at age 12. But the rebellioussent to live in a group home in San Anselmobled teens until age 18. Overcoming the trauemotionally abusive parent and, later, an abriend, Gilberston ound a network o suppoMarins nonprot network that enabled her together enough parenting skills and low-in
ing to prepare hersel or adulthood.Ater winning custody o her one-year-olArianna, Gilbertson decided to leave her jobministrative assistant in a Mill Valley nancrm to return to school ull -time. She ound 10,000 Degrees scholarship program by seline, completed the application orm, and mThat scholarship, plus a grant or child care organization, enabled her to resume her edu
Based in San Raael, 10,000 Degrees waslished to provide every Marin student, regarrace, ethnicity, or socioeconomic backgrounchance and the skills to pursue a higher edu
I elt motivated to become someone mywould be proud o, says Gilbertson. Rememher childhood passion or reading and litera
enrolled in the College o Marin, taking gention requirements, creative writing, and Engture. In all 2012, she will transer to UC Berplans to major in English and minor in ScanStudies. The resilient student was able to acwhile also successully ghting a bout o sk
Elva Salinas at Richardson Bay Audubon Center, her newest client
8/1/2019 Imagine - Elva Salinas
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9 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
Gilbertson plans to continue until she earns a Ph.D.My thirst or knowledge and love o literature is toogreat, she says. I want to be surrounded by knowl-edge or the rest o my lie. She also wants to pass onher hard-won knowledge and volunteers once a weekas a tutor at Bayside Elementary Schools ReadingPartners program. I cant imagine what would havehappened to me i Id lived in another county. Im sograteul or all the resources here in Marin.
Mil Saaa: ew le ew c
Recently, when Meilyn Santana arrived at San RaaelsKaiser Hospital to help an older couple with transla-tion as they underwent medical care, she was not sur-prised to learn that the couple, Brazilian natives like
hersel, had earned masters degrees back home, immi-grated to Marin, and got stuck in jobs cleaning houses.
That could have happened to me i I hadnt oundout about Upwardly Global in 2007, says the 29-year-old, who, with the nonprots coaching, ound a job asa program manager or Operation Access, a nonprotthat coordinates donated health care services to thosewho are uninsured and underserved.
There is a large Brazilian community here, andmost o the women nd work as nannies, and the mendeliver pizzas, she says. When Santana immigratedto Marin as a 20-year-old college student in 2003, herown rst jobs were working by day as a nanny and bynight at a movie theater in Sausalito.
I had been studying international relations at theUniversity o Curitiba [in Brazil] when my parents gotdivorced, Santana remembers. Even with my grand-mothers help, my mother couldnt support my youngerbrother and pay or my education. So I decided to
Mandy Gilbertson with her daughter Arianna on the College of Marin campus
come here, work, and improve my English.In three years, Santana was able to save enough to
return home to complete her degree. She returned toMarin in 2006, determined to nd proessional em-ployment with health benets and a career path.
As a nanny, your time is not your own, she says.The job never ends at 6 p.m. like they promise. Andmy parents were disappointed. They said, You earned
a degreewhy are you changing diapers?A ellow Brazilian who had been granted politicalasylum to live in the U.S. told Santana about UpwardlyGlobal. I knew about craigslist. But cover letters? Inever heard o them, she laughs. The nonprot helpedher revise her rsum,coached her throughmock interviews, andpaired her with two men-tors who introduced herto others within their pro-essional networks.
When youre an im-migrant, its like you donthave a past, she explains.Nobody knows your
school, your reputation.But they prepared me.They gave me hope andmotivation when I waslosing it.
Today, Santana hassucceeded in her dreams.Now married, the TerraLinda resident works ull-time in the nonprot sec-tor. She also volunteerswith Upwardly Globalas its Marin County out-reach coordinator, andshes working on a Mastero Public Administration
degree at the Universityo San Francisco.
She also reached an-other milestone. In 2008,the long-time holder o agreen card became a U.S.citizen, taking the oathwith ve thousand other
people in San Francisco. I cried so hard, shbers. It was a very special day or sure.
Meilyn Santana on the U
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11 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
Women
arechanging
thefaceof
philanthropy
Cpard t , giv r,i difrt ays, r difrt rass,ad t difrt issus. Overall, theirclout as philanthropists is growing.Hr is a suary th hs,hats, ad hys.
it started with sewing
circlesand thewomens movement
The womens movement led to a surge incharitable giving by women to support womenand girls.
Starting with the Ms. Foundation in1972, women have started more than 160oundations in the U.S. and abroad.
They pioneered giving circlesa collabora-tive, democratic way o making a dierenceinspired by the tradition o sewing circles.
Wme e llwg
kg ce he w.
alx deb, MCFs Vice President for
Philanthropic Services
more money+more education=more giving
60% o college students are women, andwomen earn the majority o masters
degrees and Ph.D.s
Women are either the sole decider oran equal decision-maker in households90% o the time when it comes to chari-table giving.
Women will control more than 3/4 othe estimated $41 trillion that will betranserred over the coming decades.
Women control more than hal o allpersonal wealth in the U.S.
The number o wealthy women in theU.S. is growing twice as ast as thenumber o wealthy men.
Wme e pblem-slves, chge ges,
lees whse vce ms be he wh eql
epese, whehe bsess, hme,
cmmes, gveme.
Sse tmpks Bell (a longtime MCF donor who
promotes leadership d evelopment, civic participation ,
and activism among women and girls)
The Venus Efect:women are diferent when it comes to giving
Theyre driven by passion or the issues that interest them. They combine rigor with intuition. They want to enrich their amilies and connect their kids to
a larger world.
Women want to mentor other women to be smart philanthropists.
women support issues near and dear to them
the cmm he s cecv.
Wme eel p glbl cmm
e cece he wme wh
he sme mvs eses.
Womens Philanthropic Initiative
Wme hve scs h e pl
mel pecve. i ppl hse
scs mke bee wl.
Bb Mesl (an MCF donor who started a
playground in Israel to bring Palestinian and Israeli
kids together)
international issues basic needs womens health economic security
domestic violence education health care youth and amily issues
8/1/2019 Imagine - Elva Salinas
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13 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
Br ppl talkd abut
scially rspsibl busi-
sss, values-based com-
panies, collaborative work environ-
ments, and breaking the glass ceil-
ing, one woman in Marin County
lived those concepts rom the in-
side out.
So its primarily in retrospect
that Margot Fraser, who started
Birkenstock USA, the U.S. distribu-
tor o the popular sandals, sees how
these issues played out over our
decades o growing a start-up (an-
other term not in vogue at the time)
into an icon o an era and a product
still associated with healthy living.
While Frasera donor at MCF
since 1999has counseled many
women about starting their own
businesses and speaks regularly on
the topic, she says she didnt spend
much time guring out how to be
successul with her male counter-
parts or thinking about the assets
that women bring to the workplace.
I oten tell women, Just ignore
that stu and that buzz. Just go on.
I didnt have time to think about
how men might view me. And, Fra-
ser adds with a smile, men can be
very helpul. Im not anti-men at all.
Many women think they have to be
more like men. I dont think thats
necessary.
In looking back at her own suc-
cess, Fraser does eel that her abili-
ties to be a good listener and to
be exibleskills she thinks that
many women havewere critically
important. You always have to
have your antennas out to eel what
works and what doesnt. A small
crack that doesnt look like much
can be where the business can re-
ally grow.
Her avorite example is the
emergence o hippies. I never im-
aged them coming along, but they
were the ones who made Birken-
stock take o.
And while Fraser, who lives in
San Raael, has co-written a book,
Dealing with the Tough Stu:
Practical Wisdom or Running a
Values-Driven Business, the val-
ues piece o that is also something
that seems to come more rom
hindsight.
While I was doing it, I wasnt
really thinking about that, she
says. It was a natural thing to do.
I didnt think, Oh, lets do a values-
based business. I was just going
along doing business.
For example, she was driven by
a strong belie in the benets o
the products themselves, since she
said that the sandals made her eet
eel good or the rst time. And that
led to insisting on a distribution
process that enabled her to get to
know the storeownersand even
customerswell.
Within the company, she liked
an environment where people
knew each other and what each
person was doing. To this day, her
ormer employees get together or
an annual summer picnic.
There are other values that
drove Fraser, like not holding on
too tightly to a business plan, or
even the business itsel. The per-
son has to have the eeling that i
the worst thing happens, so what?
You can go on to do something
else. It isnt the end o the world.
You have to be able to live with am-
biguity and controversy.
But even this values-based
businesswoman stresses that the
single most important element o
a successul business is good man-
agement o cash ow. You have to
pay that payroll every Friday, she
says.
Frasers route to success was
not a straight line. As a child grow-
ing up in war-torn Germany, she
looked up to the merchants in Bre-
men, who inspired her to want to be
an international merchant.
She also wanted people to know
that not all Germans were bad
one reason she eels her business
success has had a healing quality
to it.
However, she was steered into
dressmaking and design, since her
ather told her that shed only be
writing someone elses letters i she
worked at a large company.
That ended up to be her ticket
margot fraserone step AheAd
Margot Fraser in her garden in
8/1/2019 Imagine - Elva Salinas
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15 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
to Canada to work or a tailor. Later,
ater moving to San Francisco, she
went on a trip to Germany to seek
out health-related products and
ran across her rst pair o Birken-
stockswhich proved to help her
own oot problems. A leap o aith
rom the president o Birkenstock
enabled her, in 1966, to distribute
the sandals and then, somewhat
later, to launch Birkenstock USA,
which has always been based in
Marin.
Fraser continues to talk to
budding entrepreneursespecially
women, since, she says, Many
dont eel they have the power to
move ahead. And she likes the
spirit that many minority women
bring to these endeavors. Theyre
already amiliar with the idea o
risk, and they bring a resh view o
things.
She has been involved with both
Womens Initiative or Sel Employ-
ment and the Renaissance Entre-
preneurship Center.
Frasers inuence on budding
entrepreneurs reaches women who
come in contact with her even ca-
sually. She recently spoke at a con-
erence on business in society at
the University o Virginia where a
woman spoke up about one such
encounter.
As a teen, she had attended a
summer camp in Caliornia, Camp
Start-Up, where she learned the
basics o entrepreneurship, invest-
ing, and other business practices.
A highlight o her summer? A eld
trip to Birkenstock in Marin, where
she met Fraser, who made a lie-
long impression on her.
Frasers strong belie in the
underpinning o her successthe
products themselvesis another
lasting legacy. On Birkenstock
USAs website, it reads: We have
passion or our products, an ap-
preciation o their heritage, and a
genuine belie in their benets.
And, she still wears them.
a P MEarlier this year, the Marin CommunityFoundation published a report,A Portraitof Marin, which we commissioned romthe American Human DevelopmentProject. The report is a compellinganalysis o several key indicators o thewell-being o people living in Marin, usinga methodology that the United Nationshas applied around the world or several
decades. By ocusing on the intersectiono health, education, and income, thereport provides both an in-depth look atdisparities in Marin as well as strategiesthat can create a more equitable county.You can read and download a copy oAPortrait of Marin at www.maicf.g/pai, or call 415.464.2500 to request
a copy o the printed report.
Deciding betweenmaking a dierenceand making some
money is no longer aneither-or choice or todaysinvestors.
In act, investors have been
able to do both at the same time or
many years. Socially responsible
investment poolsMCF oers one
as an option or its donorsinvest
in companies based on a variety o
social screens, including ones that
look at environmental practices,
human rights policies, and
companies connections to alcohol,
tobacco, or weapons. The general
notion is do no harm.
But a new growth industry
oers another kind o investingthat looks at the ipside o do no
harm, and thats do good.
Its called impact investing,
a strategy used by individuals
and institutions to invest in
enterprisesboth or-
prot and nonprot
that oer products
and services designed
to improve peoples
lives while providing
a return on the
investment. These
kinds o investments
support eorts around
the world addressing
everything rom
poverty and education
to health and climate
change.
Its a strategy,
according to
experts, that has
great potential. One
estimate, in a report
published by J.P.
Morgan, suggests that
impact investing could
attract between $400
billion and $1 trillion
by 2020.
Two phrases are oten used
to describe the concept o impact
investing: the intersection
o money and meaning and
pursuing prot with purpose.
As such, its seen as a way to
vastly increase the resou
directed to improving th
people around the world
what comes rom traditi
philanthropy and governprogramsgenerally con
insufcient by themselv
solutions to scale.
Increasingly, people
looking or ways to not i
capital on one side and g
away on another, says J
associate in the impact i
and program-related inv
division o the Rockeell
Foundation, a leader in p
this approach to meetin
community needs. The
or ways to align their in
with their values.
How these eorts pr
capital to do good, and h
are structured, varies co
Given the growth o
investing, many nancia
oer a variety o options
individuals and instituti
or alternatives to traditi
investments in nancial
And a growing number
specialize in impact inv
some with names that su
their origins, like Good C
Mindul Investors.
Some impact investm
both loans and equity in
mentsaddress a broad
social issues, while othe
ly ocused. For example,
unds the provision o in
to low-income people ar
world, and another inve
Maureen Sedonaen at the Civic Cent
Impact rom do no harInvesting to do good
Increasingly, people
are looking or ways
to not invest their
capital on one side
and give it away
on another. Theyre
looking or ways to
align their investments
with their values.
i 12 | I i M i Phil th i t17
i 12 | I i M i Phil th i t
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spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist17
timber industry in ways that protect
wildlie habitat and water quality.
The nonprot world has
also spawned several models,
some based on using charitable
contributions as capital and others
that rely on the investment o
assets in oundation endowments
and donor-advised unds.
One that seeks both charitable
contributions and investments isRoot Capital, which provides loans
to grassroots businesses in rural
areas o developing countries. An
area o ocus is helping armers
who provide air trade products to
companies like Whole Foods and
Starbucks get the capital needed to
meet the growing demand or these
products.
Some name-brand domestic
and international nonprots have
gotten on board. For example,
Oxam Internationals Small
Enterprise Impact Investment Fund
invests in small and medium-sizeenterprises in Arica and Asia, with
a ocus on ood and agriculture.
And at the small-scale end o
options is Kiva, a nonprot that
enables individuals to make loans
as small as $25 via its website to
und microenterprises around the
world. The loans are paid back with
interest.
Foundations and holders o
donor-advised unds have also
turned to impact investing as a way
to make a dierence on the issues
they want to ocus on.
For example, the KelloggFoundation makes what it calls
mission-driven investments
rom its endowment in or-
prot enterprises that improve
the conditions o vulnerable
childrena key ocus o its
grantmaking activities as well.
Other oundations invest in
everything rom companies that
produce solar lamps or people
living in areas without electricity
to community development
corporations that are building
aordable housing.
Foundations have alsoestablished dedicated, revolving
loan unds to build on their
grantmaking activities. This is an
approach that several community
oundations are taking, including
the Marin Community Foundation.
Many o these eorts, including
MCFs, oer technical assistance
and nancial training to the
nonprots that receive loans, so
that they receive, as Marc Rand,
MCFs loan director, puts it, the
added benet o becoming more
savvy about nances, including
cash ow, the use o debt, andbudgeting.
Some o these same community
oundationsagain, including
MCFoer their donors the
opportunity to invest a portion o
the assets in their donor-advised
unds into these impact investment
opportunities, with the principal
and interest made available or
grantmaking at the end o the
investment term. (See acing page
or more details on MCFs approach
to impact investing.)
Donor-advised unds are
an interesting pool o capital,says Lai, at the Rockeeller
Foundation, since donors are
already philanthropically minded
and are interested in a spectrum
o products where they can deploy
their resources.
And, adds Lai, Even during the
uncertainty o the g lobal economy,
investors report that their impact
investments were a stabilizing
piece o their portolios. They
might not have produced the rate
o returns you see in a bull market,
but they were stabilizing in a down
market.
To learn more: www.thegiin.org
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impactinvestingat MCFThrough its Loan Fund, the Marin
Community Foundation has been a
leader in impact investing or over 20years by making below-market loans
to local nonprot organizations.
To cite just a ew examples
among hundreds, a loan enabled EAH
to retrot its aordable housing units
in Marin to be more energy-efcient
resulting in lower costs or renters
and lower carbon emissions. Center
or Domestic Peace (home o Marin
Abused Womens Services) now has
its own building, providing greater
stability and visibility as it se rves
more amilies aected by domestic
violence. And a new acility or Marin
City CDC is providing a much-neededspace to oer job training in a variety
o industries.
MCF has made nearly $25
million in loans over the past 10
years that help borrowers not served
by commercial banks due to the
perceived risk o the nonprot sector.
These loans oten und capital
projects and revenue-producing
ventures, with the added benet
o encouraging the economic
independence and stability o
borrowers.
The Loan Fund has supported
eorts that address aordable
housing, environmental protection,
education, and many other issues.
MCFs underwriting process has
resulted in a 0% deault rate.
While the Foundations Loan
Fund has assets o $17 million, the
need in the community or loans is
ar greater. To increase th
reach o these eorts, don
can invest a portion o the
their donor-advised unds
Loan Fund to make an imp
the issues they care about
investments earn interest
paid back, along with the
to the donor-advised und
o the investment termo
may choose to reinvest ththe Loan Fund.
Interest rates vary rom
2.50%, depending on the te
loan.
Marc Rand, MCFs loa
says that the Foundations
Fund addresses concerns
hold some investors back
participating in impact inv
the difculty o measuring
impact, perceived greater
the challenge o nding p
projects to und.
Because weve worke
with many nonprots heror 25 years, MCF knows a
our borrowers and the imp
loans, he says, and our g
rates o return are typicall
than whats oered in the
market.
One MCF donor who
advantage o this opportu
Wilson. We didnt want a
sitting in our und withou
anything, he says. Doing
need. Its hard or small no
pay or buildings and get
And we like doubling the
buck.To learn more about t
investment option, contac
415.464.2522 or mrand@m
learn more on MCFs web
aric.rg/ipactiv
spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
19 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
19 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12
8/1/2019 Imagine - Elva Salinas
11/12
19 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist19 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12
Just before students arrive
for an aer-school session
at Next Generaon Scholars
downtown San Rafael center,
Sally Matsuishi, execuve
director of the college-prepprogram, is helping volunteers
unload large shopping bags
overowing with new winter
jackets.
We bought these at huge
discounts! she shouts out.
Now our kids who are going to college Back East can
stay warm. Theyve never had winter clothes before!
And while this years college acceptance leers
havent yet arrived, Matsuishi knows these jackets
will be put to good use, since NGS sends 100% of its
graduateslow-income students from throughout the
countyto four-year colleges year aer year.
Matsuishis calling to help low-income studentsthrive goes back to her own familys experience, when
her grandparents, who were migrant workers with
limited educaon, felt that if their kids could get into
college, that could change things and break a long-
standing cycle of poverty, as she puts it. Her parents
did go to collegethe rst generaon in their families
to do soand Matsuishi followed them, taking o from
Marin to aend Vassar College.
At Vassar, she was inspired by its head of admissions
to help low-income students go beyond doing well
academically by nding ways they could give back to
their own families and communies. They knew they
were cherry-picking the smartest kids in low-income
areas, but they didnt feel they were doing anythingto actually change those neighborhoods, Matsuishi
explains.
Another inuence at the me was a vising teacher,
Bey Shabazz (the widow of Malcolm X), who told
Matsuishi, You can go anywhere, but if you take your
fancy Vassar degree and go into the gheos, then
you can change the world.
Matsuishis response was,
Thats what I want to do.
One day later, she had
a business plan in place that
contained the basic principlesand goals she sll embraces.
She was 19 at the me.
Aer a snt in Los
Angeles in graduate school,
Matsuishi returned to Marin
and was sad to see how large
the educaonal equity gap had goen and how grave
the situaon was.
Next Generaon Scholars soon started with a small
group of kids sing around her dining room table. Now,
nine years later, it serves some 130 families at any given
me.
NGS, she says, engages its students by immersing
them in studies and acvies that connect to theirdaily lives and experiences. They read the works of
authors like Cornell West and Alice Walker, study social
jusce issues, andimportantlytake things in their
own families and communies that suck (the word
Matsuishi uses when asking them to think about the
challenges in their lives) and turn them into community
upli acvies.
These acvies work because they pull the students
in with their own stories and histories and validate
their own experiences, she says. They enable them
to excel, to have a sense of agency, and to feel theyre
capable of doing this kind of work and going to college.
They set them up for success.
In addion, the scholars and other family membersreceive a range of social services and academic support
to create a culture of going to college, says Matsuishi.
Many of our students are the only English-speaking
members of their families, theyre working part-me
to help out, or theyre taking care of younger siblings.
There are a lot of issues we need to pay aenon to.
From the kitchen
table outward
SALLyMAtSuIShI
Sally Matsuishi at her kitchen table in S
21 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
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21 Imagine: Marin Philanthropist Magazine | spring 12 spring 12 | Imagine: Marin Philanthropist
She adds that what she and others at NGS see in the
kids they serveprimarily, their incredible strength
is hidden from people who see these same kids every
day. Theyre the kids pushing the shopping carts in
parking lots, taking your cket at the movie theater, or
bagging groceries.
And these are the kids who come in
here and are so intellectually curious,
engaged, and dedicated to the processof learning to the boom of their shoes.
Before they get here, she adds, many of
these kids werent doing well in school. If
you dont think youre going anywhere,
you dont try very hard.
A turning point for many of NGS
students is idenfying and leading a
community upli projectan acvity
Matsuishi describes as taking what
they are most ashamed of as a child
and transferring that into their greatest
strength.
Studentswith support from their
fellow scholarshave helped apartment-dwellers in the Canal start small
gardens on their balconies to help feed
their families; opened a thri store
EcoBabyin that neighborhood where
residents can get free donated clothes;
and organized Marins rst oat in San
Franciscos annual Gay Pride Parade,
where several newly out students felt
the support of hundreds of thousands of
spectators.
These kids are learning how others
overcame similar challenges and
organized people to make a dierence.
When you see kids do that, theres noway theyre not going to college. They get to the point
of knowing they want to get more educated. And the
community begins to own these kids and have pride in
them. College becomes an inevitability.
These kids already have an Ivy League educaon
in poverty, Matsuishi adds. If you put that together
with a real Ivy League educaon, you can really change
things.
She cites another acvity that has a big impact on
NGS parcipantstheir college admissions essay.
These children are invisible. Theyre not supposed to
have voices, she says. These essays give them the
ability to have a voice and to be heard
on a large scale.
Matsuishi describes the essays asstories of triumph, not sob stories. Its
scary for them to tell them, since they
oen focus on things theyve never
talked about beforelike domesc
violence, substance abuse, or extreme
poverty. They are, instead, stories of
the tough choices these kids have
made to get to this place in their lives.
Their success connues in college,
Matsuishi says. And she knows, because
she keeps in touch with every NGS
graduate on a regular basis. They have
leadership posions at college and are
volunteering in local communies.These are the people I want to vote for.
These are the good people weve been
waing for.
Reecng on one of her original
inspiraonsto nd ways that young
people can return to their own
communies to make a dierence
Matsuishi says theres evidence thats
happening. She cites NGS graduates
who are now working at NGS, another
at 10,000 Degrees, one who is starng
a nonprot in Marin based on his own
community upli project, and others
who are teaching and working in low-income communies around the U.S.
Given rising high-school drop-out rates among
low-income students and students of color, what does
Matsuishi feel can help larger numbers of students than
NGS can reach?
It comes down, she says, to resolve. The people
Their success
continues in
college. They
have leadership
positions and
are volunteering
in local
communities.
These are
the people I
want to vote or.
These are the
good people
weve been
waiting or.
of Marin will rise to the occasion and help other
educaonal equity organizaons working on the
front lines. She also cites partnerships between
organizaons and people with resources of dierent
kindsspace, money, and, perhaps most importantly,
the willingness to be part of the soluon.
When I think of what happens at NG
Dorothy, Matsuishi says. She always ha
slippers. She just needed to be told to click
mes. Thats what were really doing h
teaching kids how to click their heels.
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