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The James Irvine Foundation Grants $200,000 to Regional Access Project Foundation
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The Regional Access Project Foundation was recently awarded a major grant from The James Irvine Foundation to address the negative impact immigration enforcement policies are having on families.
"We are obviously pleased and grateful that the Irvine Foundation is not only sensitive to this issue, but has chosen to bestow RAP with this very substantial grant in order to pursue our common goals," said Leticia De Lara, executive director.
"One of our primary objectives is to create a model consisting of collaborative organizations committed to aiding immigrants which will serve as a long-term tool for collective effort and maximum collaborative impact," she said. "This goal is completely in line with the thinking of the Foundation."
RAP's application includes two other goals of the local program: To bring awareness of immigrant services to impacted populations (undocumented immigrants, mixed status families, legal immigrants) to reduce fear and insecurity; and, to promote willingness to seek health, mental health and juvenile intervention services as needed by immigrants and their families.
The Foundation's mission is very simple:
"Our mission is to expand opportunity for the people of California."
The Foundation pursues these goals by expanding economic opportunity so more California families and young adults are self-sufficient and by expanding political opportunity so more low-income Californians are engaged and have influence.
The RAP board is pleased with the opportunity that this grant provides and looks forward to partnering with the ongoing work of The James Irvine Foundation in the coming year.
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TAY Center for Youth in the Coachella Valley
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Good news for Transitional Age Youth!
The County of Riverside and its Riverside University Health System has opened a triplet of "TAY" centers countywide, one of them in La Quinta, called "Desert FLOW" (for Fun, Love, Opportunity and Wellness).
"The TAY Center is a wonderful resource for 16-25 year olds," says RAP board member Tori St Johns. "They can just drop in and do homework or play games, takes yoga lessons, or whatever they want. All decisions are youth driven.
"Or they can actually see a psychiatrist, nurse or mental health therapist. They don't have to have insurance or be documented, and there is no appointment needed."
Each TAY Center is an open and safe environment, welcoming every transitional age youth who walks through the door. Guardians and parents can also just drop in and talk to someone.
"As a counselor from the school district, it is a great gift to be able to pick up the phone and say 'I have this student and this is going on . . . may I bring them or send them over?'" says St Johns, who also notes that the Desert FLOW center is also generous to the community with their meeting rooms.
The La Quinta Center is located at 78-140 Calle Tampico, and the phone number is760-863-7970.
In addition to the La Quinta TAY Center, the County has opened centers in Perris and Riverside.
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2018/19 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Palm Desert
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The City of Palm Desert reached out to RAP for help in passing on the information about possible funding for nonprofits serving Palm Desert residents.
If you are interested in learning about the 2018/19 CDBG funding available, you are encouraged to attend the Community Meeting set for Wednesday January 10, 2018 at 9:00 AM at Palm Desert City Hall.
The application deadline is 5:00 PM on February 8, 2018.
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Palm Desert Rotary Club to Recognize RAP
Jennifer Loretta, 2017-18 Club President of the Palm Desert Rotary, attended the December 13 RAP board meeting to announce that the Regional Access Project Foundation will be honored as the "Educator of the Year" at their annual Spirit of Rotary Luncheon to take place at 11:30 AM on Tuesday March 27, 2018 at the Desert Springs Marriot in Palm Desert.
"We are honored to be recognized for our Center for Nonprofit Advancement program which provides educational resources to support the efforts of our local nonprofits to achieve their respective missions," says RAP Chairman Mark Moran.
The cost of the event is $75.00 per person and table sponsorships are available. Please contact Jennifer by email
[email protected]
or at 760 239-1132 for more information.
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Supporting Nonprofits' Search for Grants
RAP provides two (2)
free
online research services.
The Foundation Center is the nation's leading authority on institutional philanthropy and serves grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policy makers, the media and general public.
And Grant Station provides additional funding sources including Federal, State and regional grants.
These online resource services are available to nonprofits and can be easily viewed at the RAP office. Contact John Epps at
WWW.RAPFoundation.org or call at 760 674-9992 to make a reservation.
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Wells Fargo Awards Grant to Center for Nonprofit Advancement
RAP's Center for Nonprofit Advancement (CNA) program was awarded a $25,000 grant to support capacity-building efforts in eastern Riverside County.
CNA works with other funders and agencies to provide services to maximize the positive impact of organizational and professional development on the infrastructure of local nonprofit organizations and to make the culture of these organizations more meaningful, inclusive, and effective.
"The Leadership Development project and the Grant-writing Academy will directly impact the services nonprofits we serve and increase their ability to achieve stability and grow their assets for the long-term support of the community," says John Epps, Director the CNA.
The RAP Board received this good news at the December 13 board meeting. They expressed their appreciation to Wells Fargo for the trust they have placed in CNA by supporting it with this financial contribution. We look forward to demonstrating the positive impact made to the nonprofits which participate in these CNA programs.
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RAP Staff and Volunteers
(from left to right) Liz Coronado, John Epps, Ruth Christian, Ken McDow, Mireya Reyes, Stuart McClain, Leticia De Lara, Eva Guenther-James, Erlynne Cuabo
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!
See you in 2018
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Leticia De Lara, CEO
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As we wind down to the last few days of the year, The RAP Foundation can enumerate many things to celebrate in 2017. We are extremely grateful to be working with so many community partners who share similar missions and working to improve the lives of our residents.
We had a wonderful turnout at our Ribbon Cutting event which took place on October 24. RAP celebrated its 25th Anniversary and acknowledged the significant contributions of previous Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor Patricia "Corky" Larson, who was present for the festivities, as well as the Late Supervisors Roy Wilson, represented by his widow Aurora, and John J. Benoit represented by his widow Sheryl. Also present were Judee Cox, who led the organization for more than two decades, and former
board member Jean Benson.
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Ribbon Cutting October 24, 2017 and 25th Anniversary Celebration
(pictured Sheryl Benoit, Aurora Wilson, Corky Larson, Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, Judee Cox, Palm Desert Mayor Jan Harnick, Rudy Gutierrez, Bea Gonzalez, Anayeli Zavala, Bill Kroonen and Jan Pye) |
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RAP Contribution Plaque presented at Ribbon Cutting
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25th Anniversary Celebration Cake
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Rosemary Ortega, Board Member, Judee Cox, former RAP CEO, and Robert Cox
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During December, the RAP Board approved grants to the following seven organizations addressing mental health issues for adults:
1. Desert Aids Project
2. El Sol Neighborhood Education Center
3. The Joslyn Senior Center
4. Path of Life Ministries
5. Family Services Association
6. California State University San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus
7. The University of California Riverside School of Medicine.
The various funded programs will provide creative and innovative supportive services to job seekers as well as wrap-around services for our homeless population. It will expand current services in new regions or populations (such as family therapeutic services becoming available in Indio).
RAP is also pleased to be providing grants towards advancing technology to increase or improve services with two programs: One of these grants will provide neurofeedback technology to the general population; the other will utilize telemedicine technology to expand psychiatry services to the underserved homeless population in eastern Riverside County.
As many of you know, RAP's Center for Nonprofit Advancement (CNA) supports the continuing development of nonprofits. We provide meeting rooms free during business hours and at a reasonable cost during non-business hours. In addition, we also provide office space at an affordable cost to nonprofits. We currently have some office space available. Feel free to contact Mireya Reyes at
[email protected]
if you would like some more information about our CNA space.
As always, we look forward to continuing our support of our local nonprofits in their ongoing efforts to improve the lives of our residents
Lety De Lara, CEO
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Center for Nonprofit Advancement (CNA) Corner
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John Epps, CNA Director. |
The Fast Pitch Was Only the Beginning! This Is Next!
Join us as we introduce the training, tools, and tips that we have organized to help you sharpen your skills, get support, and transform the impact of your messages.
We help you share your stories in even more ways to make a difference!
January 11, 2018 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
We are making a change to the Fast Pitch program this year to make it a more comprehensive exploration of the marketing and branding of the nonprofits for more organizations in our area.
We will begin by introducing the new program on January 11th with a visit from Andy Goodman, communications expert, to learn about Storytelling. We are extending an open invitation to our
nonprofit community to join the process. After this session, the organizations attending will be invited to work with our CNA coaching team on crafting their stories and will have the opportunity to enroll in a series of trainings from February to July in the following areas:
- Principles of Marketing
- Brand Management
- Social Media Marketing
- Producing and Publishing Video
- Mastering the Media
- Powerful Presentations
For each of the trainings there will be a deliverable which helps them accumulate credits and a portfolio of marketing tools that will be used to determine who has the better scores in their region. (The participants may be grouped based on whether they serve or are located in the East Valley, Central Valley, or West Valley)
Following the trainings there will be an evaluation process where candidates are able to advance to a final stage in their service area that will culminate in a local evaluation and then a "Best of the Best" grand finale evaluation from all service areas which will showcase their portfolio of work and their pitch.
Seating is limited so please enroll today!
Additional Training in January
- Microsoft Excel, January 18, 2018 & January 25, 2018 from 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM (Two class series, RAP Office)
- Building Effective Nonprofit Teams, January 19, 2018 from 9:00 AM - Noon (Moreno Valley @ Community Now)
- WordPress for Beginners, January 23, 2018 - March 6, 2018 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM (Seven class series, Online and RAP Office)
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