April Newsletter
Dear Thrive Community,

This April, we are thinking about the intersection of board leadership, advocacy, and policy change. Many times, board members shy away from exploring the policy issues affecting the nonprofit's mission. Yet, BoardSource, the national leader on board service, believes it is vital for Boards to be involved:

BoardSource strongly encourages boards and board members to lead their organizations toward greater engagement in advocacy and to play a personal role in advancing their missions through ambassadorship. Social sector organizations should not ignore the policy environment in which they operate.  - BoardSource.org, "Advocacy and Ambassadorship." 

Just last month, we launched OnBoard Together , where we are partnering with CEN and SVCN to regionalize our successful Thrive OnBoard event - all for greater impact! With all the experience and interest that you have in the policy arena, you could help positively shape our policy environment and help local nonprofits. Consider attending OnBoard 2019 to network with a well respected group of executives and board members representing many great local nonprofits. Talk with them about their work, their policy challenges, and needs. You may become their next board member!

Thriving Together, 
Georgia Antonopoulos, Executive Director
Petra Silton, Policy & Advocacy Coordinator
Civic Participation
April 1 was our San Mateo County Census 2020 Community Launch. Leaders from nonprofit, business, civic, local government, and community organizations kicked off San Mateo County's Census Day 2020 countdown: one year! We were joined by Supervisors Carole Groom, Don Horsley, and David Canepa, and heard opening remarks from Mike Callagy, San Mateo County Manager and Sheila Gilson, Senior Vice President & Area Manager, Kaiser Permanente 

The community engagement panel was moderated by Georgia Antonopoulos, Thrive Alliance, and included Manufou Liaiga-Anoa'i, IHSD Head Start, San Mateo County's Commission on Status of Women, Jefferson Elementary School District Board; Andres Connell, Nuestra Casa de East Palo Alto; Evan Jones, Mid-Peninsula Boys & Girls Club; Diane Leeds, San Francisco Peninsula People Power. We learned how to help leaders prioritize Census, what strategies and tools we will be using to overcome barriers associated with reaching hard to count communities, and how to build the cross-sector partnerships that we will need to reach the most people.

The census outreach funding information session was moderated by Rosanne Foust, Executive Director, San Mateo County Economic Development Association with panelists Manuel Santamaria, Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Kelly Batson, United Way Bay Area; Megan Gosch, San Mateo County Office of Community Affairs. We will share the RFPs when they are available in May.
Immigrant & Worker's Rights TAG

Anchored by M. Stacey Hawver, Executive Director,  Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County The Immigrant and Worker's Rights TAG will focus on Census and Elections Strategy and Voter Education and Outreach Advisory Committee (VEOAC) for the month of April. Sign up below.
Census + Election Strategy Working Group

Please bring your ideas on how to create synergies in our messaging. Everyone is welcome.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Voter Education & Outreach Advisory Committee (VEAOC) March 2020 Primary Kickoff Meeting

Co-Chaired by the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division, San Francisco Peninsula People Power, and Thrive Alliance

Join us to discuss November 2018 election results; new voting machines; new vote center locations; county outreach and education; leveraging SMC Census 2020 activities to election activities. Everyone is welcome.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
 California Citizens Redistricting Commission

2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission just launched its website . Redistricting comes directly after the census. If you would like to apply, there is more information here and assistance available through the Asian Americans Advancing Justice- Asian Law Caucus . It is critical that all communities are represented and have a say in drawing the district maps.

Language Access in Voting Survey

Please fill out this brief language access survey on how elections offices can better serve limited-English proficient (LEP) voters.

Language Access in Voting Awareness Act (AB1391)

Advancing Justice - ALC has drafted the Language Access in Voting Awareness Act (AB 1391, or LAVA), a simple bill to expand language access in California elections. For more information, see this fact sheet . To support LAVA, email AAAJ- Asian Law Caucus .

Future of California Elections (FoCE) 2019 Conference

The Future of California Elections (FoCE) 2019 Conference "Leading the Way: What Lies Ahead for California's Elections" is just two weeks away. Join on April 11 to learn the latest developments in California elections. More information and registration here .
Environment & Sustainability
Climate Ready San Mateo
Thrive participated in the Preparing for Wildfire Convening held by Climate Ready San Mateo County. The presentations can be a ccessed through the Climate Ready SMC Collaborative webpage. 
Steps you can take to support Climate Readiness in San Mateo County
  • Share resources and help implement strategies and steps for “Living with Fire in San Mateo County”
  • Spread the word about SMCAlert and the importance of signing up to receive notifications for major disasters. You choose how you want to receive the information, what type of information you want to receive, and for which cities.
  • Share your thoughts and experiences with a range of climate change issues or highlight areas of concern on the climate mapper. 
  • Join the Climate Ready SMC Collaborative to create a shared, inclusive, and collaborative space to advance the conversation about climate change and find solutions in San Mateo County. Please click here to complete an Interest Form.
Environment & Sustainability TAG
The March TAG, Food & Footprint, convened six sustainable food experts (l eft to right in the photo above), Peter Ruddock, Coordinator, California Food Policy Council and San Mateo County Food System Alliance; Zia MacWilliams, Manager of Federal Children’s Nutrition Programs, Second Harvest Food Bank; Jayne Battey, Owner, Miramar Farms; Kellyx Nelson, Executive Director, San Mateo County Resource Conservation District; Nickie Irvine, Beekeepers’ Guild of San Mateo County; Claire Felong, President, Incredible Edible Mid-Peninsula (not in the picture), to share their challenges and success. Notably, expertise spanned the entire food lifecycle -- healthy land preparation, responsible farming, transportation & preparation, thoughtful consumption, and leftover & recovery -- and exposed the complexity of collaboration necessary to reach a shared set of goals.
Environment & Sustainability TAG: Hike-a-Palooza
Join us in the great outdoors for our April TAG as we celebrate Earth Month by participating in Hike-a-Palooza, a local San Mateo initiative to bring environmental leaders together to network and share ideas. Feel free to hike and/or come for the post-hike refreshments at Wursthall. To learn more about Hike-a-Palooza events, please see this flyer .
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
3:00 - 5:30 pm Crystal Springs Regional Trail, Sawyer Camp Trail. Entrance Skyline Blvd & Crystal Springs Rd, San Mateo; 6:00 pm Wursthall for casual networking (no host), 310 Baldwin Ave, San Mateo
Environment & Sustainability TAG
The Future of Transportation: 
Clean Energy & Transformation
Galvanizing Innovation for Our Community and All Who Live Here

A Peninsula Family Service Thought Leader Series Event co-sponsored by Sustainable San Mateo County, Peninsula Clean Energy, and Thrive's Environment & Sustainability TAG
Join experts and local leaders to address the future of clean transportation and innovation for our climate, our community and all who live here. Special guest speakers and panelists will discuss the impact of climate on our region; the future of clean transportation; the economic benefits of clean energy and how to  DriveForward Electric. 
Featured Speakers
Stephen Zoepf , Executive Director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford 
Jan Pepper, Peninsula Clean Energy CEO 
Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 8:30 am - 12:00 pm
Wildfires and Climate Change

Connections/Solutions for a Sustainable Future
April 19, 2019 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm, College of San Mateo
Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture TAG

Facilitated by Georgia Antonopoulos, Executive Director, Thrive
We will review the Board of Supervisors Proclamation and upcoming advocacy
Monday, April 8 (note new date), 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Arts + Advocacy! April is Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month (ACCM), sponsored by Californians for the Arts .

We are still collecting our own Arts Impact Stories to present to the Board of Supervisors in April. Submit here . You can submit any format into this Google folder. It is open to the public so please share the link so we can collect as many stories as possible to show the vibrancy of our local arts community. More explanation can be found here.

Click here to learn more about how to be an advocate for the arts. Sign up here to join us at the Arts Advocacy Day in Sacramento on April 23.
Children & Education
Children & Education TAG
Anchored by Heather Cleary, CEO, Peninsula Family Service
Our next meeting will cover the Child Care Partnership Council's new strategic plan and current legislation.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019, 9:00 - 10:00 am
Basic Needs & Safety Net
Basic Needs & Safety Net TAG
 Anchored by Bart Charlow, CEO,  Samaritan House
Wednesday, April 24, 2019, 9:00 - 10:00 am
Regional Solutions for Children and Families in Poverty
At the most recent Joint TAG meeting, Georgia Antonopoulos, Executive Director, Thrive Alliance, and Kateryna Romanova, Membership and Marketing Manager, discussed with the group the findings of our nonprofit needs assessment survey for North County and how the lessons learned apply to the County as a whole. Review Thrive's presentation : The Needs of North San Mateo County Families and the Nonprofits That Serve Them . The conversation that followed included many great ideas on how to follow up with the insights from the survey. The slide below helps prioritize the most urgent needs, according to the organizations that responded to the survey.
Housing
Community Conversations, City of San Mateo
How are you and those you know affected by regional housing issues? Join “Community Conversations: Housing in San Mateo” for a different type of dialogue about a topic that affects everyone. The City of San Mateo and  Home for All of San Mateo County  are collaborating on a community engagement initiative to create an inclusive environment for people to talk and listen to each other. There will be free childcare, food and Spanish translation at both events. RSVP and details here .
April 27, 2019, San Mateo High School 9:00 am - 11:30 am
May 18, 2019 , San Mateo High School 9:00 am - 11:30 am
Housing Leadership Council's Affordable Housing Week
Advocacy Days and Partner Campaigns:
DAFs and the Nonprofit Parking Tax
Upcoming Advocacy Days
CalNonprofits is sponsoring a Bill for Transparency in Donor-Advised Funds.   AB 1712   is co-sponsored by CalNonprofits, NextGen California, and philanthropist Kat Taylor, authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks.

CalNonprofits is also requesting that you contact Senators Feinstein and Harris about the Nonprofit Parking Tax . Nonprofits are subject to an unfair and confusing provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that imposes a 21% unrelated business income tax on the expenses that tax-exempt nonprofits incur for providing their employees with transportation fringe benefits, such as parking and transit passes. CalNonprofits is encouraging people to contact California's senators to express their support for the repeal of that provision.
Opportunity Summit 2019: Generating Powerful Pathways to Economic Security For All
The Rise Together 2019 Opportunity Summit will gather over 300 changemakers to focus on taking collective action for the most powerful pathways to economic security through cross-sector collaboration, ensuring the opportunity to thrive is a reality for all Bay Area residents.

A few highlights: 

  • Welcome by San Jose State University President's Office
  • Keynote: Lenny Mendonca, California Chief Economic and Business Advisor
  • The New Bay Area Regional Equity Atlas; San Francisco Foundation
  • Racial Segregation and Housing; Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society
  • State Budget and Policy Forecast; California Budget & Policy Center
  • 2020 Census Complete Count; United Way Bay Area and Partners
  • Employment Policy to Generate Opportunity for All; REDF
  • Toward a Fair Chance Workforce System: Debut of Regional Recommendations and Workshop for Fair Chance Hiring; Checkr
  • Disrupting The Wealth Draining Impact of Fees & Fines; Debt Free Justice California Coalition
  • The Promise and Challenge of the CASA Compact; BARHII
  • The Strong Start Index; First 5 Association

...and much more. Speakers added daily!
Friday, May 10, 9:30 am
Changemakers,

Local nonprofits need your skills and expertise. They are looking for potential board members like YOU. Register to attend an OnBoard Match event near you to learn and network with a well respected group of executives and board members representing many great local nonprofits. Talk with them about their work, their challenges, and passions. You may become their next board member!

At our upcoming OnBoard Match events, you will be able to meet nonprofit exhibitors within each TAG issue area. Get your ticket now.
OnBoard Match - San Carlos

Wed, April 24, 5:00 - 7:30 pm
Hiller Aviation Museum
601 Skyway Road, San Carlos
OnBoard Match - San Jose

Thu, May 9, 4:00 - 7:00 pm
Sobrato Center for Nonprofits,
1400 Parkmoor Avenue, San Jose
Contact Thrive with your ideas or questions! 
 Petra Silton , Thrive Policy & Advocacy Coordinator
Thrive Alliance | 650-654-7993 | ThriveAlliance.org