Learning Tours

Monday, September 23

Learning Tours are new this year to the conference program, and will be an essential piece of the overall educational conference experience. On Monday morning, after the plenary remarks, all attendees will go out on Learning Tours. When we reconvene onsite, the afternoon programming is designed to drill down on what you experienced in the San Diego community and apply what you learned.

The Learning Tours are scheduled for Monday morning following the Breakfast Plenary – “Reconnecting to Community”. The plenary begins at 7:30am. Lunch will be provided on each Learning Tour.

How to Prepare for Your Learning Tour

For your safety and comfort, please download these helpful tips to prepare for your Learning Tour experience.

1. Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood: A Look Inside a Community Collaborative Model on Children, Youth, and Families

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood (CVPN) brings together a network of partners focused on education, family services, and community resource development to provide Castle Park neighborhood children a more promising future. As one of only seven sites awarded the 2012 Promise Neighborhood Implementation Grant, CVPN will receive $27.8 million over five years to execute a community-lead development plan. Explore the steps local philanthropies take for their communities to qualify for these types of federal grants and how to ensure effective use of the endowment.

Learning objectives:

• Understand best practices for large-scale, national/local collaborative efforts, particularly during the start-up phase. Define what it takes to qualify, raise money, and compete for federal grants that require a match
• Explore the practical complexities of engaging cross-sector stakeholders toward a common goal in areas such as sharing recognition, telling a collective story, and defining metrics of success
• Gain insights into building a culture of innovation, risk taking and failure to fuel better practices leading to increase success

Moderator: Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President and CEO, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
Speakers: Francisco Escobedo, Superintendent, Chula Vista Elementary School District, Michael McAfee, Director, Promise Neighborhoods Institute at PolicyLink, Mauricio Torre, South Bay Community Services, Karen Sprigle, SVP, Chief Administrative Office at United Way of San Diego County,

2. Strategically Managing Community's Response Before and After a Disaster

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

In late October 2003, Santa Ana winds scooped up sparks and embers from several sources around San Diego County and deposited them in tinder-dry brush, igniting the most devastating wildfires seen in more than 70 years. Four years later, the October 2007 San Diego wildfires constitute one of the largest natural disasters in California history. In this Learning Tour, you will visit the Red Cross Disaster Operations Center and discuss the keys to disaster preparedness with philanthropic, nonprofit, and government leaders.

Learning objectives:

• Learn about best practices and lessons learned in disaster preparation, response, recovery, and rebuilding - with particular focus on the role of the community foundation
• Understand the ecosystem of these four components with a lens on partnering across sectors
• Confer with your peers about how your foundation is prepared for disaster given the unique geographic attributes and populations in your community

Moderator: Sue Carter Kahl, Research Associate, University of San Diego
Speakers: Jack Raymond, Disaster Survivor and former Chair of Board of Governors, The San Diego Foundation, Tony Young, CEO, American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties, Valerie Brown, Executive Director, Rancho Bernardo United, Michael Davies, Senior Emergency Services Coordinator, San Diego County Office of Emergency Services, Stasia Place, Senior Emergency Services Coordinator, San Diego County Office of Emergency Services, Robin Clegg, President, San Diego Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, Rick Hinrichs, Director, Disaster Services, American Red Cross of San Diego/Imperial Counties, John Ohanian, Chief Executive Officer, San Diego 2-1-1, Robyn Sharp, Director, Corporate Giving & Mitigation Funds, The San Diego Foundation

3. Repurposing Local Assets for Community Good

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

Today, most community foundations accept a range of donor assets beyond cash – including gifts of land and real estate or other physical property. However, while these assets are most often converted towards charitable gift funds, the foundation’s unique connection to its community presents creative opportunities to use local private, public, and business assets for community good with greater scale and direct local impact. On this Learning Tour, see first-hand different models in National City – A Reason To Survive (ARTS), Olivewood Gardens, and MAAC Project – that illustrate the practical dimensions of how a transfer of assets to the community resulted in innovated programs that serve local youth and families.

Learning objectives:

• Explore approaches to repurposing community assets to address local needs
• Understand the financial and operational considerations when making a transfer (purchase, donation, lease), as well as the pros and cons of each.
• Consider the implications of this approach for donor intent, board involvement, and internal capacity and policies.
• Discuss strategies to communicate how the local assets are being used and tell a story that reflects voices of its own people and residents.

Moderator: Michael Hannigan, CEO, Pikes Peak Community Foundation
Speakers: Richard Kiy, President & CEO, International Community Foundation, Arnulfo Manriquez, President & CEO, MAAC Project, Brad Raulston, Community Development Commission, The City of National City

This Learning Tour includes sitting outdoors and touring a garden which may not be suitable for those with limited mobility or certain outdoor allergies.

4. Healthy Eating, Active Living: What Does it Take? - Closed: Tour at Capacity

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

As defined by the USDA, food security means access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Yet hunger affects one in six people in the United States, and one in five people in San Diego. Despite an overall abundance of resources and a highly developed infrastructure, many states are seeing food deserts expand, particularly in low-income communities. During this tour, you will visit Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center. Then, you’ll engage with a panel of local and national leaders in hunger, food security, and health to consider the intricacies of this complex problem, including the factors that contribute to expanding food deserts and the steps necessary to reverse the trend.

Learning objectives:

• Understand the connection between hunger and obesity and why food security is a health issue
• Know the various strategies that can be implemented to address hunger and access to healthy food
• Consider how to apply a "sustainability" lens to your hunger work by encouraging partners and grantees to change policies, systems and environments to increase the impact of your investment
• Be inspired to become an active in some way in the anti-hunger movement

Moderator: Alexandra Caraballo, National Manager, Charitable Contributions, Kaiser Permanente
Speakers: Patricia Cantrell, M.D., Pediatrician, Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center; Darien Louie, Director of Public & Private Partnerships, East Bay Community Foundation; Jennifer Tracy, Executive Director, San Diego Hunger Coalition; Healy Vigderson, Executive Director, Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center

This Learning Tour includes sitting outdoors and touring a garden which may not be suitable for those with limited mobility or certain outdoor allergies.

5. Involving Local Voices through Community Engagement – To What End?

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

Community engagement is vital for creating sustainable change in our communities. Join the Environmental Health Coalition, the Chula Vista Collaborative (Promotora Model), and Mid-City CAN in the Diamond neighborhoods of southeastern San Diego to examine various models of community engagement and evaluate the most appropriate model to enhance your own foundation’s engagement and connections to the community.

Learning objectives:

• Frame the role of community engagement as an important component of community foundation work
• Explore your foundation’s current community engagement efforts and assess different approaches to change, enhance, or increase them based upon your organization's culture and objectives
• Consider both the financial and administrative nuances of engaging community in philanthropy

Moderator: Roque Barros, Community Advisor/Consultant
Speakers: Georgette Gomez, Associate Director – Toxic Free Neighborhoods, Environmental Health Coalition, Diana Ross, Collaborative Director, Mid-City CAN, Margarita Holguin, Director, Chula Vista Community Collaborative

6. The Power of Place-Based Philanthropy: How to Make it Truly Work

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

Place-based philanthropy provides a means for communities to challenge persistent, complex problems. In this tour, collaborate with leading minds from the California Endowment, Price Charities, and the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and explore two communities: City Heights and Diamond Neighborhood, where different strategies for connecting funders with disenfranchised groups and individuals will be evaluated.

Learning objectives:

• Understand some of the core aspects inherent in place-based philanthropy and the broad spectrum of approaches foundations can adopt in their strategy
• Analyze financial models for place-based philanthropy and their implications in a range of communities
• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of place-based philanthropy and the challenges it is best suited to address

Moderator: Grant Oliphant, President/CEO, The Pittsburgh Foundation
Speakers: Matthew Hervey, Community Development, Price Charities, Virginia Mosqueda, Program Manager, The California Endowment, Reginald Jones, President & CEO, Jacobs Family Foundation,

7. Barrio Logan: The Importance of Understanding Place, Culture, and Reality

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

Everyone benefits when the agencies and foundations that support children’s development better coordinate their efforts and address children’s needs more holistically. During this tour, you'll hear from and exchange ideas with state advocates and local organizations that promote and provide comprehensive, integrated services. See how Monarch School -- that serves K-12 grade students impacted by homelessness -- addresses the needs of the whole child and thus maximizes its programs impact and increases their return on investment. Experience the immersive culture of the Barrio Logan neighborhood as you visit Chicano Park’s internationally recognized urban art and murals. You will have an opportunity to embrace the undeniable sense of identity that permeates through the region while considering the importance of establishing such strength of character on the community level.

Learning objectives:

• Understanding the importance of using a holistic, child lens that focuses on integrated services and opportunities
• Increasing knowledge on how to access and use data to help create integrated strategies
• Being aware of the challenges of building strategies across silos and potential ways to address these challenges both in the context of a community organization and funder
• Valuing the importance of the local, cultural context

Moderator: Jessica Mindnich, Director of Research, Children Now
Speakers: Erin Spiewak, Chief Executive Officer, Monarch School, Terri Lapinsky, Chief Operating Officer/Programs, MAAC Project, Ben Avey, Manager of Government & Media Relations, Family Health Centers of San Diego

8. Balboa Park: A Collaborative Hub for Art, Science, and Culture

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

Through the real-life experience of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, you will evaluate the advantages and challenges of bringing together 27 art, science, and cultural institutions within the largest urban cultural park in the nation. Later on, you’ll split into smaller groups to explore select museums and from their model consider how cultural institutions use the arts to connect with diverse local communities, encourage accessibility of their museums to all populations, and ensure their long-term sustainability by maximizing donor gifts.

Learning objectives:

• Investigate the challenges and advantages of creating a collaborative for arts, culture, and science
• Enhance your ability to make the case for tapping the expertise of the collective through collaboration, as well as the financial and human capacity required to support it
• Reflect on ways to increase community engagement, accessibility to the arts, and connecting donors to the sustainability of the cultural institutions that they love

Moderator: Peter Comiskey, Executive Director, Balboa Park Collaborative
Speakers: Peter K. Ellsworth, President, The Legler Benbough Foundation, Bob Kelly, President & CEO, The San Diego Foundation,Keely Bamberg, AVP, Donor Experience & Engagement, The San Diego Foundation, Joaquin Ortiz, Director of Education and Innovation, Museum of Photographic Arts, Micah Parzen, Director, San Diego Museum of Man

This Learning Tour includes walking through Balboa Park and may not be suitable for those with limited mobility.

9. Pathways to Reintegrating Our Veterans in Communities

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

Military veterans make up approximately 13% of the population in San Diego County, many of whom experience obstacles when reintegrating into civilian life. During this Learning Tour, visit Workshops for Warriors, an exemplary employment training program dedicated to training, certifying, and placing veterans into manufacturing careers at no cost to the veteran. Meet local nonprofit leaders and discuss insights that are helping our veterans transition and reintegrate through housing, education, job training, and mental health services.

As you participate in this learning tour, you’ll have chance to:

• Understand veterans' diverse levels of needs and how programs can strategically match the complexity and comprehensiveness of these needs as veterans transition to civilian life
• Share best practices on how your community foundation is supporting active military personnel, veterans, and their families

Moderator: Christy Wilson , Executive Director, Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, Speakers: Debbie Anderson, Programs Manager, Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, Phil Landis, President & CEO, Veterans Village of San Diego, Greg Anglea, Director of Major Gifts, California State University at San Marcos, Maurice Wilson, President / Executive Director, National Veterans Transition Services, Inc

10. Transforming Our Approaches to Addressing Homelessness

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

Providing services to the homeless is a cost-effective way to address the escalating issue of homelessness throughout the nation. Tour Connections Housing, an exemplary program that incorporates joint services from dozens of community partners to provide a comprehensive and coordinated resource for San Diego’s homeless population. Join a conversation with key leaders in this area to get a fresh perspective on what it takes to build a community where everyone has a place to rest their head.

Learning objectives:

• Learn about how a national movement on ending homelessness connects to innovative local models
• Understand the history and process of aligning resources and partners across philanthropy, business, healthcare providers, community organizations, and government that led to the Connections Housing model
• Study innovative partnership models that the Connections Housing program employs to provide its services and reduce homelessness

Moderator: Jessica Venegas, Director of Strategic Partnerships, 100,000 Homes
Speakers: Shaina Gross, VP, Impact Strategies and Mobilization, United Way of San Diego County, Jennifer LeSar, CEO and President, LeSar Development Consultants, Gretchen Kinney Newsom, Principal and Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs, LeSar Development Consultants, Jessica Wishan, Director, Community Engagement, PATH - Connections Housing Downtown San Diego, Anne Miskey, Executive Director, Funders Together to End Homelessness

11. Environmental Conservation of the San Diego Bay

Download the Issue Brief for this Learning Tour

This tour will take you to the beautiful San Diego Bay, where The San Diego Foundation’s investment in critical research is addressing the effects of climate change as part of its Climate Initiative, including collaboration between philanthropy, academia, enterprise, and local governments to institute a Sea Level Rise Adaptation Strategy. The Adaptation Strategy is just one example of the ways local members are partnering to ensure San Diego’s natural treasures can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Learning objectives:

• Understand how a foundation’s investment in research and commitment to communicate data can be a powerful lever for change
• Learn more about the impacts of climate change - specifically as it relates to a local community – and contemplate how to engage diverse stakeholders in critical environmental dialogue
• Examine the challenges of bringing together individuals from academia, philanthropy, and government to collectively work towards a common vision

Moderators: Nicola Hedge, Director, Climate Initiative, The San Diego Foundation, Matt Bogoshian, Senior Policy Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OCSPP
Speakers: Adrienne Vargas, Chief Giving Officer, Vice President Charitable Giving and Donor Experience & Engagement, The San Diego Foundation, Bruce G. Blakley, Former Board Chair, The San Diego Foundation, Emily Young, Ph.D., Vice President, Environment, The San Diego Foundation, Dr. Rick Gersberg, Professor and Head, Division of Environmental Health, San Diego State University, Graduate School of Public Health, Brian Holland, Climate Program Director, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, Cody Hooven, Senior Environmental Specialist, Port of San Diego, Peter Kennedy, Environmental Program Manager, Navy Region Southwest, Paul Manasjan, Director, Environmental Affairs, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority

This Learning Tour includes a two-mile walking tour (round-trip) and may not be suitable for those with limited mobility.