Spring 2003

connections
Linking People, Programs and Resources
SPRING 2003
© 2 0 0 3 Vo l . 6 , N o . 3
Grants Support Activism in the Wake of a Tragedy
By connecting Foundation donors and a documentary film
producer seeking funding, the staff of the East Bay
Community Foundation has helped sustain the dialogue on
fighting hate crimes.
The story begins in the small East Bay town of Newark, the
center of both tragic and courageous events over the past
year: the murder of transgender teen, Eddie "Gwen" Araujo,
the production of "The Laramie Project" at Newark Memorial
High School, and the arrival of anti-gay protesters from
Kansas. The media converged to tell Newark’s story.
In early November, Patrice O'Neill of The Working Group
contacted Foundation staff seeking funding to film events
in Newark. O’Neill is one of the producers of the awardwinning PBS documentary "Not in Our Town," which
documents how residents of Billings, Montana, responded
to an upsurge in hate violence. The story has become a
model for groups across the nation.
The Foundation’s Senior Donor Services Officer Joan Cosper
brought O’Neill together with Foundation donors Jon Logan
and Kevin Woodward. Logan and Woodward committed to
supporting the costs of documenting the play’s opening and
Araujo’s memorial on the spot, three days after O’Neill’s
original request and one day before opening night.
O’Neill has placed Newark’s story on their web site,
www.pbs.org/niot, to engage a broader, national audience
of citizens and educators in a discussion about how a community can come together in the face of violent hate crimes.
"We were able to capture remarkable footage last November
but only because Joan, Jon and Kevin all saw the need to act
quickly," O’Neill said.
Later, Logan expressed his feelings about being engaged by
the Foundation in this project: "The situation is a horrible
one, yet, there was an opportunity to do something
important and I'm glad we were able to help. We knew we
had to do something after hearing about Gwen's death; we
also were aware that Newark is not our community. Joan’s
phone call was a great answer to our desire to act."
Actors from Newark Memorial High School’s production of “The Laramie
Project” attend the hate crimes discussion at the Foundation.
The Working Group has joined forces with KQED to tell the
Newark story and other examples of community response to
hate crimes in a special called "Not In Our Town: Northern
California Resists Hate." They are currently raising funds to
continue production.
In January, the Foundation awarded O’Neill a small grant
and the use of our conference center to hold a discussion
about creating a more unified response to hate crimes in the
Bay Area. The event on February 20 was hosted by Cynthia
Gouw of KQED and attended by more than 100 community
leaders and activists.
Students from Newark Memorial High School spoke
passionately about how Araujo’s murder had showed them
that they had a role in speaking out against hate. Oakland
city attorney, John Russo, talked about efforts by Yemeni
store owners and others to create a more tolerant environment in the city. An employee at a local bank shared her
hopes of creating a Not in Our Company movement at work.
O’Neill was heartened by the turn out at the discussion. She
added, "This is the first time since we started Not in Our
Town eight years ago that we are seeing renewed energy
and action directed at fighting hate crimes in the East Bay."
M I L L I O N S TO M E E T
COMMUNITY NEEDS
Donors to the East Bay Community
Foundation gave generously during the
first half of the Foundation’s fiscal year.
Despite the weak economy and the
specter of war on the horizon, donors
added more than $20 million to their
charitable funds by the end of 2002.
"Our donors understand that many nonprofits are struggling to meet rising
needs during these tough economic
times, and they have responded by
making gifts that will benefit the East
Bay for years to come," said Mike Howe,
Foundation president.
In addition to making gifts to current
funds, many East Bay residents created
new funds at the Foundation.
Roland Williams, tight end for the
Oakland Raiders, established a fund for
a football and life skills camp at a high
school in the East Bay this summer.
A fund also was opened by the Keiretsu
Forum, a collaboration of individuals who
provide early stage and seed capital to
companies. The fund will support
charities sponsored by Keiretsu Forum
members who contribute resources, time,
talent and in-kind gifts.
The Chris Mashburn Family Fund was
established in memory of Chris by his
family and friends. In honor of Chris’ love
of sports, particularly baseball, the fund
will provide support for youth sports.
Foundation program officers Bob Uyeki (left) and Diane Sanchez celebrate with Los Cenzontles
founder Eugene Rodriguez.
Congratulations Los Cenzontles!
Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center has been providing a rich cultural
experience for Bay Area youth for more than 10 years. The group of artists
based in San Pablo has trained thousands of children of all ages in traditional
Mexican music and dance.
East Bay Community Foundation was not surprised when Los Cenzontles
received a "Coming Up Taller" award from a consortium of national arts
funding groups, including the President’s Committee on the Arts and
Humanities. The Foundation and its donors have been Los Cenzontles
funders from the beginning. In the early ‘90s, the Foundation provided
seed funding for the fledging project that grew out of the heart and mind
of Eugene Rodriquez, artist and founding director.
"The East Bay Community Foundation was the first foundation to support
Los Cenzontles in its infancy," Rodriguez said. "They put faith in our potential
and thus we have strived to prove that their courageous support of
community driven initiatives helps to ensure the vitality and diversity of the
arts in the East Bay."
First Lady Laura Bush presented the award to Los Cenzontles in December
for their Community Heritage Project. The project introduces youth to
traditional arts as a method for fighting gangs and drugs and building
community identity.
For more information on Los Cenzontles, visit their web site at
www.loscenzontles.com.
O N L I N E S E RV I C E S F O R F U N D A D V I S O R S E X PA N D
Donor Express, the Foundation’s Internet–based tool for fund advisors, now allows advisors to research nonprofits in
our database.
Many fund advisors already use Donor Express to check their fund balances and make grant recommendations online.
Now the new services allow fund advisors to expand their charitable giving.
You can search our database for nonprofit organizations that work in a field of interest to you. For example, you can
choose to browse "arts & culture" organizations in Contra Costa County. After a list of organizations meeting those criteria appears, you can click on an organization name, learn more about the organization’s work and even link to their
web site.
If you have not used Donor Express or you have questions about it, please call Ginny Hooper, vice president of Donor
Services, at 510/208.0822 or write to her at [email protected]. She will help you get started.