In This Issue

• Note From Thrive's Executive Director

• Capacity Building Updates
• Civic Participation Updates
• COAD Updates
• Spotlights & Recaps
• All Upcoming Thrive Events 
• Are You A Member of the Nonprofit Alliance?

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Note From Thrive's Executive Director

Dear Thrive Community, 

This new year, we recommit to working through and alongside our incredible community partners. At Thrive, we’ve learned all too well the wisdom of the African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” 

This sums up our Thriving Nonprofit Workforce Initiative created in partnership with Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Since its launch, a Steering Committee made up of leaders from LifeMoves, JobTrain, AbilityPath, NovaWorks, Samaritan House, Stanford, and other amazing nonprofits and partners have been meeting to address recruitment, retention, and overall nonprofit employee well-being - a few of the top challenges that emerged in our Nonprofit Landscape Report. Together, we have developed an HR Learning Series that will be taught by many of these same leaders, on topics ranging from compensation, to onboarding, to “managing the dreams” of your employees. The first in this series will be “How to Be a Dream Manager to Build a Strong Organizational Culture,” a luncheon and training led by Rafael Avendaño, Executive Director of Redwood City Together, held on February 21 at CZI’s Community Space. 

We also continue on this theme with our upcoming Partnerships in Education Summit co-hosted with the San Mateo County Office of Education. We are so grateful to Nancy Magee, County Superintendent of Schools, and her team for committing to co-hosting this important Summit with Thrive annually. This year’s theme is “Elevating Racial Justice in San Mateo County,” and it builds on the work of Thrive & SVCN’s recent Nonprofit Racial Justice Summit featuring Angela Glover Blackwell.

Thrive’s civic participation work continues as it always has, in partnership with trusted community messengers. We are knee-deep in election season and making sure to elevate nonprofit voices so that they are clearly heard by all candidates in our local races. We are grateful to our partners Leadership Council San Mateo County, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and many other local organizations for helping us bring a series of candidate forums to you, both live and streaming. 

Thank you again to our partners for your trust and leadership. We look forward to continuing our walk alongside you in the year to come. 

In Partnership,

Georgia D. Farooq, Executive Director

Amplifying Impact: Capacity Building Updates

Thriving Nonprofit Workforce Initiative

Thrive Alliance is excited to have partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to launch this special initiative to:

• Raise awareness of the workforce development challenges facing local nonprofits
• Generate and implement practical and creative recruitment solutions tailored to our community
• Support nonprofits in the recruitment and retention of a paid and volunteer workforce

This series, hosted at the CZI Community Space, will include events that bring nonprofits, stakeholders, and the workforce together, in addition to essential human resource trainings to support nonprofits.

Upcoming HR Learning Series sessions:

• How to Be a Dream Manager to Build a Strong Organizational Culture
• Optimizing Benefits for Candidate Attraction & Retention
• Creative & Equitable Recruitment
• Community Partnerships for Candidate Pipeline Development
• Onboarding and Orientation

HR Learning Series First Session

How to Be a Dream Manager to Build a Strong Organizational Culture

Our first HR Learning Series session will feature key elements of fostering a robust and energized organizational culture and a fulfilling and positive environment for both current and future employees as well as yourself. 

Summit for Partnerships in Education: Elevating Racial Justice

Thrive Alliance, The San Mateo County Office of Education, and Stanford Haas Center for Public Service are proud to host The Summit for Partnerships in Education: Elevating Racial Justice in SMC on Thursday, February 15, from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm.

This summit will bring together educators, community leaders, and advocates to discuss and collaborate on ways to promote equity and inclusivity in our schools and community. 

By attending, you'll have the opportunity to hear from community-based organizations, schools, and districts engage in thought-provoking discussions, attend informative workshops, and network with like-minded individuals who are passionate about fostering a more equitable education system. Together, we can work towards creating a brighter future for all students in San Mateo County.

Summit Goals:

• Sharing Best Practices: Discover and exchange innovative strategies and successful approaches that have positively impacted education and fostered inclusivity for community-based organizations, schools, and districts.
• Making Connections: Forge meaningful connections with fellow educators, community leaders, and advocates who share a common passion for creating a more equitable education system. 
• Joy: Infuse joy into the pursuit of equity and inclusivity. The Summit is not only a forum for important discussions and workshops but also a celebration of the positive impact we are already making. 

📢 Nonprofit Advocacy Series

Thrive Alliance and SVCN are proud to have launched the Nonprofit Advocacy Series, which will equip nonprofit organizations with the information and tools needed to become effective advocates for our communities. This series of trainings aims to teach nonprofits the importance of engaging in policy advocacy, how to access and utilize various advocacy tools and models, and the process of engaging stakeholders and developing strategies to advocate at all levels of government.

In the spirit of SVCN and Thrive Alliance’s pledge to center racial equity and build collective impact, these trainings will empower participants to work together and amplify community voices to build power and uplift thriving and equitable communities.

Upcoming Advocacy Series Sessions:

• February
• March
• April
• May
• June

Click below for details on our Nonprofit Advocacy Series in January. 

Civic Participation

Election Season: Are You Prepared?

Candidate Forums Are Here!

Uniting Against Disaster

Thrive RISE

(Resilience in Shared Emergencies)

Throughout the last year, COAD has been steadily building partnerships both within and outside of San Mateo County to push forth new projects and advocacy initiatives. Each month, we highlight one resilience issue at our general meeting and invite organizations from across sectors to get informed and engaged. January's general meeting will focus on cold weather's impacts to the body and how the County's Inclement Weather Program aims to reduce cold impacts to unhoused individuals. Throughout the Spring, we will be offering a series of free training on Incident Command System (ICS), Continuity of Operations for small businesses and farmers, and personal preparedness. Stay tuned for more details on these opportunities!

Join our Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) mailing list, or attend an upcoming Thrive RISE monthly meeting to learn about risk reduction initiatives that other organizations are leading and opportunities to collaborate with other network partners. For upcoming Thrive RISE events, visit our website. If you have questions about Thrive RISE, please contact Ana Miscolta. 

Spotlights & Recaps

We Loved Seeing You at the Nonprofit Racial Justice Summit! Here's What You Missed If You Couldn't Make It

Big smiles from our incredible speakers and the Thrive & SVCN Teams

Thrive Alliance and Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits (SVCN) successfully hosted our third annual Nonprofit Racial Justice Summit: Partnership and Collective Responsibility on November 15, 2023!  The event was a dynamic blend of laughter, dance, networking, and insightful learning from our esteemed keynote and panel speakers, as captured in the accompanying image.

If you want to check out the reflections and commitments from participants, please click here.

We are offering the recording for free, but please consider donating to either of our organizations so that we can continue to fund the Nonprofit REDI Hub and bring programming like this at free or low cost for others. Watch the recording here. 

Holiday Spirit Shared & Memories Made at Our Annual Holiday Mix & Mingle

Thrive's Executive Director, Georgia Farooq with Pamela Estes and Sheila Cepero

from Redwood City Parks & Arts Foundation

Thank You, San Mateo Credit Union (SMCU)!

In a commitment to community support, SMCU pledged to donate 25 cents for every card transaction made by SMCU members on International Credit Union Day, on October 19, 2023, resulting in a $12,000 award for Thrive Alliance.

We are incredibly grateful to be selected as the donation recipient for International Credit Union Day, and we are honored to continue our mission to promote and support the nonprofit sector with the help of this generous support. 

Members of Thrive staff & board hold up the awarded check with SMCU's President and CEO, Wade Painter and Community Relations Manager, Elmer Martínez Saballos

Meeting This Year’s Leadership Corps!

Leadership Council San Mateo County’s Human Services Day

Bryan Neider, CEO, AbilityPath, Rita Mancera, Executive Director, Puente, and Georgia Farooq, Executive Director, Thrive Alliance

Bryan Neider, CEO, AbilityPath addressing audience members

All Upcoming Thrive Events

Candidate Forum

District 4, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors

Tues, January 30, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, In-Person

Register Here

Register Here

Are You a Member of the Nonprofit Alliance?

We are extremely proud of our membership, which represents the best of San Mateo County's nonprofit, public sector, corporate, and philanthropic community.

In addition to providing critical support for the local nonprofit sector, Thrive membership offers many tangible benefits. Thrive members are able to:

• Attend exclusive events to connect with nonprofit, philanthropic, business, and civic leaders

• Share important organization updates and event announcements with our Thrive community network

• Promote job and volunteer opportunities to find the right candidates faster

• Represent their organization to potentially hundreds of prospective board members

• Connect with nonprofit executives at exclusive Leadership Circle Luncheons

• Participate in advocacy on important issues that impact local nonprofits and communities, including increasing outreach and education for elections

• Take advantage of special offers and complimentary benefits to do more with your time and resources

• And much more!

If you have any questions about Thrive Membership, please email Keirstan. Let's explore how we can partner to make a bigger impact together!