On February 14, my team and I had a chance to introduce The Conrad Prebys Foundation strategy plan to you our partners via a webinar. Over the course of the two weeks following, we took our plan to Oceanside, Lemon Grove, Chula Vista, and San Diego to meet with you, present the plan, and obtain real feedback from you all on what resonates, gather your advice, and plan the journey ahead. It has been a privilege to engage with you, see current grantees, and meet new organizations.
From our engagements, I am struck by a few realizations:
We engaged approximately 650 individuals via the webinar and community meetings. I know your time is precious. Thank you for giving us your time and insights.
The planned development and its implementation are dependent on building strong relationships with artists, researchers, healthcare providers, civic leaders, indigenous nations, BIPOC communities, civic leaders, youth, and many more. We realize our goals could not be achieved without you, nor would we want to achieve them alone.
This work is overlapping and intersectional – no single grant or partnership will be enough to strengthen our region. Thus we know we will have to partner in a number of ways from co-grantmaking, to impact investments, advocacy, and learning and sharing.
The advice you all gave us resonated. While you are eager to be in a relationship with the Foundation, you support our learning to ensure our investments are impactful and we build relationships at the speed of trust. Your feedback urged us to engage particularly in low-income neighborhoods, speak with front-line workers, and fund capacity building.
We hear you loud and clear. Thank you for the names, contacts, and organizations you suggest that we meet. Thank you also for urging us to expand our own staff so that we can carry out the work and engage with you regularly.
For a recap of our learnings please watch the video here and share it with those in your community to further spread the spirit of collaboration.
Thank you to our videographer James Keckes and his team!
Photos from all four events are available below. We thank our photographers Melissa Jacobs, Bob Ross, and David Estrin for their beautiful work.
MiraCosta College Community Meeting (February 23, 2023):
Living Coast Discovery Center (February 27, 2023):
transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project (February 28, 2023):
San Diego College of Continuing Education (March 1, 2023):
Thank you also to the host locations, AV teams, and catering crews who welcomed us with open arms and professional service. Without you, these community gatherings would not have happened.
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