SCG's 2024 Policy Conference: Long-Term Visions, Lasting Change

Achieving long-term sustainable change requires visionary leadership. SCG is proud to host Monica Lozano and Julián Castro for our opening fireside conversation, which will set the stage for our 2024 policy conference! Julián and Monica will discuss their roles and accomplishments in the business, government, media, and nonprofit sectors. They will also explore how philanthropy can engage in visionary leadership to tackle today's most pressing issues, such as housing and homelessness and artificial intelligence, and advance policies that outlast administrative changes and economic shifts.

A unified vision and shared values are foundational to any successful policy agenda. But how do we translate these ideals into a tangible agenda that serves the communities we work with and support? This plenary session will examine how government, philanthropy, and nonprofits can collaborate as equal partners to turn our long-term visions into reality and tackle critical issues such as health, housing, and economic opportunity across our regions from the Inland to Los Angeles.

Research suggests that there is currently a 30% awareness level of AI, especially in underrepresented communities. As we continue to navigate a fast-paced, high-tech world, our sector can play a role in creating a more equitable technology ecosystem. This session will provide an overview of the impact of AI and learn more about the opportunities, challenges, and risks of AI. 

California is facing a daunting budget deficit that state leaders must move urgently to resolve to enact a budget for 2024-25. This session will provide an overview of the current state budget and its implications for key program areas across California. Our panelists will also explore the medium- to longer-term policies that better prepare the state to weather future shifts in economic conditions, such as utilizing the rainy fund, creating an equitable non-partisan budget, raising revenue, and the role of philanthropy in ensuring that our state does not scale back on the progress it has already made.

Today, only 4% of all philanthropic dollars go specifically to fund issues affecting women and girls, and only 1% of funding goes toward funding issues impacting gender-expansive and LGBTQ+ communities. In the face of continued gender inequities in our region and state, philanthropy has an opportunity to deepen its involvement and investments in gender justice efforts. To help elevate our region's most pressing gender disparities, the California Budget and Policy Center has developed the California Women's Well-Being Index, a composite measure ranking each of California's 58 counties for an overall women's well-being score, consisting of five "dimensions": Health, Personal Safety, Employment & Earnings, Economic Security, and Political Empowerment. This interactive breakout session will provide an overview of the California Women's Well-Being Index and explore how funders can use it to inform policy strategies that advance gender justice in California. Additionally, this interactive session will allow participants to work in small groups to discuss how they can implement gender equity in their work.

Large-scale change requires cross-sector partnerships and policy-focused investments that advance community-driven solutions. However, even though foundations of all types can incorporate policy and advocacy into their grantmaking and priorities, it remains one of the least popular pledge types for organizations to make. This session will be an interactive workshop where attendees will sit down with representatives from various foundations to learn about their experiences implementing successful policy-driven grantmaking, ask questions about incorporating this lens into their organization’s work, and collaborate with their peers on shared challenges. 

When nonprofits thrive, so do our communities. However, too often, nonprofits are required to spend excessive amounts of time and resources keeping their organizations afloat in a flood of administrative tasks and bureaucratic processes. Philanthropy can play a vital role in removing some of these burdensome and outdated roadblocks so nonprofits can focus on supporting communities and advancing their missions. This interactive breakout session will explore the innovative ways that several philanthropic and nonprofit advocates have approached the issue of long-term sustainability. Attendees will work alongside our speakers and their peers to develop their own definition of resilience and think through what their organizations can do to foster a more robust nonprofit sector.

A new fall ballot measure will provide LA County with the unique opportunity to establish the first-     ever guaranteed local revenue stream exclusively for housing production, preservation, and renter supports. The Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now Initiative is expected to qualify in April and will apply lessons learned from Measure H to future investments in homeless services and affordable housing, affordable housing preservation, and protection of low-income renters. This session will provide funders with a first look at the measure, its implications for Los Angeles and as a model for other counties, and how it incorporates lessons learned from Measure H. Join us to envision a long-term future that weaves public and private partnerships to address the root causes of homelessness in our region.

Philanthropy’s work has always been rooted in solving society’s long-standing issues. However, to finally attain long-term outcomes, we must build, share, and wield power alongside those most impacted by inequity to reshape our policies and systems. In our Closing Plenary Session, we will hear from a panel of leaders about how philanthropy, policymakers, and partners can align and help build community power. Our speakers will explore how funders can work with community leaders to build trust and provide opportunities to exercise public leadership, ensuring lasting and sustainable solutions.