Nicolassa Galvez: Long Beach Gives started as a graduate school project of Julie Meenan, Executive Director of the Josephine S. Gumbiner Foundation (JSGF). With the support of the JSGF Board and in collaboration with The Nonprofit Partnership, a steering committee was formed in March 2018. Early founding organizations included: Long Beach Community Foundation, The Rudolph J. and Daphne A. Munzer Foundation, The California Endowment, The Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation, and the Arts Council for Long Beach. Along with the Josephine S. Gumbiner Foundation, these foundations guided and supported the creation of a new online, citywide, fundraising effort.

NG: I started at the end of February, two weeks before the pandemic hit. Raising money for the 150-plus local nonprofits is our goal, but more importantly, supporting them during this stressful time has taken precedent.

Beyond fundraising, the mission of Long Beach Gives is to inspire the community to make a difference by supporting the exemplary work of nonprofits in Long Beach. In addition to the 24-hour giving day, participating nonprofits are provided an array of training, workshops, and online resources that cater to all levels, from novice to advanced marketers and fundraisers, to ensure they have the tools and resources to run a successful giving day. Many of our participants find social media and marketing training helps their fundraising plans for year-round giving.

NG: The community needs to support nonprofits in Long Beach because they are our safety net, they make our community more vibrant, and they make Long Beach the reason we choose to come here to live, work, and play. This year we have 15 categories of service areas that the nonprofits fall under, such as food security, environment, animal welfare, arts and culture, seniors, and individuals with special needs, among many more. You can browse the 150-plus nonprofits by these categories, their city council district, and their budget size.

NG: Millennials are very passionate about causes they believe in, not only with their money but with their time. They also make up nearly a quarter of our population, and nonprofits must continue to broaden their donor bases to make sure they develop relationships with the next generation. Long Beach Gives supports that effort by offering an online crowdfunding campaign. Last year, we had an optional checkout question asking whether the donor was under the age of 35. Of the 46 percent of respondents who replied, 26 percent were under 35, which is on par with the population levels.

This year, we have a youth committee that develops content for the @LongBeachGives Instagram account and the members share that content with their networks. They research causes and nonprofits that are important to them and that need assistance in our city. So far, they have presented content on social justice and mental health, and they have planned a discussion about the environment accompanied by a video responding to our hashtag campaign #WhyIGive.

NG: I think that my views of the impact, potential impact, and barriers preventing potential artists of color in Long Beach affect my worldview in all matters of life. So yes, it does influence my role in Long Beach Gives. However, this year was tough with building a new website, overseeing the integration of a fundraising software platform, onboarding 150+ nonprofits, developing training, marketing, and information assets for all our stakeholders, and essentially defining what a new role for Long Beach Gives is in returning after a successful inaugural year in 2019.

Arts organizations do reasonably well during Long Beach Gives; the 19 nonprofit participants raised the most money last year, bringing in $129,000 and winning a good number of the giving day prizes we offer... I assume much of this can be attributed to one of our founding steering committee members, Griselda Suarez, the Executive Director of the Arts Council.

I am also on the Board of Directors of the Arts Council and recently accepted the Community Arts Projects committee co-chair, which is being redefined this year. In light of recent events and the Arts Council's continuing evolvement, the CAP committee has been redefined as a decentralized structure to support artists in our community rather than to direct their practice. Historically, this committee has been led by white men, and currently, it is led by two Latinas with a Latina staff member as our liaison. The CAP committee is working on a Black Arts/Artist group for Black Lives Matter, Long Beach Suffragists, Cambodia Town Mural Project, and the ongoing archiving of community art in Long Beach. Once Long Beach Gives is over, I can direct more attention to the new and developing role.

NG: The CRayProject is a Black empowerment group for artists that tackles controversial topics through a variety of artistic mediums like dance, music, and film. I also closely follow Jose M. Loza, a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in arts advocacy and public art engagement. He has been very vocal about recent events in local politics and the global uprising. Both the CRayProject and Jose M. Loza resonate with me as they are artists of color who enable us to reimagine the world.