Over the past two decades, the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center has emerged as a local and national leader in HIV/AIDS prevention as the epidemic has taken root in communities of color. As the center enters its 20th year, it is using its Flexible Leadership Award funds to heighten its national leadership role in the HIV movement and to strengthen its staff and board leadership as it prepares for the succession of its longtime executive director. Key activities include an innovative coaching program for board and staff leaders to build the capacity of the board to provide strategic direction for the organization and to serve as public leaders in reducing the stigma in Asian communities around issues of sexuality.

Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) has grown into one of California’s premier community-development agencies. The organization is highly regarded locally, and in the community development field nationally, for its success in engaging residents to retain the character and vitality of San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood, and to ensure that people of all income levels can live there. The Flexible Leadership Award grant is allowing CCDC to launch a “legacy project” in which the longtime executive director will document and share lessons he has learned from over three decades of community development work. The award also allows CCDC board and staff to clarify the organization’s future strategic direction and extends leadership development and mentoring to the next generation of CCDC’s staff who are coming up through the ranks.

Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth is San Francisco’s premier watchdog and advocate for children, youth and families. A key question at the heart of the organization’s award-winning work is how to build on its success from 30 years of policy wins to form an even stronger citywide, multiethnic constituency for children and youth. The Flexible Leadership Award grant is supporting a collaborative strategic-planning effort that engages staff and board leaders more deeply in setting its future course over the next three years. The grant funds are also being utilized for coaching and training for the new executive director, staff leaders and board. In this way, the grant award is being used to both invest in Coleman’s legacy and its future as an important voice in the city for low-income youth and families.

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is the premier training and consulting organization serving the nonprofit sector in the Bay Area. It is also recognized nationally for highlighting trends, such as the generational change in leadership, and the needs of nonprofits, particularly community-based organizations in communities of color. CompassPoint workshops and conferences attract more than 4,500 nonprofit staff and volunteers each year; its in-depth consulting services help nonprofits address key issues in areas from board development to succession planning. As CompassPoint celebrates its 30th year and undergoes a transition in its executive leadership, it is using its Flexible Leadership Award to engage the board and senior staff in charting its future course, strengthening “next-generation” leaders who are rising from its ranks, forming a new senior team, and hiring the next executive director who will provide leadership for the next phase in the life of this anchor organization in the Bay Area nonprofit community.

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) is one of the Bay Area’s most highly regarded community development corporations. Since 1975, EBALDC has helped keep Oakland affordable for low-income and immigrant families by developing over 1,000 affordable residential units and 250,000 square feet of space for community nonprofits and small businesses. EBALDC also helps low-income families build the assets they need to move out of poverty, and provides day-to-day help in such areas as food assistance, child care and senior services. As the organization celebrates its 30th year, and after many years of continued expansion and growth, it is using the Flexible Leadership Award to fortify its strategies and leadership. EBALDC is engaging its board and staff in clarifying it’s strategic direction, forming a new senior leadership team, assessing the role of its board and making improvements to its senior-staffing infrastructure.

Founded 30 years ago, the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC) is nationally recognized for combining high-quality youth development with a community organizing program that engages 500 Asian, Latino and African American families in advocating for the interests of low-income children and families in Oakland. As EBAYC considers plans for growth and expansion over the next five years, it is using its Flexible Leadership Award grant to build staff and board leadership through an innovative team-coaching program. Among the strategic priorities at the heart of EBAYC’s leadership work is strengthening the next generation of senior leaders, succession planning on the staff and board, and developing a new governance model that supports engagement of grassroots community members in its board governance.

The Gay-Straight Alliance Network was founded in 1998 to empower youth activists to start Gay-Straight Alliance clubs (GSAs) and fight homophobia in schools. From 40 GSA clubs in the Bay Area in 1999, the network has seen explosive growth, now numbering over 500 clubs across the state, and is on track to grow 250 more in the next three years. In this short time, GSA Network has also become a political force in the Safe Schools Movement, helping to change school board policies in districts across the state that protect kids from harassment. With support from the Flexible Leadership Award program, GSA Network is working to strengthen the capacity of its executive director, senior team and youth-led board to grow its California-based clubs, while also managing the transition from being a relatively small start-up to an organization of considerable size and reach. It is also exploring how to develop a scalable business model for taking its work to a national level.

Founded in 1958, Girls Incorporated of Alameda County each year works with thousands of girls—86% of whom are girls of color—to improve their academic and leadership skills and broaden their sense of what is possible. Over the past decade, Girls Inc. has established itself as the EastBay’s premier girls’ organization, expanding from its San Leandro base to provide after-school programs in Oakland’s low-income communities. Girls Inc. is using its Flexible Leadership Award to prepare for a critical transition of its longtime executive director. It is clarifying its strategic priorities and vision, particularly in light of new federal and state initiatives that support after-school programs. The grant funds have also supported bolstering board and staff capacity to expand Girls, Inc.’s funding base and provided leadership coaching for the staff and board.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a highly regarded national leader in the movement to secure and protect the rights and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their families. NCLR enjoys a growing reputation for winning precedent-setting legal cases, advocating for the rights of gays and lesbians to marry, fighting homophobia in sports, and providing information and training about legal issues affecting the LGBT community. As it plans for its 30th anniversary celebration, and as it ramps up for continuing battles for marriage equality, NCLR is using its Flexible Leadership Award grant to develop the leadership capacity it needs to manage its significant growth in recent years. It is building a senior team, including key leadership roles in communications and fundraising, developing its long-term strategic priorities, and developing plans for staff and board succession that will pave the way for its next stage of development.

Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF), a proven leader and innovator in the field of community development, provides the financing and expertise needed to provide low-income housing, economic development and vital human services to low-income neighborhoods in the Bay Area. Following the adoption of an ambitious five-year strategic plan, NCCLF is seeking to double its lending capacity, expand its geographic reach and significantly broaden its technical-assistance offerings. The Flexible Leadership Award is supporting NCCLF’s work to build the stronger board and leadership team it needs to achieve these goals, to strengthen its ability to retain highly skilled financial professionals and to develop a more visible profile so it can raise more capital from investors and lending institutions.

Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) is a federation of 51 congregations and school and community organizations representing 40,000 families. OCO has achieved significant victories for Oakland’s low-income communities using a faith-based organizing approach that unites people across religious, racial, ethnic and economic lines. OCO is highly regarded for its parent organizing for school reform and its work in promoting community development, and has been a leader in national community organizing circles for decades. The Flexible Leadership Award, which complements an award from The James Irvine Foundation, supports OCO’s efforts to broaden and build the next generation of leadership within OCO. The grant also supports identifying the changes OCO needs to make in its board and staff leadership to cultivate deeper engagement of African American leaders in its work. The award is also helping OCO strengthen its staff and board leaders to become adept media spokespeople.

San Francisco Organizing Project (SFOP) engages low- and moderate-income residents of the City to participate in and shape the public debate on the most pressing needs of families in San Francisco, including education and affordable housing. Over the next three to five years, SFOP has ambitious goals to increase its presence and reputation throughout the City and win significant high-profile policy victories. The Flexible Leadership Award grant is helping SFOP meet those goals by strengthening the leadership and governance capacities of board members; creating opportunities for the executive director and organizers to engage in strategic thinking and planning; deepening board and staff leaders’ skills in faith-based organizing in diverse communities; and building the communications and fundraising capacity of SFOP’s staff, board and community leaders.

One of the nation’s most accomplished community development corporations, The Unity Council is committed to enriching the quality of life of families primarily in the Fruitvale District of Oakland. Among its signature projects is Fruitvale Transit Village, an early mixed-use development near rapid transit. The Flexible Leadership Award is helping the Unity Council’s new executive director align the staff and board behind a new vision and plan for the future of the organization. The Unity Council also is using the grant to strengthen senior staff capacity, and to restructure and engage its board in advancing the strategic priorities for The Unity Council, including fund development.

Youth Radio provides high-quality youth-development experiences in the Bay Area through hands-on practice, working relationships with industry professionals, and the production of award-winning programming. Youth Radio students learn the basics of broadcasting and journalism and are supported to succeed in school and life. With a pending move to a building with state-of-the-art production facilities in downtown Oakland, Youth Radio will be more visible and accessible to more low-income young people. The Flexible Leadership Award is helping Youth Radio build the creative and organizational leadership it needs to realize its ambitious vision for growth and to build a strong cadre of next-generation leaders.