News of Strengthening Philanthropy

The Innocent Justice Foundation (TIJF) was founded in 2007 by a small passionate group of volunteers who wanted to make a difference by supporting the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Teams across the country.

In 2009, TIJF partnered with the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Commanders, and leading mental health experts in the child sexual abuse field to develop and provide one of the first comprehensive and foundational training programs in the United States for officer wellness, to address and mitigate vicarious trauma. We have continually served the 61 Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Teams across the nation with SHIFT – Supporting Heroes in Mental Health Foundational Training since it was created 12 years ago.

In 2019, taking what we have learned from SHIFT, we developed HART – Helping Advocates Rebound from Trauma, to provide mental health and wellness training and support for any professional exposed to traumatic events and materials, or victim stories. People who work in first-responder professions and victim services are encouraged to learn what vicarious trauma is and how to mitigate its effect in their lives.

Psycho-educational programs are crucial to helping exposed individuals learn how to recognize and cope with problems before they become severe or permanent. We help to keep highly trained people in their jobs. TIJF’s programs are here to help, because losing any professional to burn-out, severe depression, substance abuse or suicide is unnecessary, tragic, and preventable. To learn more about what we do please visit www.innocentjustice.org

The Foundation for Developmental Disabilities  is the only organization in San Diego and Imperial Counties whose sole focus is to provide funding for innovative and start up programs to enhance the lives of people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since 1986, the Foundation has provided over $7,000,000 to fund programs for organizations including Options for All, Autism Society SD, Partnership with Industry, Home of Guiding Hands, Noah Homes and Special Olympics as well as over $2,000,000 to directly assist clients of the San Diego Regional Center in emergency situations to avoid homelessness and provide necessities such as water and electricity.

The priority funding areas for the Foundation are housing, employment, family support and transportation. To address the extreme housing crisis especially for low-income housing for people with developmental disabilities, a few years ago the Foundation Board of Directors provided a grant for $700,000 to the Southern California Housing Collaborative to complete the funding package for a twelve-unit affordable housing project for the developmentally disabled. Pacifica at Playa del Sol in Otay Mesa includes 42 affordable apartments for qualifying tenants with 12-units specifically for residents with developmental disabilities – all of who are now occupied. Last year the Foundation provided a grant of $300,000 to the Southern California Housing Collaborative to complete the funding package for a ten-unit affordable housing project for the developmentally disabled at Countryside II (Girasol) Affordable Housing Project in El Centro (Imperial Valley).

During these unprecedented times, the Foundation has quickly pivoted our focus to assist clients at the San Diego Regional Center through our emergency help fund. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unimaginable hardships for these families and in many cases the families have had to choose whether to pay their rent or put food on the table. Since June of 2020, the Foundation has provided over $225,000 in emergency assistance grants ranging from $500-$1000 per client to help pay their rent, cover medical costs and help improve the quality of life of people with developmental disabilities in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

The Foundation for Developmental Disabilities is run by a passionate volunteer Board, a part time COO and two recently hired full time staff members. The Foundation staff are passionate about reaching out to smaller organizations that would otherwise be unaware of funding options and assisting them in the grant writing process. The philosophy of the Foundation is to help programs that are innovative as well as making a difference in the community and give them the extra push that could propel their work to reach a larger audience. That is why the Foundation is proud to fund smaller programs with grants ranging in size for $1500 to $100,000. The Foundation for Developmental Disabilities is proud to fund programs for low-income individuals who otherwise would not have the opportunity to be a part of the communities in which they live.

Every organization’s performance is the sum of its people. As such, the mission of Blair Search Partners is straightforward: source the highest caliber talent from across the nation on behalf of San Diego’s nonprofit sector.

Blair Search Partners is a retained executive search and recruiting firm, working exclusively with mission-driven organizations of all sizes and sectors. Clients retain Blair Search Partners to manage search engagements at every level, including c-suite, director, manager, and program/staff levels. While each search engagement is customized around the needs of the individual client organization, Blair Search Partners place equal emphasis on the candidate experience throughout the entire process. After all, today’s candidate could very well be tomorrow’s volunteer, donor, or board member!

Blair Search Partners doesn’t think of this as the business of recruiting: to Blair Search Partners, this is the business of community building.

Please visit Blair Search Partners at http://blairsearchpartners.com/ for more information about the firm and to view the current engagements.

NCPC (National Capital Planning Commission) Newsletter Feature by Lucy Romero, Torrey Pines Bank
Banking That’s Different for Local Nonprofits: Torrey Pines Bank

What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?
At Torrey Pines Bank, we are dedicated to supporting Southern California’s business and nonprofit communities – being a member of NCPC has proven to be tremendously valuable. NCPC educates and connects their members to many of our North County nonprofit organizations and the events they host are always well planned and executed, providing significant opportunities for businesses and nonprofit executives to connect. As a business banker with Torrey Pines, I am very much looking forward to continuing to meet many more local nonprofit leaders and understand their important efforts to help build thriving communities.

What is your Mission?
Founded by local business and financial experts, Torrey Pines Bank is uniquely positioned to offer a highly personalized banking experience with a focus on exceptional service, a broad range of solutions, a commitment to building relationships, and ready access to decision makers. That is our mission as an organization – and my personal mission as part of the team.

What do you offer to the community? What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?
We have a great deal of experience providing banking services for nonprofits, and we make it our business to know as much as possible about our clients across the Southern California economy. Each industry sector and profession has specific banking and financing needs, and our experts deliver financial solutions and services to meet – and exceed – those needs. Because Torrey Pines Bank is a subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation, a much-admired national banking company, we offer a full range of financial products and the robust lending capabilities businesses and nonprofits need to succeed.

What was your organization/company’s biggest accomplishment in the past six months – one year? What changes/opportunities have occurred due to COVID-19?
If you ask any of our clients, one of the most valuable differentiators that sets Torrey Pines apart is the care each of us takes to build personal relationships with our clients. We pride ourselves on being a relationship bank and throughout the last year especially, during the COVID-19 shutdowns across the state and country, we had to pivot like our customers and utilize technology in new ways to stay connected to our clients and help them meet new needs. Having a relationship-first foundation enabled us to be both responsive to and proactive about our clients’ needs while they dealt with unprecedented business changes.

Additionally, last year, Torrey Pines Bank committed nearly a half million dollars, as part of a larger $2 million contribution from Western Alliance Bancorporation to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on local communities across Southern California and strengthen those communities as they worked to emerge from the crisis. Torrey Pines Bank’s commitment has also been supporting longer-term efforts to strengthen communities and create resilience for low- and moderate-income families, including programs to prevent homelessness, provide continuum of care, and bolster affordable housing and economic development.

Have you made a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization/company and if so, how are you demonstrating it?
Beyond our commitment to our employee’s and clients’ needs, we also strive to be in tune with community needs as well. Our consistent contributions – including lending, investments, donations and volunteerism – to support education, affordable housing, economic development and human services, reflect our local roots and our commitment to building a better Southern California for generations to come. In fact, members of our team actively support nonprofit organizations, often serving on multiple boards and committees.

Our approach to community reinvestment also is expressed through attractive business banking services tailored to the needs of community nonprofits. Through our Foundation, we offer program-specific support to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that have their depository accounts with Torrey Pines Bank, primarily focusing on organizations and programs that provide affordable housing for low- or moderate-income individuals; community services targeted to low- or moderate-income individuals; education for low-income and at-risk students; economic development; revitalization or stabilization of low- or moderate-income areas; human services; or cultural and artistic enrichment in underserved communities.

Torrey Pines Bank is pleased to join other civic and business leaders across our region to take part in meaningful economic development support throughout Southern California – and NCPC is a key part of this approach.

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Lucy Romero has been a member of the North County Philanthropy Council since 2020, and she is a longtime local business banker. She currently is Senior Branch Banking Sales Officer for San Diego-based Torrey Pines Bank, where she has worked with businesses and nonprofits across Southern California for more than six years.

The Westin Carlsbad Resort – Re-Opened April 5, 2021: For all the philanthropic fundraising events and personal moments we all missed in 2020, celebrate them NOW at The Westin Carlsbad Resort as they celebrate their grand re-opening! Book the Celebration Package and receive $50 dining credit per night, a complimentary “Welcome” beverage voucher for two upon arrival and your choice of early check-in or late check-out. To book now click here, enter dates of stay and select “View Rates” and then select “Deals and Packages”!

At Rancho Coastal Humane Society (RCHS), we believe that Together We Save Lives! For the past 60 years, YOU have supported us in saving the lives of homeless companion animals and assisting pet families in need.

RCHS is recognized for programs that strengthen the human-animal bond, including the Animal Safehouse Program for victims of domestic violence, seniors and military veterans, Animal Camps for kids, Pet Assisted Therapy, Veterinary Care Assistance Program for seniors and the Community Pet Food Bank.

RCHS finds new homes for about 1,000 dogs, cats and rabbits each year. Many of these animals come from shelters that are struggling with overcrowding and high euthanasia rates. Bringing these animals to RCHS gives them a second chance.

During the pandemic, our mission to preserve and protect the human-animal bond was our highest priority. With the shelter closed to the general public, RCHS quickly and successfully launched an Adoptions-by-Appointment program, which implemented strict health and safety protocols and responded to increased demand for pet adoptions during stay-at-home mandates.

Our Community Pet Food Bank addressed a 200% increase in need and our Animal Safehouse Program quickly expanded to provide emergency pet boarding for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The Pet Loss Support program converted from in-person group sessions to individual telephonic counseling with professional counselors to address increased need for grief therapy during isolation. Our Animal Camp for children has resumed, with limited enrollment and strict safety protocols. In fact, our Spring Animal Camp welcomed the first group of students just last week.

Spring is about renewal and RCHS continues to plan for and embrace whatever the future holds. In March, the City of Encinitas approved the long-stalled RCHS building project, which means that, later this summer, RCHS will relaunch its capital campaign. The project will create a modern learning center, veterinary medical center, pet food storage facility and office space to better serve our growing community.

RCHS has no government contracts and is supported only by individual donors, grants and foundations, and our Thrift Shop. Right now, thanks to an anonymous donor, all donations will be matched $1 for $1 up to $75,000!

If you would like to learn more about RCHS, please join our “Zoom” Coffee with the President, Judi Sanzo, on April 15, 2021 from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM. Please visit rchumanesociety.org/join-us-for-a-virtual-coffee-with-the-president/ for more details.

VetCTAP* is San Diego County’s premier job search skills training organization for senior transitioning military, veterans, and spouses. In this innovative and interactive, 8-module (24 hours) workshop series we assist participants to successfully translate and sell their military skills for application in the civilian job market.  Additionally, the top comment we hear from participants is increased confidence.

2020 was an interesting and challenging year. However, we were able to meet our goal of supporting military members and their family in career transition. Since May 2020, our free workshop series has been delivered virtually via ZOOM. Not only are we moving forward, we have expanded our reach! Because we are virtual, we are now able to accept participants and volunteers living and working all over the world. In one of our classes, our participants logged in across 13 time zones! We have also added nine new volunteers just in the last three months.

2021 is also a challenge, but we continue our mission and purpose. Career transition from the military is not easy. Fortunately, we have a phenomenal success rate. You can listen to a few of our graduates talk about how we helped them by clicking the link: https://www.vetctap.org/testimonials.html

The participants learn up-to-date information because the classes are taught by experienced Human Resources and business professionals. Since 2012, we have conducted 72 of these workshop series, served over 1000 participants, have hundreds of success stories and utilize more than 50 trained volunteers. Do you want give back to the military community? Contact us to today for volunteer opportunities such as: coach, Board member, advisor, or sponsor.

Lessons Learned in 2020-2021 so far:

• Technology is our friend (most of the time)
• ZOOM has great interactive capabilities
• Our volunteers like working remotely
• We can serve more veterans/spouses outside San Diego County
• Virtual training works, but we miss face-to-face interaction
• Employers love hiring veterans (of course)

Save the Date: November 1, 2021 for our next Golf Fundraising Event.

*VetCTAP (Veteran Career Transition Assistance Program) is a program of JBS Transition Experts, Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information about our workshops visit us at www.vetctap.org