LEADERSHIP & STRUCTURE

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Inland Empire Funders Alliance (IEFA or Funders Alliance) is a collaborative network of organizations with significant formal grantmaking activities in the Inland Empire region of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties that have joined together to increase communication, coordination, and collaboration to advance our guiding principles of equity, advocacy, and systemic change.

• Equity to advance racial equity and social justice, including disparities and structural inequities affecting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities
• Advocacy by and on behalf of nonprofits and the communities they serve
• Systemic Change to address problems at their roots and strengthen underlying determinants of well-being and flourishing

Core Leadership & Administration

The Advisory Board provides overall strategic direction and leadership to the Funders Alliance, and serves as the liaison to the fiscal sponsor.

• The Advisory Board is composed of the Chair, the Vice Chair, the lead(s) of each Action Team and a staff liaison representative from the IEFA’s fiscal sponsor, Southern California Grantmakers. The IEFA backbone consultants participate in EC meetings as well.
• The Chair and Vice Chair are elected by the IEFA membership to staggered two-year terms. The current officers were elected to serve through 2023.

IEFA is fiscally sponsored by Southern California Grantmakers (SCG).

• SCG provides fiscal support and management of IEFA’s financial resources, including membership dues and grants. This is provided as an in-kind contribution to IEFA in lieu of paying its own membership dues.
• SCG also supports the Funders Alliance with grants management, including tracking receipt and disbursal of funds for IEFA pooled funds and other grantmaking initiatives.

Action Teams

IEFA members are encouraged to designate a staff person to participate on at least one Action Team. Participation is an opportunity to make a contribution to the region while building skills and relationships with leaders in the field by working collaboratively on a specific issue. The current action teams are:

• Learning Agenda Action Team (Team Lead: Margarita Luna, The California Endowment): Strategize, plan and implement events to catalyze conversation and action among funders, regarding issues relevant to the Inland Region and to the philanthropic field.
• Advocacy Planning Action Team (Team Lead: Marisol Inzunza, The California Wellness Foundation): Develop a plan proposing the ways in which the Funders Alliance might engage in policy advocacy to promote community-driven systemic change and equity solutions to benefit the Inland Empire.
• Collaborative Grantmaking Initiatives Action Team (Team Lead: Denisha Shackelford, IE Community Foundation): Support the ongoing oversight of pooled and aligned funding grantmaking initiatives and fundraising efforts for pooled and aligned funding.

Each action team is convened around a specific purpose but has the autonomy to conduct their work based on how the members decide to achieve their goals.

Backbone Staffing Support

The IEFA is currently staffed through a backbone and administration support contract with the consulting firm Praxsys Leadership, Inc. and its Partner, Max Freund. He and his team provide core support to ensure that the IEFA has consistent coordination, communication, productivity, and capacity to accomplish its goals. This includes strategic advice, technical assistance, and project management to empower the Action Teams, as well as program design, event logistics, communications, membership administration, and fundraising.

IEFA Members

IEFA members and supporters are represented by local and statewide funders, each working to advance the Funders Alliance mission.
As of July 2022, Inland Empire Funders Alliance official members are: