Nourishing connection and collaboration among leaders of color at local nonprofits and closing pervasive fundraising gaps that affect them, their organizations, and the communities they serve is necessary to advance equity in the Sacramento region.

This Big Day of Giving, get to know the leaders at local nonprofits who are members of Cultivate, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation's program to support leaders of color at area nonprofits. By supporting their organizations, you help advance their work in our community.

Support Cultivate Members

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Meet This Year's Cultivate Cohort

This year's Cultivate leaders participated in a months-long, intensive program through which they received personalized mentoring sessions and met in small groups to learn, grow, and advance the work they do for their organizations.

Denita Pickens-Jones, P.U.R.E. Youth Group

Emily Sanders, Connect 2 Change

Fatima Malik, Del Paso Heights Growers’ Alliance

Jai Asfall, Birdhouse Fly Away

James Jackson, iSOUND Performing Arts

Justine Villanueva, Sawaga River Press

Paulette Wylie, Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home

Rabiia Ali, South Sac Mental Health Collaborative

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Rabiia Ali, South Sac Mental Health Collaborative

"The only way that I can describe it is building a family."

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Justine Villanueva, Sawaga River Press

"I have not seen too many spaces like this, so I feel very grateful to be part of the Cultivate cohort."

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Fatima Malik, Del Paso Heights Growers’ Alliance

"I appreciate the intimacy, the open and honest conversations that we have, and the chance to be vulnerable."

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Paulette Wylie, Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home

"It's more than networking. It's having a community of like-minded people trying to make the world a better place."

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About Cultivate

Now in its third year, this program from the Sacramento Region Community Foundation has already made a significant impact on the nonprofits it serves: The skills and knowledge gained through participation in Cultivate led to a 74% average increase in the amount that participating organizations raised during Big Day of Giving 2024 compared to 2023. 

Fostering the success of BIPOC leaders in our region's nonprofit sector is necessary to advance equity in our community and support lasting solutions to large, systemic challenges that nonprofit leaders of color are tasked to overcome. That's why we launched Cultivate and tapped long-time BDOG Mentor and local nonprofit champion Marisa DeSalles of Good Tilth Consulting to facilitate the program: We want to create space for collaboration, connection, and collective learning among BIPOC nonprofit leaders who seek to become even more effective in their work during Big Day of Giving and year-round. 

There is no cost to participate in Cultivate, thanks to generous support from our RCA Community Fund, The James B. McClatchy Foundation, and donors to the Impact Fund of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. If you want to support work like this, we encourage you to give to the Impact Fund.

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Big Day of Giving is the Sacramento region's annual celebration of giving to the causes that matter to local donors' and their loved ones. But it's more than what happens in 24 hours — our team at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation works to provide resources year-round to help local nonprofits build capacity and strengthen the region's nonprofit sector. This year, over 850 nonprofits are participating in Big Day of Giving and need our community's support.