
At the heart of storytelling is love. As Leah C. Taylor, our Story Coach, reminds us, “You want people to have the same love that you have.”
By: Misty Avila with Leah C. Taylor
Anchoring Community Visions for the Future
As we enter 2025, we are reaching the midpoint of our Sunrise, a 10-year strategy guiding the James B. McClatchy Foundation as we spend down our resources. Since 2020, we’ve moved nearly $30 million to the Central Valley of California, fueling the hopes and dreams of local communities to forge the future of the region. We are committed to moving all the Foundation’s resources with intention and urgency through 2030.
Now is a critical time for our work. We are transitioning from the Seed phase (2023-2025) to Cultivate (2026-2028). This marks a shift from building early momentum to nurturing and strengthening the solutions our communities envision. Sunrise Futures, a participatory storytelling campaign, is being launched at this turning point to deepen our understanding of these community visions and amplify the voices shaping them.

At a time of uncertainty in our local communities, we are anchored by the local leaders – educators, journalists, nonprofit leaders, and caretakers. They are the heartbeat of democracy, and it is in their voice that we find the path forward.
JBMF is deeply committed to standing with these leaders and ensuring their stories are heard. This initiative comes at the perfect time to underscore that commitment.
The Engine Behind the StoryEngine
We are excited to bring back Leah C. Taylor, our beloved Story Coach, who shares her insights and experiences leading up to the launch of our next chapter of stories: Sunrise Futures: Moving Towards Liberation. Leah has been a trusted partner since 2021, when we launched our first storytelling initiative, Lifting Local Leaders. That campaign documented the histories and journeys of Central Valley leaders whose voices have profoundly shaped our strategy during the early years. The stories are reflected in the JBMF Sunrise and continue to guide us.

Now, with Sunrise Futures, we are evolving this work, not just reflecting on the past but looking ahead to the future that communities are imagining. It is a commitment to seeing and hearing the people building the Central Valley’s future, both as individuals and as a collective. In this shared voice, we find the path forward for the JBMF Sunrise.
Through this journey, Leah and the team have learned to honor the process as much as the stories themselves. “Something that is dear to me is holding the container for people – quiet, safe, welcoming – so they can exhale and talk about themselves,” she explains.
With new audio and visual elements, we are creating a living archive for the future of a multiracial democracy and weaving a tapestry that showcases the diversity and resilience of our region.
“You want people to have the same love for the people and their stories that you have,” she says, capturing the essence of why we do this work. It’s about more than just gathering data. It is about creating a space where people can share who they are, reflect on what they’ve done, and, in that reflection, see themselves more clearly.”
Building Democracy Through Community Vision
This participatory storytelling approach is part of a broader practice for JBMF: to do more human-centered grantmaking to be more human-centered in everything we do. The Foundation’s strategy is focused on building enduring infrastructure to advance a multiracial democracy in the Central Valley. We believe the solutions we seek are a deeply rooted vision of the community.
“And when it’s done, when we hand over these stories, these precious jewels, we hope they resonate as deeply with others as they have with us.”
We hope they inspire the same love, the same hope, the same commitment to community and justice. These stories are a call to action to build community, to invest, and to ground our work ahead in the grit and passion of local leaders.
Follow us on all social media channels @jbmcclatchy to be the first to experience these stories.
Credits and Gratitude
- Deep gratitude to our story coach Leah C. Taylor, Copper + Tin Co., and Dulari Gandhi for guiding this work with care. A heartfelt thank you to our Story Partners: Jamillah Hasan Oliver, Keiona Williamson, Esmeralda Garcia, Mayra Becerra, and Pedro Hernandez, whose voices and visions shaped this initiative. We also deeply acknowledge Dayanna Macias-Carlos, Chucha Marquez, Brittany Mina, Raul Lopez, and Monse Melchor at Pitaya LLC’s for their community-first communications approach and Sergio Cortes, our talented video producer, for bringing these stories to life.
- This work is made possible through the StoryEngine Methodology: Co-created by Christine Prefontaine, Chris Lawrence, and Matt Thompson with support from the Mozilla Foundation, the StoryEngine methodology was designed to listen deeply to the people within networks, uncovering insights that shape programs and strategies.
- And finally, thank you to the JBMF staff and Board for your unwavering support.