Our Sunrise Strategy

Our Sunrise Strategy

The James B. McClatchy Foundation is imagining the sunrise beyond our sunset—an awakening of a new day and a new plan for a thriving Central Valley for generations to come.

Spend Down to Sunrise

In 2016, the James B. McClatchy Foundation’s Board recognized that the needs of the unique populations in the Central Valley were only increasing—to the point that a greater long-term investment would be needed than what the Foundation could fulfill on its own.

The Board developed a spend-down strategy—the Sunrise Plan—to build a strong, self-sustaining infrastructure to generate and support new and current initiatives.
View Sunrise Plan
  • Efforts and resources will be redirected to build a robust infrastructure to accomplish our mission.
  • This bold, new plan will create a lasting impact by seeding ideas and cultivating an environment to support Central Valley communities to come.
  • Our timeline for this strategy is to spend ALL our resources to build this infrastructure by 2030.
It is estimated that less than 6% of statewide philanthropic resources flow to the Valley. This is a unique opportunity to come together to build the future in a region so woefully underinvested by philanthropy.

What we want to build, we won’t see it now, but we will see it in 10 years. I want to be able to celebrate when that 10 year comes, knowing that HIP is contributing to changing the Central Valley and empowering a new generation of leaders to lead.

Nancy Xiong

Executive Director of Hmong Innovating Politics, JBMF Grantee

The Sunrise Plan

The Sunrise Plan is designed to dawn a new era of philanthropy primed to address the current and future needs of the Central Valley’s multilingual and multiracial communities through leadership empowerment and support for local, nonprofit journalism.
 
Embracing trust-based philanthropic values, JBMF is committed to offering flexible opportunities through multi-year grants, forming deep relationships with these communities, and learning from the people closest to their communities.

Our Sunrise Goals

  • Community-powered local journalism where the Central Valley’s multiracial and multilingual residents are informed by and engaged in a diverse, vibrant free press that reflects local voices and activates equitable civic engagement
  • Multilingual education infrastructures that advocate for the youngest multilingual learners and their families as assets along with engaged decision-makers, in schools and communities, throughout their education journey
  • Inclusive leadership for the next generation of diverse stakeholders as civic leaders and decision-makers in their community, visibly fueling local democracy, local news coverage, and forging the future of the region

Our Strategy

We will seed sustainable and independent local non-profit journalism, grow partnerships to build an infrastructure that fills the gaps experienced by multilingual children and families, and cultivate local leaders that reflect diverse Central Valley communities.

The following three broad strategies will guide our work:
Seed

Capacity Building: Investing in the vision of Central Valley communities to guide initiatives and infrastructure that have the potential for long-term sustainability.

Cultivate

Anchor Partnerships: Building organizational capacity and strengthening inclusive collaborations and leadership to drive systems transformations.

Grow

Sustainability: Scale up approaches and organizations that have the readiness for greater impact, and the capacity to leverage resources and become self-sustaining

The Sunrise Plan Timeline

We are committed to devoting all our resources through 2030 before this Foundation sunsets. While the fruits of our work will be realized after the sunset, we are excited to execute our final steps to ensure the stage is set for a sunrise of change and sustainability for the Central Valley.

2023-2025

Capacity-building Years

Preparing the Sunrise’s Foundation
  • Grant investments to continue to build capacity.
  • The Foundation hones in on possible anchor partners.
  • The network of grantees strengthens, and Central Valley stories are amplified.
  • Transitioning grantee partners receive operating grants.  
  • The Central Valley Journalism Collaborative is sustained.

2026-2028

Establishing Anchor Partners

Emergence of a Central Valley Multiracial Democracy Ecosystem
  • Anchor partnerships emerge.
  • Grant investments are awarded to anchor partners with the continued support of new efforts.
  • A stronger infrastructure for multilingual learners, inclusive leadership, and local journalism is sustained.
  • Education systems cultivate ML learning environments—children are kindergarten-ready.
  • New leaders are activated and are represented in public/civic and business spaces.
  • Stories from local journalists capture Central Valley life, chronicle urgent issues, and investigate problems and solutions.
  • The Sunrise Plan strategy is refreshed as needed.

2029-2030

Sustainability Years

Closing a Foundation and Sustaining a Multiracial Democracy in the Central Valley
  • Philanthropic dollars are leveraged.
  • Sunrise knowledge is captured through documentation.
  • Sustainability grants are awarded.
  • Uncommitted grants to locational anchor partners, including community foundations, are awarded.