Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties

08/14/2026

🆕 $800K in grants from Catalyst members San Diego Foundation and The San Diego Women's Foundation will bring trees, gardens, and restored natural spaces to San Diego County 🌳 🌻 🌲

This year’s awards build on the continued partnership between SDF and The San Diego Women's Foundation, which contributed $30,000 to co-fund four Growing Green Spaces projects.

Learn more at

August 6, 2026 – San Diego, CA – Communities across San Diego County will soon get more trees, greener public spaces, restored native landscapes and

08/13/2026

The Imperial Valley has incredible leaders, organizations, and opportunities for impact ➡️ Over the next few months, Catalyst is creating spaces for funders and nonprofits to learn from local leaders, connect with peers, and strengthen the region’s philanthropic network.

🔷 For funders, join the next Imperial Valley Funders Collaborative meeting on October 15 to explore workforce development, health, and wellness through conversations about the region's current landscape, funding priorities, and opportunities for collaboration. Participants will also visit a local site to see this work firsthand: https://catalystsd.org/event/imperial-valley-funder-collaborative-2/

🔷 For nonprofits, register for the upcoming Catalyst Data Hub Training designed specifically for Imperial Valley organizations. Learn how to use regional philanthropic data to identify funding opportunities, better understand the local funding landscape, and strengthen your fundraising strategy: https://catalystsd.org/event/catalyst-data-hub-training-session-for-imperial-valley-nonprofits/

Imperial Valley Community Foundation Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation

08/12/2026

Yes in God’s Backyard (YIGBY®) reaches exciting milestone 👉 After years of growth with Catalyst's support, the organization is now an independent 501(c)(3), poised to expand its work helping faith communities develop permanently affordable housing on underutilized land across San Diego County.

Originally launched through Funders Together to End Homelessness San Diego — a regional collaborative housed at Catalyst — YIGBY® later became a fiscally sponsored project of Catalyst. During that time, we provided the organizational home and operational infrastructure that enabled YIGBY to refine its model, build partnerships, and prepare for independent operations.

We're proud to be part of YIGBY®'s journey and look forward to seeing its continued impact across the region.

Read the full story at: https://catalystsd.org/news/yes-in-gods-backyard-yigby-begins-next-evolution-as-independent-nonprofit/

Bethel AME San Diego

08/11/2026

Happening tomorrow morning! Join North County Philanthropy Council for Meet the Funders: Trust-Based Philanthropy tomorrow, August 12th, at Dove Library in Carlsbad ➡️ https://secure.ncphilanthropy.org/nx/portal/event-detail?event=202&

Moderated by our own Katie Janowiak, this conversation will feature Taryell Simmons of the San Diego County Office of Equity and Racial Justice as well as Catalyst members Kim Berry Jones of The Kinship Fund and Novien Yarber, PhD of the The Prebys Foundation.

Together they'll dig into the ways in which philanthropy is putting into practice and evolving toward stronger, more equitable funder relationships.

08/11/2026

You're invited 📆 On August 20, Catalyst member organization the Samuel Lawrence Foundation will host a San Onofre Symposium: Nuclear Waste to Clean Energy.

The symposium will convene policymakers, scientists, researchers, business leaders, and community stakeholders to address both the unresolved challenge of spent fuel stored at San Onofre and the accelerating transition toward clean, safe, and affordable energy alternatives.

Learn more at: https://www.samuellawrencefoundation.org/san-onofre-symposium

08/10/2026

Recommended listening 🎧 Kim Berry Jones, president of Catalyst member organization The Kinship Fund, digs into Trust Based Philanthropy and more in this episode of the Spotlight On The Community podcast.

In this conversation, Kim shares what it actually takes to move money differently, from funding that spans multiple years without strings attached to the decision to let grantee partners define what success looks like in their own communities:

💡 Want more insights in ? Catalyst has teamed up with The Kinship Fund for a special learning series on relational grantmaking, where we'll explore practical ways to align your grantmaking with the values of trust, equity, partnership, and shared learning.

Learn more at https://catalystsd.org/event/trust-based-philanthropy-cohort-getting-curious-about-whats-possible/

07/31/2026

Explore Ecosystems in the Catalyst Data Hub to understand the full funding landscape 🔎 The Ecosystems feature in the Catalyst Data Hub helps you understand the broader landscape surrounding the issues you care about, making it easier to identify opportunities for collaboration and strategic investment.

Log in to the Data Hub (https://catalystsd.org/catalyst-data-hub/) to:

👉 See which funders are investing in the issue and where funding is flowing

👉 Identify nonprofits working across the landscape and compare organizations over time

👉 Discover funding overlaps and potential partners

👉 Explore trends in funding, nonprofit growth, and geographic distribution

Need help getting started? Contact us for a walkthrough.

07/30/2026

Catalyst member news 🚨 The Prebys Foundation acquires California Theater site to advance vision for a more vibrant downtown San Diego.

➡️ By acquiring the property, the Foundation aims to remove a significant barrier to revitalization while creating new possibilities for housing, arts and culture, economic opportunity, and community life around the Civic Center.

➡️ The move is part of Prebys' mission-aligned investment portfolio and does not affect its grantmaking budget or existing philanthropic commitments.

Acquisition removes a long-standing barrier to Civic Center revitalization and creates new opportunities for the future of downtown. 

07/29/2026

You're invited: Women in Leadership ✨ Join Catalyst CEO Megan Thomas for a virtual conversation with fellow nonprofit and community leaders about their unique journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice for leading with confidence, authenticity, and purpose.

Megan will be joined by Giannina Pérez, Angel Mason Broadus, and Courtney Stone for this engaging panel hosted by North County Philanthropy Council (NCPC). Together they will explore leadership, resilience, career growth, and the power of supporting others along the way.

Register at: https://secure.ncphilanthropy.org/forms/women-in-leadership-registration-1

Puzzle Pieces Marketing

07/16/2026

The inaugural Resilient California Summit is coming up in Sacramento this October 📆 This conference will convene 1,000+ participants from across the state to make progress on the policies, partnerships, and practices needed to build resilience as climate change accelerates.

Visit https://resilientcaliforniasummit.org/ to learn more.

Resources Legacy Fund David and Lucile Packard Foundation Indigenous Futures Society Climate Resolve