Annual IECF Summit Focuses On Building Thriving Communities

Hundreds of people from nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies came together earlier this month at the Riverside Convention Center for a two-day summit focused on how they can come together to build thriving communities in the Inland Empire.

“We have an important story to tell,” Jacob Mejia, vice president of public and external affairs for the Pechanga Development Corporation, said. “Let’s come together, let’s amplify our collective voices toward a common purpose…that leads to bigger investments for the IE.”

According to Mejia​, per capita investment by foundations in the IE is $25 — roughly 10% of what other regions of the state receive in charitable giving — leaving one of the fastest growing regions in the nation with fewer resources to address issues such as education, housing and economic development.

“We have to change this stuff if we want to build a better, thriving region with better communities,” he said. “We must change this.”

It’s a change that Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Perris) said he is actively working to make in Sacramento as a leader of the budget committee by ensuring vital programs for the state’s most vulnerable populations were preserved in the state’s budget despite a $46.8 billion shortfall.

“We have to stop accepting the way things are, the way systems currently work, and we have to reimagine them and we have to, meticulously, reform our current systems and create new streams of opportunities for the next generation,” Jackson said. “That takes a lot of work, and it also means pissing a lot of people off who are currently benefiting from the system.”

The two spoke at the annual Policy and Philanthropy Summit put on by the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) featured panel discussions and presentations centered around the Vital Conditions Framework, which encompasses seven elements needed for places and people to thrive. The conditions are a thriving natural world, basic needs for health and safety, humane housing, meaningful work and wealth, lifelong learning, reliable transportation and belonging and civic muscle.

“This is a dynamic framework,” Monte Roulier, president and co-founder of the Community Initiatives Network, said. “It’s one framework that is helping folks reimagine what they can do moving forward.”

IECF adopted the framework back in 2023 and began working to implement the framework to create a concrete plan that would bring together nonprofits, community leaders, policymakers and stakeholders to ensure everyone in the Inland Empire has an opportunity to thrive.

Throughout the summit, those in attendance heard about strategies to enhance belonging and civic participation, change how students experience learning, transform their cities and counties by implementing forward-thinking policies, build on existing successes in the housing sector and build on the momentum from the conference to create a thriving Inland Empire.

The two-day conference ended with a call to action for all in the room to support legislation currently working its way through the state to help bolster funding for local news — a vital part of the framework for creating thriving communities.

“Our experience has been that the most powerful and influential voices on this are not news organizations, they’re community foundations and community groups,” he said, noting that these organizations often have a better understanding of the needs of their communities.

While the the two bills, AB 886 and SB 1327, approach the local news crisis differently, they both seek to bolster the number of journalists working to cover communities, work that The Record has been engaged in since its 2022 founding.

Disclosure: Alicia Ramirez, the publisher of The Riverside Record and writer of this article, has advocated for legislation that supports local news in collaboration with Rebuild Local News.

And though the conference focused on some of the biggest issues facing the Inland Empire, the feeling in the room was one of hope for the future of the Inland Empire.

“The task may seem daunting, but I know you’re up to it,” Sen. Richard Roth (D-Riverside) said at the start of the summit. “These solutions will require bold initiatives, but remember: Fortune favors the bold.”