Client spotlight: Evergreen Collective 2-year Anniversary Celebration!
In the two years since Evergreen Collective’s founding, they have mobilized over 3 million dollars with and for BIPOC-led nonprofits - WOW!!! An incredibly momentous occasion to celebrate.
Joel Valencia, Founder & CEO of the Evergreen Collective, originally came to me looking to develop a retreat for BIPOC folks to come and learn about how to fundraise from a place of joy and pleasure.
After developing the core logistics for the retreat, Joel decided to switch gears for now, and inquired about support in creating an uplifting 2-year celebration party and program. Pausing to celebrate is a critical part of sustaining our movements long term, so I was incredibly excited to work with Joel to help make his vision a reality.
Specifically, Joel asked that I support his colleagues (Metzli & Diana) in ensuring the celebration organizing moved forward smoothly while he was focused on other things.
Over the course of our time together, Joel + team developed capacity to host community building events in the future by developing things such as:
Email templates + outreach schedules
Project plans
Supply lists
Day-of roll assignments
Minute-by-minute run of show
Content for future outreach/marketing materials
Post-event communication and close-out strategy
Community activities
Joel was also the first person (that I know of) to fill out my impactful gathering and facilitation workbook. Here’s what he said about it:
"The workbook makes it much easier to produce events that are more accessible, joyful, and impactful. It's an invaluable tool no matter what, but especially if you're at a small organization -- it's like having an event planner right there with you walking you through both the project planning steps as well providing guidance on how you can create more inclusive, equitable spaces."
The event was stunning, and the energy was vibrant. The celebration was hosted at Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS). ALAS’ venue was beautiful and they provided meal, decoration, and logistical support. This is part of an email Joel sent to the attendees after the event:
We are still riding the high of being in the presence of some of the most wonderful regional leaders we know! It was an honor and a joy to bring so many of us together in the generous spirit of mutual support.
We all have abundant vision for what is possible and what is to come as we continue to work together to help BIPOC-led & serving nonprofits thrive.
So please stay engaged and keep us in the loop about your work, opportunities we should know about, and ways we can work with you to ensure the wellbeing of our communities.
Thank you for being part of our journey. Two years in and we already have such a powerful group of social impact leaders who share in our vision to create equity and empowerment within our communities.
A special thank you to each of our speakers:
Dr. Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga; Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS)
Sharifa Wilson; East Palo Alto Community Archive (EPACA)
Violet Wulf-Saena; Climate Resilient Communities (CRC)
Best,
Joel Valencia
Thanks, Joel! It was so incredibly special to work with you, Metzli, and Diana.
If you’d like support hosting an event like this at your organization or company, I’d love to talk to you.