Valley Onward has been selected as a 2023 California Nonprofit of the Year by State Assembly member Esmeralda Soria.
Valley Onward is one of more than 100 nonprofits that will be honored by their state senators and assembly members for their outstanding contributions to the communities they serve. The California Nonprofit of the Year award gives elected leaders the opportunity to shine a light on what nonprofits are accomplishing for the people in their districts, and for everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits across the state.
Valley Onward is dedicated to harnessing and cultivating new leaders in California’s Central Valley, as well as organizing around issues that impact women and disinvested communities across rural areas in the county.
Valley Onward was born out of the highly successful Building Healthy Communities Initiative (BHC). BHC was a 10-year, $1 billion comprehensive community initiative launched by The California Endowment in 2010 to advance statewide policy, change the narrative, and transform 14 of California’s communities most devastated by health inequities into places where all people have an opportunity to thrive.
At the conclusion of the initiative, foundations invested in and supported efforts to continue the racial and health equity work that is now Valley Onward, in order to continue working towards the momentum gained in the Central Valley. What Valley Onward brings to the table is over a decade of experience in community organizing, and empowering traditionally marginalized communities, thereby creating civically engaged grassroots community leaders. They have a passion for building up healthy, vibrant, and engaged citizenry from among the most marginalized communities, in order to create more equitable local environments and lasting positive change.
Executive Director, Sol Rivas commented, “Recognition and appreciation are important. It’s about acknowledging a person or an organization’s inherent value. It’s about their worth, and validating the work. At Valley Onward we are deeply humbled to be recognized by Assemblywomen Soria as one of 2023’s nonprofits of the year. There are so many others that are equally deserving. We are honored to be one amongst the many outstanding non profits in our state and nation that work tirelessly to improve conditions in our communities.”
Now in its eighth year, the Nonprofit of the Year initiative provides the opportunity for each California state legislator to choose a nonprofit organization doing outstanding work in their district. The program culminates with a celebratory luncheon at Capitol on California Nonprofits Day, which this year is June 7.
“When anyone talks about delivering meals to seniors, inspiring with music, protecting fresh water, educating children, championing the disadvantaged, speaking out for human rights, caring for animals . . . they are talking about work that nonprofits do, ” noted Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), which serves as a partner for this awards program.
According to “Causes Count,” a 2019 report commissioned by CalNonprofits, the nonprofit sector is the 4th largest industry in the state, employing more than 1.2 million people. Each year, California nonprofits generate more than $273 billion in revenue and bring in $40 billion in revenue from outside of California. The unpaid labor contributed by volunteers at nonprofits is equivalent to 330,000 full-time jobs every year.