TGL Features

Data in the Service of Students and Society

California State University, Northridge (CSUN) has long distinguished itself as a leader in public higher education by combining academic excellence with pioneering support services to help students from diverse, largely disadvantaged, backgrounds achieve life-changing success in the classroom and then the workplace. Two major investments underscore CSUN President Erika D. Beck’s vision for enhancing both educational opportunity and student well-being far into the future: A state-of-the-art technology facility that will be a hub of equity education and student innovation and a $20 million center that consolidates services for basic needs like food aid, clothing, and emergency housing. Sites have already [...more...]

Who Will Fill the Gaps in the Immigrant’s Struggle To Succeed for Themselves and Their Children?

According to researchers at USC, Los Angeles is currently home to 3.6 million immigrants – making one in three of its ‘residents’ immigrants. While Hispanics largely dominate the immigrant population, Los Angeles is home to a diverse range of ethnic groups and cultures. In the U.S. education system, many immigrant and first-generation children are often overlooked. Without the proper funding and attention, it’s common for the needs of immigrant children to be neglected. Fortunately, with the help of nonprofits, some of these gaps can close as they provide multifaceted support for those with the most need. Gabrielle Oliveira, who studies [...more...]

The Pressing Need to Protect the Younger Generation from Rising Violence and Crime in Los Angeles

The children of Los Angeles, growing parallel to the city’s sprawling landscape of ecological, cultural, and racial diversity, represent not only the city’s future but also the embodiments of generational neglect to protect those left most vulnerable by crime. Within Los Angeles County, increasing disparities in wealth have starkly colored the city’s social fabric. Some regions of the city contain child poverty levels as high as 68 percent. In 2011, Barbara Davidson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photo series of victims of gang violence in Los Angeles captured largely young subjects, grappling with the lingering effects of crime in dimly-lit funeral homes, locker [...more...]

The Importance of the Arts Spark

People who love the arts understand what makes them so valuable. The arts don’t just entertain us; they challenge us, they spark our imagination, and present us with new points of view. No one is immune to the effecting power that exposure to the arts can give and the lifeblood of any community flows through the streets where arts are thriving. Music has the ability to bring people together in a way that nothing else can. Given the degree to which the arts enrich our lives, it would seem obvious to include them as an integral part of childhood education. [...more...]

No One-Size-Fits-All Solution to L.A.’s Homeless Crisis

There’s not just one reason people become unhoused, and there’s not just one way to solve the homelessness issue. What we do know is that it’s a problem that is growing, in Los Angeles and other major cities, especially among certain members of the population. It’s a complex issue that no one seems to have an answer for, and new programs are not making a dent in solving the problem.  According to data from the 2022 Department of Housing and Urban Development, Los Angeles had the largest homeless population in the country with 65,111 people experiencing homelessness. Thirty percent of [...more...]

Empowering Students to Grow Into Educated Adults

When it comes to preparing for college, many students already have an idea of what to expect. They’ve rooted for their parents’ alma maters in football games since childhood, visited their older siblings’ dorm rooms, and been told by peers what AP classes they need to take to get into their preferred school. But for many aspiring higher education learners in Los Angeles – those who are first-generation Americans or the first of their families to even consider the possibility of attending college – there is no knowledge pipeline to pull from. No memories from their families to use as [...more...]

How Grassroots Organizations Are Fighting Food Insecurity, One Meal at a Time

Los Angeles is a city of creative dreams and cinematic productions. It’s a place where starry-eyed people flock, and which exports culture-defining stories to the world.  Stories, though, aren’t L.A.’s only export. When it comes to sheer volume and impact, food might be on equal footing. L.A. County is the second-biggest exporter of food in the United States, contributing 6.5 billion pounds to the country’s food system each year, with a crop value of more than $177.5 million. L.A. imports food, too: At seven billion pounds, it’s the third-largest importer in the U.S.  Urban farmer, Ryan, after Sunday Harvest. Yet, [...more...]

Big Hearts, Cold Noses: The Power of the Human-Animal Bond in Community Philanthropy

The benefits of animal companionship are well-documented. According to a 2023 article on HelpGuide.org, by Lawrence Robinson and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., the human-animal bond has powerful, lasting health benefits for humans. Companion animals/pets can lower blood pressure, elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine (which calm and relax), they can lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease), and they can help reduce muscle tension and lower pulse rate. Plus, people with pets are less likely to suffer depression than those without pets.  For decades, research has also shown that child development is best supported by animal connection. For nonprofits [...more...]

Back to Basics: How CSUN Helps to Ensure Student Success

The line grew steadily outside the unassuming building on the north side of campus. It was almost closing time on a Thursday afternoon, and the students knew it was their last chance before the weekend to pick up supplies they needed to keep their studies on track. The supplies they received in red California State University, Northridge-branded bags were not textbooks, pens, or calculators, but rather something more basic: food. “Let’s see, today I got canned beans and pineapple, pasta, and tomato sauce,” said Swapnil Doshi, a first-year graduate engineering student, peering into his bag. He goes to the CSUN [...more...]

New Money New Money

Philanthropy, incorporated for the public good, can and should make all its investments accordingly. In 2021, Senators Angus King (I-Maine) […more…]

Challenging Los Angeles to Do More The Annenberg Foundation

Los Angeles is rife with challenges. Meeting those challenges requires people and institutions willing to step up. For the Annenberg […more…]

For These Leading L.A. Realtors, Philanthropy Is a Way of Life The Agency

Ask Craig Knizek and Marco Rufo and they’ll tell you how their global “luxury lifestyle” real estate brokerage firm stands […more…]

Southern California Public Radio Is What Democracy Sounds Like Southern California Public Radio

When Herb Scannell took the helm at Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) nearly four years ago, he found himself scribbling […more…]

Refining Goals to Maximize Social Impact Refining Goals to Maximize Social Impact

Rick Barragan, Los Angeles Market Manager, J.P. Morgan Private Bank For more than three decades, Rick Barragan held leadership positions […more…]

Deploying Assets for Impact: Putting Values into Practice Deploying Assets for Impact: Putting Values into Practice

BJ Goergen:Maloney Global Head of the Philanthropy Centre,J.P. Morgan Private Bank In addition to building a global powerhouse armed with […more…]

Financial Security and Community Support Financial Security and Community Support

Ayla Kalani: Westlake Village and Santa Barbara Market Team Lead,J.P. Morgan Private Bank When Ayla Kalani joined J.P. Morgan Private […more…]

The Behavioral Science Behind Charitable Giving The Behavioral Science Behind Charitable Giving

Jeff Kreisler: Head of Behavioral Science, J.P. Morgan Private BankJamie Hackleman: Family Governance and Senior Philanthropy Advisor, J.P. Morgan Private […more…]

A Career of Giving A Career of Giving

Deb Langford:Head of Black Wealth Initiatives,J.P. Morgan Private Bank Deb Langford was mindful of the impact of giving long before […more…]

Giving With Impact During Times of Crises Giving With Impact During Times of Crises

Nicholas Smith:Banker for J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Pasadena Each time a new geopolitical crisis unfolds, we see an outpouring of […more…]

Sexy Money Sexy Money

Foundation CFO Valerie Red-Horse Mohl is on a Mission to Change the Energy of Money  While at UCLA undergrad, Valerie […more…]

Can Impact Invest its Way out of Rampant Homelessness? Can Impact Invest its Way out of Rampant Homelessness?

(Editor’s note: This story is being co-published with Impact Alpha.) As a parting challenge to his successor, outgoing Los Angeles Mayor Eric […more…]

Moving the Market: The Ford Foundation Moving the Market: The Ford Foundation

The American tax code favors the generous by offering significant financial benefit to those that give to charity. On the […more…]

Lisa Greer’s Message to Philanthropy: Revolutionize Lisa Greer’s Message to Philanthropy: Revolutionize

While she had built a successful career, Lisa Greer wasn’t born into wealth. But when her husband Josh’s company, RealD, […more…]

Can Homelessness be Solved by Making it Profitable? Can Homelessness be Solved by Making it Profitable?

Redeploying charitable foundation investments could be the needed difference in stemming a homegrown humanitarian crisis. Ricardo Barron just started his […more…]