RISE San Diego

Our MISSION is to elevate and advance urban leadership through dialogue-based civic engagement, dynamic nonprofit partnerships, and direct training and support to increase the capacity of urban residents to effect meaningful community change.

Our VISION is thriving, resident-led urban neighborhoods providing safe and healthy opportunities for youth and families to live, work, and play. 

RISE Program Pillars

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT—Fostering critical and authentic dialogue and resident-led action around issues impacting urban communities throughout San Diego County.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT—Leveraging adaptive leadership frameworks, group relations theory, and cultural competency to empower leaders to tackle seemingly complex challenges within and alongside their communities.

TRAINING & PARTNERSHIPS—Strengthening nonprofits, social enterprises, minority-led small businesses, and regional organizations through DEIA consultation, technical assistance, capacity-building training,  and strategic partnerships.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

The Community Impact Showcase is a public showcase of the community-driven projects and programs designed and further developed in the RISE Urban Leadership Fellowship and the Nonprofit Partnership Project MOST program. The annual showcase features a collection of project exhibits and a judged pitch competition for project funding.

The Inclusive Leadership in Action Awards (ILIA) honor the work of individuals and organizations throughout San Diego County who are dedicated to the ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Since 2017, RISE San Diego has honored local leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion through the annual Inclusive Leadership in Action (ILIA) Awards. Each summer, RISE seeks nominations from the community of individuals and organizations that are doing the work to make a real difference in the San Diego region. Our honorees are selected from these nominations and then announced and celebrated in October at the RISE ILIA Awards event. 

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

The RISE Urban Leadership Fellows Program (RULFP) focuses on the personal and professional development of each Fellow through intensive forums, the development and implementation of a self-selected community project, and coaching and peer learning throughout the fellowship year. Through an adaptive leadership approach that requires active engagement and deep reflection, fellows are offered the next phase of their development and training, enabling them to lead more effectively in the face of the complex, contentious, and seemingly intractable challenges present in their communities.

On the RISE uses leadership development strategies to create meaningful experiences for high school students from underserved communities that empower and inspire them to participate in social change. Through On the RISE, students acquire a higher level of self-awareness, understand the relationship between their past and their future, identify an issue that they are passionate about, connect the issue to a movement or cause, and build a network of meaningful connections. These outcomes culminate in the development of a CAPstone (Community Action Project) plan along with a personal narrative that explores their personal story, leadership experience, community issues, and their action plan.

TRAINING & PARTNERSHIPS

Nonprofit Training & Technical Assistance supports small nonprofits and minority-owned businesses throughout the county to attain sustainability and achieve growth through training and hands-on technical assistance that aim to reduce barriers to business success. RISE cultivates the role of participating businesses in becoming models for equitable workforce principles and serving as a pipeline for employment, economic development, and resident leadership within the communities they serve.

RISE Arts offers hands-on technical assistance courses specifically for arts and culture nonprofits that are seeking to build their business models, grant writing and development skills, and other critical systems and processes critical to their sustainability. Participants join a cohort-based environment where their learning is supported by group-level instruction and feedback, hands-on activities where they put what they’ve learned into practice, and expert one-on-one technical assistance coaching support for focused help with specific challenges or needs.

RISE Consult, a holistic approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training, takes a comprehensive approach to organizational and leadership development from an adaptive leadership perspective whereby novel innovations around diversity, equity, and inclusion are brought to work. We help translate theory into action and invite deep inquiry into challenging problems. We take seriously the complexities that organizations face and foster inclusive action that is grounded in racial equity and social justice. 

For more information, visit risesandiego.org.