Celebrating Progress and Connection

Guest Post – Jason Lacsamana, Director, Programs and Partnerships

As we wrap up a challenging year for many, it’s easy to get caught up in uncertainties and concerns about what lies ahead. While it’s essential to acknowledge those worries, it’s equally important to pause and think about what we’ve accomplished and what has flourished.

This year has been extraordinary, not just for our partners and the organizations we work with but also for our communities’ personal and professional achievements. There’s so much to celebrate, and these successes are a foundation for an even brighter future.

At SJF, our focus has always been building capacity and laying the groundwork for sustainable change. We don’t count accomplishments in a single year but invest in relationships that will yield benefits for years.

That focus has paid off in 2024, a year marked by expanded horizons. For the first three decades of our foundation’s history, our efforts were focused primarily in California. But this year, we broadened our efforts (and travel) to our connections in Oregon, Montana, Washington, and Alaska.

Our trips weren’t just about being present in new places. They were about deepening relationships with partners we’d only known virtually during the pandemic. Walking alongside them in their communities, sharing meals, being in the field, and engaging with residents brought a sense of connection and strengthened our collaborations.

Each partnership and initiative inspired us. From the Alaska Literacy Project to the Western Montana Area Health Education Coalition, the Birth Justice Collaborative in Washington, Unite Oregon, and the Oregon Pacific Islander Coalition, to name a few, we’ve been privileged to work with incredible organizations and leaders. Building on its success in California, our Intersections Initiative launched in Renton, Washington. This initiative exemplifies how we’re bridging gaps in different communities while building capacity and promoting healing. In California, the Healing Tides and Cultivate to Illuminate initiatives successfully dove into healing-centered capacity building and addressed organizational and cultural dimensions of healing.

Beyond regional initiatives, our partnerships with global humanitarian and disaster relief organizations have been another highlight of 2024. Collaborating with Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, and World Relief, we’ve supported innovative approaches to strengthening organizational resilience. These relationships remind us that responding to crises is more about preparation and fortification than immediate action.

When I look back on 2024, I don’t think about election cycles, grant proposals, or other transactional events. I think about people and the relationships we’ve built and strengthened, the meals we’ve shared, the conversations where we’ve learned from one another, and the communities that have welcomed us.

Whether breathing the fresh Montana air, enjoying the warmth of Southern California, or feeling the briskness in Alaska, these moments of connection really defined my year.

As I look forward, I am filled with optimism. Our work in 2024 set a strong foundation for the years to come. Together with our partners and communities, we’ll continue to build, heal, and create meaningful change.