Are there organizations already focusing on this idea of creating new mechanism for promoting civic engagement?
Dominguez-Arms: It’s really interesting. Some of the organizations we support have been on a parallel track, thinking that this is where they need to move their work. They’re excited by the challenge of how to institutionalize community involvement in a way that goes beyond one issue campaign after another. And then again, some aren’t thinking about that, or don’t feel like they want to take this approach. So I think our grantmaking will shift somewhat among the organizations we’re supporting. At the same time, we anticipate we’ll identify new partners in this arena, too. Irvine Quarterly: How will Irvine measure the success of this approach? Dominguez-Arms: We will be looking at the extent to which organizations have been successful in instituting new mechanisms. We’ll also be looking at how we can share their approach with others so that others can apply strategies in other regions of the state. As an example, the Irvine board recently approved a grant to TransForm, an Oakland-based
