Orange County Grantmakers

Community Programming

Community Programming

Beyond Equity learning Series

Building upon its own Equity Strategic Plan and the recent report Beyond Equity: Seeking Liberation, Autonomy and Justice in Orange County, Orange County Grantmakers is excited to announce a learning series on the historical and cultural context for inequity in our region as well as the need for systemic change to address its root causes.

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Community Programming

Leader to Leader program

OCG recognizes the power and the importance of the BIPOC lead nonprofit community, increasing sustainability, and the necessity of breaking-down the division between funders and nonprofits. Our program, Leader to Leader, provides a space for BIPOC leading and serving nonprofit professionals to connect with one another through learning sessions, and networking opportunities, as well as, exchange insight and knowledge on how to navigate some of the unique challenges leaders may be faced with. 

Community Programming

Partner Happy Hours with OneOC & OCNPN

Every quarter, OCG, OneOC, and OCNPN co-host an exciting evening of connection between the Orange County nonprofit and philanthropic community. Our Nonprofit Happy Hours are the perfect time to connect with fellow leaders to share best practices, and build a stronger sense of community in a fun environment. Keep an eye out on our social media platforms and communications to register for our next event! 

Community Programming

OC Immigrant and Refugee Liberty Fund

As of 2023, nearly 30% of Orange County’s population was foreign-born, with large communities from Mexico, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, and Korea. County services must reflect this diversity to ensure immigrant communities are not excluded or discriminated against. The OC Immigrant and Refugee Liberty Fund helps immigrants navigate the legal system and access representation, advocacy, and basic needs. It aims to give immigrants and refugees a fair chance to avoid unjust detention or deportation.

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How do we build a compassionate and inclusive America in an age of distrust? WAJAHAT ALI knows from personal experience that when we come together to be the superheroes of our own stories, we can create honest social change. The beloved TED speaker has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic about our urgent issues—immigration, politics, parenthood—with boldness, hope, and humor. His memoir Go Back to Where You Came From, one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Year, follows his life as a Muslim Pakistani-American on a surprising, emotional, and challenging quest for the good life. Iconic journalist Katie Couric says that “we are all so fortunate to be on the receiving end of his intellect, his humanity, and his heart.”

Wajahat Ali

“With wit and charm, Ali delivers a masterful meditation on growing up brown in America...he gives us a clear-eyed affirmation of the country America could be.” — Mara Gay, New York Times

Mara Gay, New York Times

Wajahat Ali uses his platform to fight tirelessly for the social change we need in our country—and he isn’t afraid to get personal while doing it. The Daily Beast columnist and former New York Times writer, TED speaker, award-winning playwright, and Peabody-nominated producer of the documentary series The Secret Life of Muslims offers us his experiences of triumph over hardship as a beacon of hope and resilience in the face of life’s impossible situations. From his experiences of Islamophobia growing up as a Muslim Pakistani-American to his two-year-old daughter’s liver cancer diagnosis, Wajahat is living proof that when we share our authentic stories, we build the America we wish to live in.”

In his memoir Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, Wajahat teaches us how to create our own superhero origin story, invest in hope for the future of America, and enact real social change. The book was called “biting and funny and full of heart” by NPR. Representative Ilhan Omar called Wajahat’s work “hilarious” and “deeply moving”, and legendary writer Dave Eggers said it was the book he’d “been hoping Wajahat Ali would write for ten years—hilarious, stylistically fearless, deeply humane.”

Wajahat is also the author of The Domestic Crusaders—the first major play about Muslim-Americans in a post-9/11 world. He was the lead researcher and author for the Center for American Progress’s seminal report “Fear Inc., Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America,” and served as a national correspondent for Al Jazeera America, where he told stories about communities and individuals often marginalized or under-reported in mainstream media.

As Creative Director of Affinis Wajahat Labs, he worked to create social entrepreneurship initiatives to support and uplift marginalized communities. He also worked with the US State Department to design and implement the “Generation Change” leadership program to empower young social entrepreneurs. Wajahat initiated chapters in eight countries, including Pakistan and Singapore. For his work, he was honored as a “Generation Change Leader” by Sec. of State Clinton and recognized as an “Emerging Muslim American Artist” by the Muslim Public Affairs Council. 

He has given keynote speeches around the world such as TED, The Aspen Ideas Festival, Google, the United Nations, and The New Yorker Festival. His writing appears regularly in the New York Times, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and The Guardian. He’s a Senior Fellow at The Western States Center and Auburn Seminary and co-host of Al Jazeera’s The Stream.