Justice in Motion – Celebrating Our Fellows: Part 1
Thanks to everyone who attended “Celebrate on November 8” at Studio Channel Islands Camarillo!
New 2025 Social Justice Fellows Julio Alcala, Shantel Ortiz, and Jon Cesario shared their inspirational messages of fairness, equity, human rights, and hope, including an impassioned call to action for justice for at-risk youth from Jon, who went off script.
SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, October 11, 2025; 11am – 2pm
Thanking 2024 Fellows! | Welcoming 2025 Fellows!
Studio Channel Islands – Camarillo
Details to follow.
Social Justice Fellows (past and present), guided by our talented mentors and coaches, tackle these and many more challenges to improve Ventura County for all of us!
Become a Social Justice Fellow!
SJFVC is more than meets the eye …
“We didn’t realize how much the Social Justice Fund Board and Staff does for the Fellows – it’s more than just grants; it’s a recipe to cultivate leaders consisting of mentorship, coaching, business skills education and support.” ~ Meenal and Kris Kelkar, longtime donors.
Today, the SJFVC Board of Directors launches a match opportunity. We will match your donation dollar-for-dollar up to a maximum of $8,656 through December 31, 2024. Please take advantage of this chance to make your donation more impactful. Your $250 contribution becomes $500, for example. Click below to “Donate Now” or send a check to Social Justice Fund for Ventura County, P.O. Box 1271, Camarillo, CA 93011.
We are still accepting applications for the Social Justice Fellowships Program.
We will host an Applicant Workshop on Thursday, August 22, at 6:30pm.
Our leadership will answer questions and guide applicants in writing quality requests. Interested candidates, please join us.
Our history is included below, and application details are here: Grant Process – SJFVC
For more information, please send questions or referrals to our Program Manager, Jonathan Macaranas, at info@socialjusticefundvc.org.
The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJFVC) is pleased to announce we are accepting applications for our 2024 Fellowship grants. Fellowship grants are awards to emerging leaders in Ventura County who have a project impacting their communities, a passion for social justice and a financial need, which, if met, can facilitate meeting the project’s goals. Grants range from $5,000 to $13,000.
The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County welcomes all candidates who have a passion for social justice, a desire to play an active role in helping to further social justice in Ventura County, can work independently, and take initiatives to help us develop and grow our programs.
Last month, SJFVC participated in the Justice For All rally and march and held a Peer Grant Writing Workshop with our current and past Fellows. Being able to connect with and support our Fellows and local community has allowed for…
The past year has brought remarkable achievements for SJFVC! Our third cohort of Fellows wrapped up this past summer, and their accomplishments throughout the Fellowship were truly outstanding.
VENTURA COUNTY — CA District 38 Office of Assemblymember Steve Bennett was scheduled to join Coastal Keepers for their final event of 2023 on Saturday, Dec. 16 at the Port Hueneme Beach Park.
The event included the End-of-Year Coastal Cleanup Celebration and a $10,000 Check Presentation from the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJFVC).
Participants were invited to help support Coastal Keepers mission to keep the shores of Port Hueneme and Ormond Beach beautiful for generations to come.
SJFVC Fellow Marisol Gonzalez Building
Fillmore Relationships
Last week, SJFVC Fellow Marisol Gonzalez and Board Member Kim Marra Stephenson presented to the Fillmore Lions Club about SJFVC and Marisol’s work in establishing the Fillmore Conservation Corps.
Maripas Jacobo, member of the Coastal Keepers team, will be identifying categorizing, and mapping trash and litter found upstream in Tsumas Creek and Ormond Lagoon. Maripas is focusing on areas that have been ignored in order to identify the ways in which trash and litter impact South Oxnard and Port Hueneme. They will educate the community on their findings and present these findings to local policymakers.
As the 2022-2023 Social Justice Fellowship cycle comes to an end, there is much to reflect on and celebrate! We are proud to highlight that the SJFVC is a first funder, helping new leaders who have never received funding before. In the summary below, you will notice that a majority of our Fellows are now receiving more funding and support from foundations and other sources. This is a great sign that our training and coaching is helping to launch them as new voices for justice.
As we progress through this year, the SJFVC is thankful for the beautiful green hills, the incredible progress made by our Fellows, and the exciting updates from our SJFVC team:
The SJFVC team met to plan and set goals for 2023.Building on the accomplishments and support of the donors and community members in 2022, we plan to continue to fund up to 5 Fellows in 2023, reinforce our coaching and training efforts for the Fellows, and hold in-person events. Our next in-person event will be held in Nyeland Acres to support that community and the efforts our Fellow Brenda Heredia is making to bring health services to the area. There will also be a celebratory event for the Fellows in the Fall. We will be sending out dates soon!
As the end of the year draws near, the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJFVC) has been working hard to support our fellows and reflect on the impact of our work. In a recent meeting, Dexter Nunnery – one of our 2022 fellows – stated the following:
The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJFVC) and Chalice Community Forums will host a zoom event where Sara Guillen, Elibet Valencia Muñoz, and Maria Rodriguez will present their social justice projects and their impact in Ventura County. All three Xicana and Latina women were recipients of the Social Justice Fellowship grant and leadership program from the SJFVC. Come hear about social justice issues in our county and the progress made towards addressing them! This zoom meeting is a follow up from a January Community Forum, “New Voices for Justice.”
The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJFVC) would like to invite you to an opening of an exhibition and performance organized by our Fellow, Elibet Valencia Munoz.
Elibet was awarded a fellowship grant to make a photo documentary on the elegant Oaxacan dance called “La Danza de los Diablos”. This dance includes the wearing of horned, devilesque masks.
The goal of Elibet’s project is to bring awareness to the diversity of culture and heritage within Ventura County and to advocate for more just representations and services for the Mixtec and afro-indigenous community.
Greetings from the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJFVC). This update is the last of 2020, a very tough year for all with the pandemic and a toxic political atmosphere. Despite all this difficulty, I take heart that there are many people, young people, struggling for fairness and equity, and trying to bend the arc of history towards justice. SJFVC, thanks to our donors and supporters, has been able to support this effort. Here is the latest update:
