Fall is in the air and we are reminded of how very lucky we are to live in the Coachella Valley.  This year in particular, we are experiencing great weather while most of the country is experiencing early winter weather. 

Good weather or not, your RAP team continues working with great enthusiasm on projects intended to support our nonprofit community.  For example, we decided to expand our official Ribbon Cutting event (which took place on November 13th) to include a reception spotlighting the Give BIG Riverside County on-line donation campaign.  The festivities were jointly hosted by Riverside County Supervisor John J. Benoit, National Community Renaissance, Hope Through Housing, along with The United Way of the Desert and the Community Foundation.   

RAP Board members Joe Hayes, John Benoit, Rosemary Ortega,Rudy Gutierrez,Claudia Galvez, Bill Kroonen & staff

Twenty three organizations from the Coachella Valley participated in this year's "FUNd-raising activity."    While we're very pleased with this inaugural effort, we look forward to increasing the number next year as word of mouth spreads of the financial benefits and increased exposure in the community.

Additionally, RAP's Technical Assistance Program has helped launch the latest UCR Nonprofit Management Certificate Program, under way at the Palm Desert campus.  UCR reports that an anonymous donor provided 10 scholarships along with RAP's 15 recipients.  We wish them all well as they complete the rigorous 35-week program, which will wrap up next July.   RAP's investment in career development benefits students as well as their respective organizations.  Those benefits, of course, accrue to our entire community.

 The RAP Board recently joined with the Palm Desert Rotary in providing funding to replace a Galilee Center food delivery truck.  The new truck was "christened" at a recent community event attended by our Desert Connect Team, 

Trinidad Arredondo and Mireya Reyes. 

Galilee Founder Gloria Gomez,  RAP staff Mireya R. and Trinidad A.

And while we are on the subject of Desert Connect... our Rethink Your Drink project continues to provide filtered cool water stations to high traffic locations such as the Coachella Valley Boys and Girls Club and the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition's Las Casas I.  Thanks to our RAP Board member Ricardo Loretta, for joining Trinidad and Mireya.

RAP Board member Ricard Loretta helping kids fill their water bottles

In news Board members are quite familiar with, we took possession of our new office, and have settled in fairly well already.  I'd like to invite nonprofits who are in need of meeting rooms, and other technical assistance services (such as translation services and photocopying) to contact us.  We are here to serve our nonprofit community in enabling them to improve services for our residents.

 Several RAP staff attended the recent Southern California Grantmakers' Annual Conference in Los Angeles.   This year's theme was "Building Resilient Communities:  Opportunities for Philanthropic Leadership."    We were reminded of the need to collaborate with other funders to break down barriers in addressing important community issues.  It is with this outlook that RAP intends to continue to be involved in the Clinton Health Matters Coachella Valley's Funder's Alliance to support partnership opportunities benefiting our residents.

Trinidad A. pictured with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Arianna Huffington, Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post Media Group

The RAP Team sends best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. 

 "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."    Melody Beattie.

Sincerely,

Leticia De Lara, CEO 

Save the Date

Thursday March 19,2015

Indian Wells Theater Cal State University San Bernardino-Palm Desert Campus-37-500 Cook St.

Palm Desert

Cost: $35.00 per ticket before 1/31/15

and $45.00 after

www.regionalaccessproject.org