Overview: The Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) hosted the 2025 Policy & Philanthropy Summit, Common Ground for the Common Good, focusing on building thriving and equitable communities. The summit built upon last year’s report, Vital Conditions for Health and Well-Being, using its findings to analyze what core elements allow communities to thrive, known as “Belonging and Civic Muscle.” The summit featured panels and breakout discussions focusing on community reconnection, understanding legacy, reclaiming and rewriting community history, and humane housing. Keynote Speaker Angela Glover-Blackwell emphasized the importance of civic innovation and community-led governance, including people’s assemblies, and the need for mutual accountability and flourishing.
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On August 6 and 7, the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) hosted the 2025 Policy & Philanthropy Summit, Common Ground for the Common Good. The two-day experience focused on building thriving and equitable communities.
Last year’s summit featured discussion around an IECF commissioned report, Vital Conditions for Health and Well-Being – a report with a framework focusing on foundational needs such as safe housing and civic belonging. At the 2025 summit, the IECF described this framework as “common ground” to focus on foundational needs like safe housing, civic belonging and other means of community unity that create lasting solutions.
This year the IECF commissioned a report from the UCR Center for Community Solutions. The report, Building Common Ground Through Data: Insights on Vital Conditions in the IE, was distributed to attendees and set the stage for this year’s event, using its findings to analyze what core elements allow communities to thrive – known as “Belonging and Civic Muscle.” This concept maintains that certain aspects are needed in order for people to feel seen, valued, connected and empowered to shape the decisions that affect their lives. The report fostered data-driven dialogue which helped shape many discussions throughout the summit.
Day one of the summit included panels and breakout discussions focused on community reconnection, understanding legacy, reclaiming and rewriting community history, and humane housing.
One of the first presentations of the day featured Armando Carmona, project director of the Inland Empire Journalism Innovation Hub and Fund. Focused on reclaiming voice, vision, and future through storytelling, Carmona emphasized the need to shift from discussing deficits to uplifting creativity and strengths. The session was interactive, with each table using prompts contributing to a collective story narrative. Various tables focused on different chapters and by discussing their thoughts, attendees reflected on the community’s journey and envisioned its future across various sectors such as policy, journalism, philanthropy and innovation.
To kick-off the summit, keynote speaker Angela Glover Blackwell, founder of PolicyLink and leader of the Democracy Collaborative at U.C. Berkeley, delivered an engaging speech which discussed her lifelong commitment to racial and economic equity. She emphasized the importance of civic innovation and community-led governance, including people’s assemblies. Blackwell highlighted her work in California and the Inland Empire, stressing the need for a multiracial democracy. As she reflected on her 50-year career, noting past challenges and current perils, Glover-Blackwell underscored the necessity of mutual accountability and flourishing.
Glover Blackwell emphasized that in order for societies to truly flourish.“[People] have to have the agency to actually be involved. Why?” she asked rhetorically, “[Because] you have the possibility of having a good life.” She concluded by stating that this idea of community agency and shared accountability gives her hope for a collaborative, disciplined approach to democracy.
Learn more about the IECF here.
