Music Changing Lives was humming along fine but something was missing.

CEO Josiah Bruny wanted to grow the Redlands nonprofit, which exposes underprivileged kids to music and the arts. So he met with Funders Alliance of San Bernardino & Riverside Counties last year and began putting into practice a toolkit developed by the Alliance and 20/20 Network, an Upland-based public affairs firm, so nonprofits in the Inland Empire can attract more donors and grow.

Through surveys of the kids and their parents, Bruny touted a new narrative in brochures and in a video produced with the California Endowment that told stories of hope — namely that troubled kids expressing their feelings through art is powerful.

Students from the Redlands-based nonprofit Music Changing Lives show off their dance moves at a recent team competition hosted by UC Riverside. The nonprofit exposes underprivileged kids to music and the arts. It has benefited from fundraising tutorials from Funders Alliance of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties and 20/20 Network, an Upland-based public affairs firm, which developed a toolkit called “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” so nonprofits in the IE can attract more donors and grow.

John Villarruel, left, Emiliano Aguilar, center and Joshua Flores are students from the Redlands-based nonprofit Music Changing Lives’ after school program. They are learning piano in preparation for a competition on May 9, 2019. The students are from Butterfield Elementary School in Moreno Valley. The nonprofit exposes underprivileged kids to music and the arts. It has benefited from tutorials on fundraising given by the Funders Alliance of San Bernardino & Riverside Counties and 20/20 Network, which developed a toolkit called “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” so nonprofits in the Inland Empire can attract more donors and grow.

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Redlands-based Bollywood Dancers perform at Redlands Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, along with performers from other nonprofits, such as Music Changing Lives. The group works to improve the Inland Empire brand and helps underprivileged kids express themselves through art, music and dance. Nonprofits are learning how to better tell their stories to attract philanthropic investment following the release of a report, “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” that found philanthropic donations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties amounted to only a fraction of those received by nonprofits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Costumed kids enjoy Unity Fest at Redlands Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. The group, Music Changing Lives, is a nonprofit which improves the Inland Empire brand and helps underprivileged kids express themselves through art, music and dance. Nonprofits are learning how to better tell their stories to attract philanthropic investment following the release of a report, “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” that found philanthropic donations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties amounted to only a fraction of those received by nonprofits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Betty Crocker, Redlands Unified School District director of child nutrition services, left, rocks out at Redlands Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. Nonprofits are learning how to better tell their stories to attract philanthropic investment following the release of a report, “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” that found philanthropic donations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties amounted to only a fraction of those received by nonprofits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)



A high-spirited photo booth is featured at Redlands Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. Nonprofits are learning how to better tell their stories to attract philanthropic investment following the release of a report, “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” that found philanthropic donations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties amounted to only a fraction of those received by nonprofits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Sydney Jiles, of San Bernardino, freestyles at Redlands Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. Nonprofits are learning how to better tell their stories to attract philanthropic investment following the release of a report, “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” that found Inland Empire philanthropic donations amounted to only a fraction of those received by nonprofits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riley Crawford, 6, of Redlands, asks a performer about his dance at the Unity Fest at Redlands Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. Nonprofits are learning how to better tell their stories to attract philanthropic investment following the release of a report, “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” that found Inland Empire philanthropic donations amounted to only a fraction of those received by nonprofits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Anna Jaiswal, center, who dances at Unity Fest at Redlands Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, is a performer with the Bollywood Dancers. The group and others, including nonprofit Music Changing Lives, performed at the event. Nonprofits are learning how to better tell their stories to attract philanthropic investment following the release of a report, “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” that found Inland Empire philanthropic donations amounted to only a fraction of those received by nonprofits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Bollywood dancers perform at Redlands Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, along with performers from other nonprofits, such as Music Changing Lives. Nonprofits are learning how to better tell their stories to attract philanthropic investment following the release of a report, “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” that found philanthropic donations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties amounted to only a fraction of those received by nonprofits in Los Angeles and Orange counties. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)



As a result, the nonprofit is expanding. In January, it will open a new youth innovation center in Riverside that will feature silk-screening and robotics as well as the arts.

“It taught me how to better tell my story to a funder,” Bruny said.

Inland Empire nonprofits pull in fewer dollars

The report entitled: “Inland Empire: Changing the Narrative,” a self-help makeover of the twin counties’ image, was distributed to hundreds of nonprofits and government groups in 2019. The data they uncovered was shocking: IE nonprofits receive a fraction of the donor money given to their counterparts in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Nonprofits in the IE receive about $25.55 per capita, as compared to the state average of $262.99. Orange County gets $132.98 per capita, and L.A. County $245.05.

“We get one-tenth the amount in the state. The IE lags significantly behind,” said Steve Lambert, partner with 20/20 Network.

Part of the reason is the young age of the IE as a region, said Randall Lewis, executive vice president of the Lewis Group of Companies and a philanthropist in the area who supports education for underprivileged children. He serves as co-chair of the San Bernardino County Alliance for Education.

“Some of the best and well-funded not-for-profits have been around a long time and these tend to be in areas that have had large populations for a long time,” Lewis said in an email. “Almost by definition, growing areas (like the IE) are newer and younger, so they don’t have as many institutions with a long history of success and fundraising.”

An image makeover needed

Lambert, an ex-Chicagoan who moved to the IE more than two decades ago, saw a bigger problem. Too often, outsiders view the Inland Empire as a dusty desert lined with warehouses surrounded by soot-spewing diesel trucks instead of a place of natural beauty, affordable homes and unlimited potential.

When he first landed at Ontario International Airport, he reveled in the glorious mountain views and later became impressed by the can-do attitude of the people. Helping nonprofits boost their sagging budgets started with an abrupt attitude shift.

“We are our own worst enemy when describing ourselves,” Lambert said during a presentation to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority in September. “We need to re-position that IE brand to one of strength.”

After interviewing 250 people, conducting focus groups, surveys and hosting a brand confab at the Redlands Bowl during the past two years, the Alliance and 20/20 drew up a one-page cheer sheet and a comprehensive tool kit they shared with 11,000 IE-based nonprofits and dozens of government-based services.

One by one, these entities learned to shake off negative imagery. They “owned” their region, consisting of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Even the name “Inland Empire” was spoken with pride. And most of all, they crafted new pitches, better grant applications and story-telling videos. Soon, they started to see more money pour in.

Philanthropic foundations have increased their investment in the Inland Empire over the past several years, from $61.3 million in 2013 to $115 million in 2016, Lambert said.

While a lot came from outside the region, the IE nonprofits still lagged far behind the rest of California. So he took the report and toolkit on the road.

Training the nonprofits

Susan Gomez is CEO of the Inland Empire Community Collaborative, a nonprofit that aggregates other nonprofits. The organization helps 74 others with budgets, marketing and yes, fundraising.

Initially, she said the materials from the Alliance-20/20 report didn’t have hooks for small nonprofits to grab onto. “There was something tangibly missing about the way they were going to roll out this toolkit. I don’t want to go to a training for four hours if I don’t leave with something I can use.”

So, the IECC designed a curriculum, conducting seven workshops in San Bernardino and Riverside counties in September and early October. Tackling the tension between the two counties was job No. 1, Gomez said. Some desert communities in Riverside County did not want to be included in the IE circle, and sometimes nonprofits in one county or the next didn’t see eye-to-eye.

“We started to talk about what is best for the whole region,” she said.

Using the 20/20 toolkit, she brought together developers, banks, foundations and nonprofits. Slowly, the workshops began to erase some of the IE stereotypes many brought to the meetings.

A different narrative

“It was exciting to see, especially from some of the developers,” Gomez said in an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 23. “They had said they were reluctant to come to the IE because they heard it was not a safe place to live. But they found their actual experience was a different one.

“A lot of us (nonprofits) began talking about the positive things in the IE, instead of just hearing about the shootings in San Bernardino,” Gomez said.

“Changing the Narrative” began as a pushback against a 2008 Irvine Foundation report, which characterized IE nonprofits as weak, with poor management practices.

A lack of nonprofit management could have been the result of inadequate funding. The report from “Changing the Narrative” says 67% of the IE nonprofits have budgets of under $25,000. Many need funds but don’t have the personnel to go after grants.

“Instead of us waiting for a funder, we said we need to be the change agents and identify the bright spots in our communities that they were not talking about,” Gomez explained.

For example, Gomez and others worked with the Young Visionaries Youth Academy in San Bernardino that needed a van to transport kids to and from after-school programs.

Their grant application basically said they didn’t have enough money to buy a van and transport the students.

“We said, ‘Let’s frame this in a different way: If we had a bus there would be 52 more kids with access to after-school programs to do their homework, which ultimately will help them in school and keep them off the streets,’” Gomez said.

High needs, low donations

Within the two-county region, there are 25 colleges and universities, 56 school districts with 832,000 K-12 students. Every day, 120 people move to the region because they choose to, according to the 20/20-Alliance report.

The population is predicted to grow from about 4.5 million today to 7 million by 2050. Ironically, more services will be needed and government can’t always fill that need, said Lambert, a former editor at The Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin newspapers in San Bernardino County.

“We have high poverty rates and challenges. So the nonprofits are up against it,” said Lambert. “Nonprofits are there to transform lives.”

Telling their stories

More importantly, the toolkit and other resources were used to tell the story of children who come to Music Changing Lives.

By using artistic endeavors as a creative force, the nonprofit fills a void in a young person’s life that may have been occupied by gangs or drugs, Bruny said.

“We are changing the narrative that said kids are lazy or kids are not involved civically. We are showing that these kids care about their community and want change,” he said.

Even the IECC began putting into practice the best practices from the Alliance-20/20 report and toolkit.

This fall, the nonprofit aggregate began getting more work, a sign that donors wanted to help its group of nonprofits. This year it received a $1 million contract, adding $1 million to its revenues as compared to $10,000 five years ago, Gomez said.

But while she still wants to boost the nonprofit community, her heart remains with the smaller organizations in her collaborative trying new ways to attract new dollars, such as the Young Visionaries Youth Academy. The IECC helped shape the nonprofit’s funding application earlier this month using the toolkit.

“I hope they get their van,” Gomez said.

Inland Empire By the Numbers

11,000: Number of nonprofit organizations

Number of nonprofit organizations $25.55: Per capita foundation spending on nonprofits

Per capita foundation spending on nonprofits $115 million: Annual contributions from philanthropic foundations to IE nonprofits as of 2016 – an increase of 85% from 2013 ($61.3 million)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct information in photo captions about performers at the Unity Fest in Redlands.