Donors of Color Network Presents
Create The Blueprint
A Donor Strategy Session
DOCN invites you to Create the Blueprint, an in-person, members-only space for donors to roll up their sleeves and align their knowledge, networks, and resources. If you have ever asked yourself “what can we do as donors?”, this is the space to answer that question.
At the end of this 2-day session, you can expect to walk away with a strengthened understanding of how we can use your influence and power to advance racial justice.
Agenda
Optional Lunch + Community Building
Thursday, February 6, 2025 - Afternoon
Location: Kimpton Canary Hotel
Lunch and DOCN Member Connection
12:00pm-1:00pm
Breaking bread together and building community as DOCN members.
Rooting in Lineage: Collective Care Practices
1:00pm-3:00pm
Exploring how our communities have centered rest and care through past generations.
Practicing Rest: Break
3:00pm-4:00pm
Evening - Discussion + Dinner
Thursday, February 6, 2025 - Evening
Location: Honor House
Happy Hour and Member Mingle
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Catching up with old friends and making new ones
DOCN’s story and strategic plan
5:00pm - 6:00pm
DOCN will share where we are in our journey, what’s next, and how organizing to build power is core to our successes to come. This will be the honest, off the record discussion of where DOCN is and what’s next for us.
Dinner
6:00pm - 7:00pm
Enjoying good food and even better company.
Community Building: Rooting in Success
7:00pm - 8:00pm
As we look around the room, we see that DOCN is a group of talented individuals. We’ll ask each member to share a success they had and are proud of, both personally or professionally.
Friday, February 7, 2025
Full Day Schedule
Location: Honor House
Breakfast
9:00am - 10:00am
Time for members to connect with each other and partake in an embodiment practice.
Influence Mapping Exercise
10:00am - 11:30am
Co-creation of a visual map to show where our collective networks are. This will be used to align our actions (see below).
Welcome to CAUSE
11:30am - 12:00pm
Presentation and discussion with the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy about their work, and their organizing in today’s context. Learn more about them here: causenow.org
Lunch
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Opportunity Assessment
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Member-led, small group discussions to explore:
Our current context
Opportunities for us to make a difference
How to build solidarity through these conversations
Opportunity + Influence
2:00pm - 2:30pm
Large group discussion on where we are starting to see overlaps between where we have influence and where we have opportunity.
Practicing Rest: Break
Large group discussion on where we are starting to see overlaps between where we have influence and where we have opportunity.
Action plans
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Discuss preliminary tracks and narrow the list to 4-5 tracks based on what individuals want to strategize together today and over the next 6 months.
Leadership Tracks
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Break into small groups on the following topics:
Exploring individual and collective impact.
Building and delivering a 50/50 strategy.
Organizing an anti-racist economy praxis.
Tackling the wealth gap using divest/engage/invest tactics.
Protecting and deepening wins in climate justice.
Taking back the fight for racial justice.
Combating Exhaustion, Re-Centering Rest and Collective Care.
In each small group, explore:
Why this leadership track? What about DOCN’s membership and strengths makes this leadership track important for you to work on with other DOCN members?
What’s the story? What will you tell friends/colleagues for them to join you in this work?
At the end of the year, what is the headline you want DOCN’s annual report to say about the work you do together in this leadership track?
Agreements: when would you like to meet next? How and how often do you want to check-in together? What is the ask for each other in the network?
Requests: DOCN staff is here to help! What asks do you have of them (scheduling, research, reminders, etc.)
Connect and Reflect
5:00pm - 5:30pm
Close-out and discussion on how this work will be shared and expanded on at Connect and Reflect.
TRansit
5:30pm - 6:00pm
Dinner (optional)
6:00pm
Members will have the option of going to a local restaurant to experience the beauty of Santa Barbara, continue critical conversations in small groups, and spend more time building the connective tissue with each other.
Logistics
The event will take place at the home of DOCN member Jovita Honor in Santa Barbara and we will share the exact location to registered guests only. Please note that guests are responsible for their own airfare and lodging costs.
Below are our recommendations for travel and hotel accommodations. After you register, we will share additional information about Create the Blueprint logistics including additional hotel options, venue information, the agenda, and more.
Travel
If you are flying into Santa Barbara consider the following airports:
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Hollywood Burbank Airport
Accommodations
Kimpton Canary Hotel
Our team has secured room blocks at the Kimpton Canary hotel, which is located close by (see details below).
Group Rate: $309/night in DOCN’s room block
Distance from venue: 2.2 miles
Distance from LAX: 96 miles
Distance from Santa Barbara Airport: 9.8 miles
To book:
By phone: Call 1-855-546-7866
Online: Book using this link
To take advantage of our special DOCN rate, please book your hotel by January 6, 2025.
Belmond El Encanto
The Belmond El Encanto is another excellent hotel recommendation, walking distance from our event. However, we do not have a room block at this hotel.
Estimated rate: $650-$700/night
Distance from venue: 0.4 miles
Distance from LAX: 97 miles
Distance from Santa Barbara Airport: 10 miles
To book:
By phone: Call 1 800 393 5315
Online: Book using this link
For any hotel accommodations support or logistics, please email KP Palisoc, Events Manager, at kp@donorsofcolor.org.
Local Organizations
Soul Bites
Soul Bites brings soulful Southern flavors to the community, offering classics like fried chicken, cornbread, and collard greens in a warm, welcoming atmosphere. It was founded by Stirling Nix-Bradley and Rose Bradley.
Soul Bites isn’t just about soul food, it’s about soul, period. The founders, Stirling Nix-Bradley and Rose Bradley have created something rare in Santa Barbara, a Black-owned space that feels like home, serving up oxtails, fried chicken, and cornbread that taste like someone's grandma is in the kitchen. It’s exactly the kind of place that reminds us why preserving POC-owned businesses matters because of the culture they carry. Soul Bites bring soulful energy, flavors and culture to Santa Barbara one bite at a time.
423 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA
805-869-2198
Secret Bao
This is a hidden gem in Santa Barbara, Secret Bao offers a modern take on Asian flavors and it is owned by chefs Felicia Medina & Peter Lee. The menu features fresh house-made bao and a unique selection of dishes inspired by global influences.
Secret Bao stands out not just for its inventive menu, but for the way it honors the diversity of Asian cuisine and represents what happens when chefs cook without limits. After years of working in fine dining, Chefs Felicia Medina and Peter Lee were ready to cook the food they love without the constraints of fine dining norms. What started as a pop-up became one of Santa Barbara’s most exciting dining spots - blending Korean, Chinese, and Japanese influences into something that is completely their own.
1201 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, CA
805-259-3226
Bibi Ji
Bibi Ji is a hotspot in Santa Barbara that brings a fresh approach to Indian food. This restaurant offers an exciting mix of modern Indian dishes and curated wines and it is led by Alejandro Medina and James Beard award-winning sommelier Rajat Parr.
Bibi Ji isn’t your typical Indian restaurant. Alejandro Medina and Rajat Parr take traditional Indian flavors and flip them into something fresh, modern, and distinctly Californian while still maintaining the heart of the cuisine. Spaces like this challenge the idea of what Indian food "should" be and prove that culture isn’t static - it evolves and transforms through time while also preserving tradition.
734 State St, Santa Barbara, CA
805-560-6845
Menchaca Chocolates
Menchaca Chocolates was founded by Santa Barbara natives, Leanne Iverson and Pete Menchaca, whose love story spans decades. After reconnecting later in life, they combined their passions for art and chocolate to create a chocolate factory and shop in their hometown.
Leanne Iverson and Pete Menchaca’s intentional approach to creating Menchaca Chocolates proves that high-quality chocolate doesn’t have to exploit people or the planet. This chocolate shop ensures that we can enjoy delicious chocolate with a conscience.
646-369-7277
Register for Create the Blueprint