Sacramento nonprofits hopeful for city funds, despite not yet receiving money

Ishmael Pruitt, chief executive officer of Project Optimism, feels children are born into realities they didn’t choose.

He founded nonprofit Project Optimism in 2015 believing that if he could shift how disenfranchised youth in Sacramento understand their circumstances, he could utilize that as motivation to get them to achieve their goals, ranging from attending college to becoming entrepreneurs.

“For us, it’s not about pushing college or a certain topic on them,” Pruitt said. “It’s more about them having confidence in themselves to bring to life what they want and understanding that they have a responsibility to their community.”

Pruitt’s program equips underrepresented Sacramentans between 9-24 to be productive contributors to society through mentorship and diversion programs. Younger participants partake in daily 20-minute mentorship sessions at school to discuss behavior, attendance and academics and, later, two-hour group-training and enrichment sessions to build on the one-on-one meeting curriculum.

Students aged 18-24 participate in a program model called “Mentor the Mentor,” where they are eligible for stipend compensation, serving as mentors to younger children and receiving education on professionalism and career development.

“We believe at Project Optimism in teaching through experience versus just giving them a book,” Pruitt said. “Particularly students of color, and more specifically Black students, we don’t just learn by sitting; we need to be doing something so that we are utilizing the experience.”

Pruitt’s Project Optimism was recently selected to receive more than $400,000 in Measure L funding to further this mission.

Measure L is an initiative that allocates revenue from cannabis taxes to child and youth services. The Sacramento City Council’s process of formally selecting organizations was contentious, suffering delays after being passed three years ago. Finally approved in June, the money was set to be distributed in June or July, according Rene Kausin, program manager for the Department of Youth, Parks and Community Enrichment, yet two selected recipients have yet to receive allocated funds.

Pruitt had been following the efforts of Measure L since its passing while applying to other grant programs. He applied, attended City Council meetings and engaged in community advocacy to spread the word about his efforts. He disclosed that Project Optimism has yet to receive the funding, but knowing that he was selected for the grant was a confirmation of the company’s potential to invest in youth.

Pruitt hopes, down the line, to use the funding to generate new revenues and continue to build partnerships with other nonprofits and grassroots organizations to push their community-driven mission forward.

“As a nonprofit, my responsibility is to continually identify revenue streams to continue to keep our program operating, but how the program is run is almost completely different, and so is the level of exposure that some young people are getting and the unique needs that we have to be able to adapt to and focus on.”

Pro Youth and Families, a nonprofit, has been delivering mental wellness, substance misuse prevention and civic engagement programming to youth in the area for more than 40 years.

Selected to receive Measure L funding, the organization plans to invest in its Youth and Family Collective, an initiative that builds the capacity of other community-based organizations in the area, according to Kiera Anderson, Director of Advancement for the organization.

The application process for Measure L funding was “challenging,” said Anderson. The organization submitted a collaborative application for Measure L funding during a short window.

“We were super excited about the multi-year award because it allows for sustainability and continuity of services, which is obviously so important to us, and it’s really meaningful support,” Anderson said.

She disclosed that alongside partners, such as Escape Velocity and Impact Sac, listed on the collaborative application, Pro Youth and families received a little more than $1 million dollars, 17% of which will go directly to the organization’s youth stipend program.

The program ensures that students are able to become peer ambassadors and design community service projects, programming that Anderson explained is heavily sought after by school districts and community-based organizations.

“The impact (of the funding) is so crucial right now because there are not a lot of financial resources out there for youth development programs,” Anderson said. “We have such high demand for our mental health programming, and this Measure L funding is going to allow us to significantly impact the youth mental health crisis.”

More than $360,000 will be directly given to Pro Youth and families to be put towards their MindOneSix Collective, a mental wellness initiative promoting resilience and healing, and to address the needs of communities in Oak Park, North City Farms and Lawrence Park.

She divulged that the organization has yet to receive the money tangibly. Nevertheless, she’s optimistic about its investment in youth, particularly at a time when the organization’s funding is in jeopardy at the federal level.

“Our youth are going to suffer if these programs go away, so to have the support from the city of Sacramento with the Measure L funding is just so critical at this time,” Anderson said. “City funding is a backbone for our organization, and we are just very excited to continue our long-standing partnership with the city.”