The Council on Foundations (COF) held a historic gathering in May. The Summit offered a rare opportunity for eligible organizations and individuals to discuss philanthropy’s future with other leaders from around the globe and to take part in programs and activities designed to enhance collaboration and impact.

ZeroDivide’s Director of Technology, Eugene Chan co-designed the session on Wired Philanthropy: Information Age Tools/Technology By and For Grantmakers and ZeroDivide’s Chief Community Investment Officer, Laura L. Efurd presented. Noted venture philanthropist, Josh Becker presented a session he designed entitled Mission-Related Investing: Leveraging Assets for Social Change.

At our annual board retreat earlier this year, we had the pleasure of hosting Josh Becker (New Cycle Capital) as a panel member along with Dr. Lucy Bernholz (Blueprint) and Geoff Yang (Redpoint Ventures) to discuss how nonprofits can adopt venture capital models to create new philanthropic markets. To view the video

Come Hang Together

in the name of

Children and Art

May 21, 2008

A Charity Art Auction to Support

Visual Thinking Strategies

Since 2004, ZeroDivide’s Hip hop Initiative has worked with some of the foremost progressive and forward thinking individuals dedicated to transforming an influential cultural form affecting today’s youth and local communities.

This collaboration resulted in the formation of the “Kitchen Cabinet” — an informal advisory group that ensures our Initiative remains relevant and “in touch” with the pulse of Hip hop culture. Leaders in the Hip hop social movement engage in dialogue to strategize, collaborate, and coordinate their efforts so that Hip hop activism remains a force in fostering social justice.

On March 28, ZeroDivide's Hip Hop & Social Justice Initiative sponsored a Kitchen Cabinet Meeting to discuss recent activities in the Hip hop community for the upcoming presidential election.

The Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) is hosting a new media institute specifically to connect Bay Area nonprofit organizations to emerging digital media technologies.

Rap Sessions is a timely community forum on hip-hop and politics designed to engage students in understanding key issues that affect their lives. Presented in a townhall meeting format, this highly interactive 90 minute forum is led by leading hip-hop activists, scholars and artists.

In March and April of 2008, Rap Sessions’ interactive community dialogues will convene in ten cities across the United States.

Bakari Kitwana, the moderator of these discussions, is co-founder of the first ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention and the former editor of The Source. ZeroDivide is proud to partner with grantee organizations that are willing to take bold, new directions.

San Francisco – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today as ZeroDivide announced $1 million investment for technology programs in underserved California communities matched by a $1 million investment from AT&T:

“Thank you to Tessie Guillermo, Timothy Wu and the dynamic board and staff of ZeroDivide for inviting me to be a part of today’s announcement. While I cannot be with you in person, I join Assemblyman Mark Leno and San Francisco’s official family in recognizing ZeroDivide’s longstanding leadership in providing technology resources and opportunities for underserved California communities.

The Community Technology Foundation is now officially ZeroDivide™.

From the beginning, we set as a clear organizational goal to eliminate the “digital divide” – and envisioned a world where there was a “zero divide.”

In changing our name from Community Technology Foundation to ZeroDivide™, we are not changing our identity, but we are claiming a new relevance, based on what we have learned over the past decade.

We feel that our new name reflects what we are most proud of in our philanthropic work. Our name change re-orients us to our mission. Our intent remains the same. Our opportunities to do so are expanding.