O2 Initiatives

Our Story O2 Initiatives creates space for dedicated nonprofit leaders to take an essential break for rest, renewal, and reimagining the future of their organizations. The idea for the O2 Sabbatical Award originated after meeting Carrie Avery, President of The Durfee Foundation, and learning about their longtime sabbatical program in Los Angeles. We were inspired by the transformative impact the Durfee Sabbatical program has had on the professional and personal lives of LA executive directors, and we immediately began dreaming of bringing a similar program to the Bay Area. The O2 Sabbatical Award officially launched in 2014. O2 Commitment to Equity Nonprofit executive directors face monumental tasks that can lead to burnout—serving as leaders on the frontlines of their communities while relentlessly fundraising to secure the financial viability of their organizations. For leaders who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), these demands are exacerbated by multigenerational trauma and racist systems that expect deep community needs to be addressed with inadequate resources, compensation, and mental health support.? O2 is committed to advancing race equity by investing in changemakers that are representative of the rich identities and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2022, to further this commitment, we began collecting applicant demographic data, increasing outreach to diverse communities, and including race equity statements in our communications. These efforts resulted in 68% (2022) and 60% (2023) of total applicants who identified as BIPOC; during this same period, 69% of selected awardees identified as BIPOC. Our goal is to maintain a majority of BIPOC applicants and awardees in future sabbatical cycles. We will continue to track this data to ensure that local BIPOC leaders are aware of the O2 Sabbatical Award and feel a sense of belonging with our alumni cohort, who are trusted partners in awardee selection, mentorship, peer-to-peer engagement, and the strategic direction of the program.