California Forward (CA FWD) leads a statewide movement, bringing people together across communities, regions and interests to improve government and create inclusive, sustainable growth for everyone.
A 501(c)(3) organization, CA FWD drives collective action to identify solutions that can be taken to scale to meet the challenges the state is facing. The organization is driven by the belief that this collective action will help ensure the economic, environmental and social prosperity of all people.
How We Do It
We start with the evidence. The data gathered by the California Dream Index serves as our “North Star,” allowing us to track economic mobility and keep ourselves and others accountable for progress.
We center our work in California’s diverse regions with the power of the California Stewardship Network, an alliance of regional leaders that are focused on triple-bottom-line solutions that balance equity, environmental sustainability and economic growth.
Through the California Economic Summit and our work groups, we lift up policy agendas and recommendations that will be advanced throughout the year.
When appropriate, we move policy recommendations forward through our sister advocacy organization, the CA FWD Action Fund.
CA FWD is also committed to elevating the next generation of diverse and empowered leaders through our Young Leaders Advisory Council and Becky Morgan Steward Leadership Program.
Since 2019, the organization has partnered with the Newsom Administration on the Regions Rise Together Initiative, organizing convenings with regional leaders to lift up and empower regional approaches to economic development.
The Values That Drive Us
Equity
We envision a state where Californians of every region, race and creed prosper and where government is effective, transparent and accountable to them.
Stewardship
We believe that the solutions to the state’s most pressing challenges must be rooted in a triple-bottom-line approach that balances social equity, environmental sustainability, and economic opportunity.
Diversity
We empower collective action to create lasting and inclusive change by bringing people together who have different demographic backgrounds, regional communities, lived experiences, and political and sectoral perspectives. As a multi-partisan organization, we work to lift all voices.
Accountability
We hold ourselves and state leaders accountable for progress, relying on trusted data to inform and move policy forward.
Courage
We have the courage to speak out against policies that will stand in the way of achieving shared prosperity for all and to provide bold new alternative practices and policies that will help our state and communities thrive.
Reform Achieved
These values are also represented in reforms CA FWD has been involved with that fortify California’s governance. Since its launch in 2008, the organization has had a successful track record of proposing, endorsing and promoting a variety of reforms that have positively impacted the residents of California: