In Marin County’s Canal neighborhood, residents and cross-sector partners are coming together to build a transformative cradle-to-career model for lasting change. This blog highlights the neighborhood’s progress, shared leadership, and vision for a future where every child and family can thrive.
This week, as I join Latino changemakers from across the country at the UNIDOS US 2025 Conference, I am inspired to share the story of how the Canal neighborhood in Marin County is investing in transformative, community-driven change.
Over the last five months, residents, schools, nonprofits, and government agencies have come together through the Canal Promise Neighborhood to coordinate cradle-to-career supports and build a plan that drives student success and economic mobility. Together, they are shaping strategies that address urgent needs while creating long-term opportunities for children and families in the Canal to thrive.
What We’ve Built Together So Far
MARCH 2025
Leaders from the school district, city, county, and local nonprofits came together for the first time as a cross-sector Steering Committee. Participating organizations and agencies included City of San Rafael, College of Marin, Community Action Marin, First 5 Marin, Marin County Office of Education, Marin Health & Human Services, Canal Alliance, Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro Collaborative, Parent Services Project, San Rafael City Schools (SRCS), San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, Marin Community Clinics, and Supervisor Dennis Rodoni.
APRIL
Marin Promise Partnership’s backbone team reviewed existing strategic plans from different organizations and agencies and created a simple crosswalk to show where there was overlap. This step honored years of effort already underway. Together, the Steering Committee identified three shared priorities for collective action:
- Early Learning and Literacy
- College and Career Readiness
- Neighborhood Vitality
MAY 2025
We formally introduced the Canal Promise Neighborhood to over 100 civic leaders at the 2025 Partnership Summit. This was the first major public step in building awareness and commitment to working together for long-term change in the Canal.
JUNE 2025
The Steering Committee recognized that to truly embed community voice, we needed to slow down and move at the pace of trust. In order to ensure residents guide decisions and strategies for change, committee partners agreed that the Canal Promise Neighborhood planning must be closely connected to the broader resident-led Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro (NCNF) process.
JULY 2025
Marin Promise Partnership’s backbone team worked alongside Canal Alliance’s NCNF team and local residents to co-develop activities for a fully resident-led community retreat. The retreat would create space for neighbors to connect with one another, share their visions for the Canal, and guide the next phase of planning together.
AUGUST 2025
Residents led meaningful conversations about early learning, college and career readiness, and placemaking at the NCNF Community Retreat. Using an educational journey map, they shared personal experiences and named both the barriers they face and the solutions they envision for helping children and families reach key milestones from cradle to career. Their insights will directly shape and strengthen the strategies in the Canal Promise Neighborhood plan.
Looking Ahead
The months ahead will focus on turning shared goals into actionable strategies, with community leadership guiding every step.
- In late August, we’ll begin forming workgroups for our three focus areas. These groups will co-develop strategies and performance measures for impact using the Results-Based Accountability framework (a collaborative method to turn big goals into measurable actions).
- Over the next year, cross-sector leaders and residents will work side by side to co-create a long-term plan for student success and economic mobility—one that will guide investments and support holistic, sustainable solutions.
Even as we look ahead, we remain deeply aware of the challenges families are facing today. Fear of immigration enforcement continues to shape how and where Canal residents show up daily. Despite that, many continue to lead, share their vision, and guide this work. Our partners are committed to standing with them, addressing urgent needs as they arise, and ensuring our systems respond with care and accountability.
The Canal Promise Neighborhood is more than a plan. It is a long-term commitment to partner with residents, align systems, and invest in strategies that create real opportunity. As we have seen in other communities across the country, transformational change happens when neighborhoods build strong civic infrastructure that connects services, policies, and investments around shared goals. That is the future we are working toward in the Canal—where cradle-to-career success, economic mobility, and civic power are realities for every child and family.