News

A Message from our Co-Chairs: Reflecting on 2025 & Looking Ahead

Hello, Business For Good San Diego Community!

As we close out 2025, we want to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished together this year. When we stepped into Board leadership roles at the beginning of this year, we talked about how we need community more than ever. Looking back now, we’re in awe of how this community has shown up, grown, and made a real impact in San Diego.

What we accomplished together in 2025

This year has been one of tremendous growth and impact:

🤩 Community growth: We welcomed over 30 new members in 2025, bringing our total membership to over 120 purpose-driven businesses and professionals across San Diego. Each new member strengthens our collective voice and expands our capacity to create positive change.

💓 Bringing us together: We hosted more than 20 events this year, bringing together over 500 people who are committed to using business as a force for good. We held 11 general member meetings, three quarterly socials, five informal happy hours, and two netweaving events – creating ample opportunities for meaningful connection and collaboration.

💥 Making real impact: Our Advocacy Committee had a powerful year of action. We helped pass the minimum wage increase for hospitality workers—a tangible example of how our collective voice can create meaningful policy change. We also launched our Know Your Rights campaign, providing crucial education and resources for business owners, workers, and community members about their rights and responsibilities during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions. These free workshops help employers and employees stay informed and prepared, ensuring we can maintain safe, compliant workplaces while protecting the dignity and safety of all workers in our community.

🙏🏽 Community collaboration at its best: Our first-ever BFG Day of Service during San Diego Climate Week was a true testament to the power of our community working together. While BFG member Erika Rodriguez co-founded and co-chaired the event, it was truly a collaborative BFG endeavor. Cindy Lin’s Environmental Film Festival nonprofit served as the fiscal sponsor, Sam Mazzeo provided legal support, Corey Cleary-Stoner of AllGoods designed the branding, Lila Cleary-Stoner of AllGoods helped at each event, and Katrina Oprisko coordinated the inaugural bike ride and helped coordinate the first event. This is what Business For Good is all about—our members coming together, contributing their unique skills and expertise, and creating something meaningful for our community.

🚀 New initiatives: We launched Conscious Constellations, a monthly purpose-driven peer group led by Jessa Spainhower, allowing business owners to discuss real problems and find solutions together.

🍁 Reimagining our signature event: Instead of our traditional annual Summit, we hosted our first-ever Fundraising Dinner with Michelin-starred chef Drew Deckman—an intimate, elevated experience that brought together our community in a new way. We look forward to bringing back the 4th Annual (Doing) Business For Good Summit on March 4, 2026, at the USD Kroc School of Peace Studies.

Navigating challenges with transparency

We also want to be transparent with you about the challenges we’ve faced this year. Like many nonprofit organizations, we’ve encountered significant funding constraints. These challenges led to one of the most difficult decisions we’ve had to make as a board: letting go of our Managing Director, Sarah Beauchemin.

Sarah has been instrumental in BFG’s operations and growth over the past two years. Her dedication, vision, and tireless work have helped shape the organization we are today. We are deeply grateful for everything she has contributed to Business For Good, and we wish her all the best in her next chapter.

Our path forward

This transition has prompted us to reimagine our sustainability model. We’re committed to finding creative, community-centered ways to support our mission moving forward through:

Strategic Partnerships: Building relationships with organizations that align with our values and can help amplify our impact
Fundraising Innovation: Developing new fundraising initiatives and events that engage our community while generating sustainable revenue
Member Engagement: Growing our membership base and exploring ways for members to contribute their skills, expertise, and resources to strengthen BFG, while providing value for everyone who joins our community

This isn’t the end of our story – it’s a new chapter. We’re leaning into the creativity and resilience that define our community. We believe that together, we can build a more sustainable model that allows us to continue being the voice of purpose-driven business in San Diego.

Thank you

To our incredible members, Board of Directors, and everyone who has supported Business For Good this year: thank you. Your participation, your advocacy, your connections, and your belief in what we’re building together make all of this possible.

As we head into 2026, we’re excited about the possibilities ahead. We’ll continue creating space for authentic connection, driving meaningful policy change, and supporting each other as we work to make San Diego a more equitable, sustainable, and vibrant place for all.

Wishing everyone a restful and joyful holiday season!

In community and gratitude,