FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 23, 2021
Contact:
Vaishalee Raja,
Senior Communications Officer
213-283-2007
vraja@irvine.org
SAN FRANCISCO (March 23, 2021) – The James Irvine Foundation Board of Directors approved 14 grants totaling $22,635,000 last week. The grants primarily support for the Foundation’s three initiatives focused on working Californians (Fair Work, Better Careers, and Priority Communities).
Board-approved grants includes:
Initiatives
Better Careers
A two-year grant of $1.3 million to support the Chaffey College InTech Center’s pre-apprenticeship to job placement workforce pipeline for advanced manufacturing and other growing industries in the Inland Empire.
Foundation for California Community Colleges
A two-year grant of $1 million to support apprenticeship readiness and expansion throughout California, especially within community colleges.
Goodwill Industries of Southern California
A two-year grant of $750,000 to expand career pathway training programs that support living-wage careers in the manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and logistics sectors.
Jewish Vocational & Career Counseling Service
A three-year grant of $3 million for general operating support.
A three-year grant of $2 million to support LeadersUp’s work to advance economic mobility and better career outcomes for California’s next generation of BIPOC talent.
A two-year grant of $1 million to develop and advance workforce development policies through policymaker education and analysis, with a focus on increasing racial equity in skills training, to help more Californians access good jobs.
A three-year grant of $1.5 million to ensure East Bay communities have access to workforce development and supportive services in order to achieve full economic and civic participation.
San Diego Workforce Partnership, Inc.
A two-year grant of $1.5 million to support the CyberHire San Diego initiative, a workforce talent pipeline that aims to increase the number of unemployed/underemployed and low-wage workers in quality cybersecurity careers.
Small Business Majority Foundation Inc.
A one-year grant of $750,000 to support California’s small business employers through the COVID-19 pandemic and into recovery.
State Center Community College Foundation
A two-year grant of $500,000 to support the Central Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program.
Fair Work
Partnership for Working Families
A two-year grant of $2.3 million to expand engagement of low-income workers in regions throughout California, while strengthening collaboration and the work of member organizations to improve workplace standards and access to quality jobs.
Priority Communities
Inland Empire Community Foundation
A one-year grant of $835,000 to support the backbone functions and build participation among community-based organizations for the Inland Economic Growth and Opportunity (IEGO) initiative.
Additional Grantmaking
A two-year grant of $5 million to support a partnership with College Futures Foundation to increase the completion rate for bachelor’s degrees in California, particularly for Black and Latinx students, through more student-centered pathways. This is the second grant as part of the transition from Irvine’s prior Postsecondary Success grantmaking.
