We are excited to announce a few updates about The James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards, our annual program to recognize leaders whose innovative solutions to critical state challenges improve people’s lives, create opportunity, and contribute to a better California.

Nominations opening soon

Last year, we made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Awards cycle because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, we are thrilled to kick off nominations soon for the 2022 Awards and a new campaign to celebrate the leadership and innovation of Awards alumni who have pivoted to address timely issues like the pandemic. Stay tuned for information about both in the coming weeks.

New social media accounts

We have established new social media accounts focused on the Leadership Awards. Follow us here to learn about the Award recipients and how to nominate California leaders. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be posting inspiring stories about pandemic-inspired pivots and tips to help you prepare a great nomination.

New searchable database helps you find innovative leaders

We are excited to share our new searchable database of Leadership Awards alumni. Use it to identify leaders working on the issues or in the regions most important to you. Explore the Leadership Awards database.

Program management

We are also expanding a partnership for how we find, select, and showcase the recipients each year. Capitol Impact, a Sacramento public affairs firm, will now fully manage the Leadership Awards program after being a trusted partner since 2018. The firm is well-versed in program management, event planning, policy advising, grantmaking, and leadership cultivation – core elements of the program. Irvine will continue to fully fund and support the Leadership Awards but are grateful to have Capitol Impact in this expanded role to take the program to the next level.

Contact information

Moving forward, the Capitol Impact team will be responding to inquiries about the Leadership Awards program. Please feel free to reach them through our Contact page.

We look forward to sharing more information in the coming weeks – and to learning about great leaders who are nominated for the 2022 Awards.