FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 30, 2022

Contact:
Vaishalee Raja,
Senior Communications Officer
213-283-2007
vraja@irvine.org

SAN FRANCISCO (March 30, 2022) – The James Irvine Foundation has approved 24 grants totaling $35 million in the first quarter of 2022. That includes eight grants totaling $27 million that the Foundation’s Board of Directors approved last week. Not all grants require board approval, based on amount, and more information about all recent grants can be found in the Foundation’s database here.

The Irvine board also approved a new initiative, Just Prosperity. It supports statewide efforts to develop and implement policies that reflect the priorities of low-income Californians by investing in organizations, partnerships, and new ideas that amplify worker voices, advance racial equity, and spark dialogue and action across the state. Irvine’s board of directors has approved an initial budget of $107 million for the next four years, including $30 million for 2022. Read more about that initiative here.

Other grants primarily support the Foundation’s existing initiatives focused on working Californians: Better Careers, Fair Work, and Priority Communities. The board-approved grants include:

Fair Work

Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

A three-year grant of $2 million for general operating support.

Warehouse Worker Resource Center

A two-year grant of $1.7 million to build infrastructure among Los Angeles worker centers on behalf of low-income workers, through an entity such as the Los Angeles Worker Center Network.

Just Prosperity

Advancement Project

A two-year grant of $1.5 million to increase economic mobility among low-income communities in California.

Latino Community Foundation

A two-year grant of $2 million to support the California Latino Power Fund.

The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of its Los Angeles campus

A three-year grant of $1.5 million to alleviate poverty and increase economic mobility in California by improving the effectiveness of policies and publicly provided programs.

Priority Communities

Inland Empire Community Foundation

A three-year grant of $9.345 million to support a community-driven collaborative that improves economic conditions for low-income residents in San Bernardino, through an entity such as Just San Bernardino Collaborative.

Regents of the University of California, on behalf of its Merced campus

A three-year grant of $6.5 million to support the UC Merced Community and Labor Center in strengthening worker justice in the San Joaquin Valley.

Additional Grantmaking

Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc

A four-year grant of $3 million for the Families and Workers Fund to support efforts to advance good jobs and equitable, effective public benefits for low-wage workers in California and nationwide.