FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 25, 2023

Contact:
Luisa Montes
Communications Officer
415-356-9940
lmontes@irvine.org

September 25, 2023 – The James Irvine Foundation Board of Directors approved 22 grants totaling $49.45 million last week. The Foundation also approved $18.6 million in grants this quarter that did not require board approval.

The grants primarily support the Foundation’s four initiatives focused on working Californians (Better Careers, Fair Work, Just Prosperity, and Priority Communities). More information about all grants can be found in the Foundation’s database here, and the board-approved grants include:  

Better Careers 

Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc. 

A three-year grant of $5 million to build the capacity of California’s public workforce development agencies to equitably serve and improve economic outcomes for workers paid low wages.  

Bright Research Group  

A 27-month grant of $479,000 to support the implementation of a developmental evaluation of Irvine’s Better Careers initiative.

Foundation for California Community Colleges  

A three-year grant of $1.75 million to ensure more community colleges and education partners integrate inclusive registered apprenticeship models into their workforce development strategies and to support a renewed, climate resiliency-centered strategic plan for the community college system. 

Institute for Local Government  

A three-year grant of $1.5 million to enable ILG to become a statewide apprenticeship intermediary focused on ensuring diverse, underrepresented communities can access and succeed in local government and public sector registered apprenticeships.  

SEMI Foundation  

A three-year grant of $1.7 million to build the SEMI Foundation’s capacity as a microelectronics industry apprenticeship intermediary to increase awareness of and access to registered apprenticeships, especially for historically excluded populations.  

Fair Work 

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus 

A three-year grant of $2 million to build economic security and justice for California workers, especially among low-income, immigrant, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian workers.  

UC Berkeley Labor Center 

A three-year grant of $1.8 million to advance learning on low-wage work and support worker organizations in California through research and policy analysis, leadership development, student scholarship, and engagement on worker justice issues. 

PowerSwitch Action  

A two-year grant of $2 million to support the California Coalition for Worker Power to build greater capacity statewide for worker organizing and advocate for stronger labor protections for workers paid low wages.  

UCLA Labor Center 

A three-year grant of $2.6 million to support worker rights organizations in California with research, policy analysis, and youth development.  

Working Partnerships USA  

A three-year grant of $2.6 million for general operating support.  

Just Prosperity 

California Budget & Policy Center  

A two-year grant of $1.5 million for general operating support.  

Freedman Consulting, LLC 

A three-year grant of $600,000 to support public-private partnerships in California by strengthening partnerships between philanthropy and state officials to deliver equitable outcomes, particularly for Californians living on low incomes.  

Grace-Inc 

A two-year grant of $1.6 million to strengthen the capacity of the statewide CalEITC Coalition to advance systems change and increase cash support for low-income working households in California.  

PolicyLink  

A two-year grant of $2 million to advance racial and economic equity for Californians living on low incomes, including elevating investments in infrastructure projects within low-income and BIPOC communities across the state.  

Power California  

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

Silicon Valley Community Foundation  

A two-year grant of $3.5 million to support the capacity and infrastructure of the California Black Freedom Fund to strengthen the power of Black-led organizations, coalitions, and networks serving Black communities across California.  

UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute 

A two-year grant of $1.2 million to conduct research at the Latino Policy and Politics Institute that advances policy solutions aimed to address the systemic barriers working-class Latinos face in California.  

Priority Communities 

San Joaquin Community Foundation 

A two-year grant of $7.55 million to build organizational capacity and advance inclusive economic planning and pre-development initiatives in the Stockton region through Edge Collaborative. 

Inland Empire Community Foundation  

A one-year grant of $500,000 to establish the Inland Empire Journalism Hub. 

A three-year grant of $1.2 million to support the Inland Empire Black Equity Fund, a pooled fund designed to resource and build the organizational capacity of Black-led and -empowering organizations in the Inland Empire through the Black Equity Initiative.  

Reinvent Stockton Foundation  

A two-year grant of $4.42 million to strengthen the youth development ecosystem in Stockton.  

University Corporation at Monterey Bay  

An 18-month grant of $1.95 million to catalyze efforts to create new pathways to quality jobs and economic mobility in Monterey County through the Monterey Bay Drone, Automation, and Robotics Technology (DART) Initiative.