Partnership is a core value for Irvine. We cannot achieve our goals alone, and nonprofits have long been partners via our grantmaking and as experts who inform our strategy. Now we are expanding the reach of such partnerships with funders, employers, labor, and a broad range of policymakers.
We welcome learning of partners who share our commitment to working Californians living on low incomes.
Employers are critical to ensuring that all of California’s all low-income workers have the power to advance economically.
Employers play a role in our major grantmaking initiatives (Better Careers, Fair Work, Just Prosperity, and Priority Communities), and we directly engage with employers committed to equitable opportunities in the recruiting, hiring, and advancement of entry-level workers.
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Labor unions have a long history of organizing, empowering, and advocating for workers, including those making the lowest wages and who are most vulnerable at work. We are excited about current and future opportunities to partner with organized labor.
For example, we are working with the California Labor Federation to expand engagement and credentialing programs for low-wage and immigrant workers in the Inland Empire and Central Valley.
We are eager to learn from peers and share our work and lessons, including advising funders interested in economic mobility. Our goal is to maximize efforts, bring good ideas to scale, and build strong nonprofits and fields in California.
For example, we have regranting partnerships with community foundations in our Priority Communities, and we’ve combined ideas and funds from peers to protect immigrants’ rights and explore how to tackle California’s housing crisis.
The policies and practices that public officials in state and local government create – and are charged with enforcing – have a tremendous impact on California workers.
We do not engage in political advocacy but do explore partnerships with public officials or agencies committed to expanding opportunities for low-wage workers. For example, our support has aided the funder and regional collaboratives looking to leverage public investments more equitably.
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