Irvine extends the impact of its grantmaking through Cross-Program grants, which tap the resources, expertise and partners of our core program areas in new, integrated ways.

Cross-Program activities are natural outgrowths of our core grantmaking in the Arts, California Perspectives and Youth programs, offering complementary and innovative means of broadening and enriching the impact of our work. Cross-Program grants either link together two of our core programs or offer an opportunity to advance foundation-wide priorities.

We make Cross-Program grants in two areas:

Joint Programming

These grants relate to the goals of two or more program areas, offering the potential for more integrated use of Irvine’s resources.

• Families Improving Education Initiative (2006–2008): To support families — particularly those in low-income, ethnic and immigrant communities — to become involved in educational policymaking concerning their local schools.

• Arts training schools cluster (2005–2008): To support
  low-income youth in making successful transitions to higher education and careers in creative industries. This cluster of grants builds on the growing body of research indicating that arts courses — or integrating arts into other subject areas — can motivate and engage high school students who are not otherwise thriving in school.

Special Initiatives

These discrete projects advance our grantmaking principles to focus on place, invest in organizations, build leadership and engage beyond grants.

• Community Foundations Initiative II (2005–2010): To accelerate the growth and leadership of nine small and emerging community foundations in rural areas of California. In each of these grants, we include support for regranting in our Youth or Arts program areas.

• Fund for Leadership Advancement: To enhance the leadership capacities of the executive directors of selected grantee organizations. Through this fund, we direct flexible grant support to enhance the abilities of executive directors to lead their respective organizations and achieve greater organizational effectiveness.

• Research and communications about priority regions of California: To enhance understanding by public and private funders of key trends and issues in the San Joaquin Valley, Inland Empire and Los Angeles County.

Cross-Program proposals are accepted by invitation only.