October 18, 2004

The James Irvine Foundation
Announces More Than $15 Million in New Grants

San Francisco—The Board of Directors of The James Irvine Foundation has approved and ratified $15.6 million in new grants to nonprofit organizations in support of its mission of expanding opportunity for the people of California to participate in a vibrant, successful, and inclusive society. [For a list of grants approved, click here.]

Grants approved yesterday include $1.38 million in grants from a new grantmaking resource at the Foundation, called The New Connections Fund, which was initiated earlier this year as a way to attract a more diverse group of grantseekers to the Foundation through an open application process. Grantseekers may apply to the fund online for grants of less than $50,000.

"The New Connections Fund will allow a broader range of nonprofit organizations to apply for Irvine support," says James E. Canales, president and chief executive officer of the Foundation. "The online application process is intended to be both accessible and transparent. Through this new Fund, we seek to support a wider range of projects throughout California that are aligned with the Foundation's current funding priorities."

Also approved was a special $3 million grant to the Orange County Performing Arts Center to support construction of new facilities and an expanded educational program. The Center opened its current 3,000-seat hall in 1985 with major support from the Irvine Foundation. In 2003, the Center embarked on a $200 million expansion project to fund the creation of a new 2,000-seat concert hall, a 500-seat multi-purpose theater, and an arts education center, scheduled for completion in 2006. The Foundation's grant will not only assist with the construction of these facilities, but will also support high quality arts education for children from the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside counties), a region of priority interest to the Foundation.

"This grant recognizes the Foundation's roots in Orange County and the world-class status of the Orange County Performing Arts Center," says Canales. "As one of the largest funders of the arts in California, the Foundation feels strongly that California's communities benefit from a rich and diverse arts culture. The Orange County Performing Arts Center offers Southern Californians extraordinary access to a wide range of outstanding performing arts events. The Foundation is especially pleased to be supporting the Center in the expansion of its arts education efforts."

Taken together with grants approved earlier this year, these grant approvals bring the Foundation's total grants for 2004 to $31.9 million, or approximately 57 percent of the total dollar amount expected for 2004, of $56 million. The Board approves the majority of Foundation grants on a quarterly basis.

About The James Irvine Foundation's
Grantmaking Programs

The Foundation's grantmaking is organized around three program areas: Arts, Youth, and California Perspectives, which focuses on increasing public understanding of critical issues facing the state and infusing new ideas into the policy development process. The Foundation targets these three programs because it believes that intervention in these areas can deliver strategic, long-term benefits to the state and its diverse and growing population.

In addition, while a statewide funder, the Irvine Foundation focuses its grantmaking on selected regions of the state, especially those that are underserved by philanthropy, where major demographic shifts and rapid population growth are taking place, and where there are large numbers of low-income residents. As a consequence of these priorities, geographic focus areas for the Foundation include the Central Valley, Los Angeles County, and the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties).

For more information about the Foundation's grantmaking program, including how to apply for a grant online, call (415) 777-2244.

The James Irvine Foundation is a private, nonprofit grantmaking foundation, with offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Foundation was established in 1937 by James Irvine, a native Californian who devoted most of his life to business interests in San Francisco and the development of his 110,000-acre ranch in Southern California, which was among the largest privately owned land holdings in the state. Since 1937, the Foundation has provided approximately $750 million in grants to more than 6,000 nonprofit organizations throughout California. With current assets of $1.4 billion, the Foundation expects to make grants of $56 million in 2004 for the people of California.