More than $4 million in grants was approved last week by the Irvine board at its quarterly meeting. The board approved 10 grants — four in the Arts, four in California Democracy and two in Youth — and signed off on a total grants budget of $68 million for this year. Here are a few grants that we’re particularly excited about:

California Calls — With California’s finances in an historic bind, an alliance of civic and community organizations, known as California Calls, is pursuing an ambitious plan to help turn things around. Partnering with 25 organizations in 10 counties, the alliance has been educating working class people on issues of state fiscal policy that are normally the province of policy experts and think tanks. With an $800,000 grant, its second from Irvine, California Calls aims to expand its growing alliance to other parts of California, with the goal of reaching half a million voters and energizing them around the cause of improving the state’s fiscal system. The grant, part of Irvine’s California Democracy program, was made to the Los Angeles-based Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education, the lead organization for California Calls.

California School Boards Foundation — Our Youth program promotes Linked Learning as a new approach to high school education that combines strong academics with real-world experience in a wide range of fields. With a $400,000 grant, the California School Boards Foundation will raise awareness of Linked Learning among California school board members and district leadership teams. CSBF plans to implement a statewide educational program for newly elected and veteran school board members and district governance teams to showcase the Linked Learning approach. It also plans to identify obstacles to implementing Linked Learning and assist governance teams in developing policies that ensure its success, part of a broader effort to build the Linked Learning field in California and make it an option for more students.

Cornerstone Theater — The Los Angeles-based Cornerstone Theater takes community-based theater in California to an entirely new level. Under one of its programs, long supported by Irvine, Cornerstone each year selects an underserved California community for an in depth collaboration. Professional artists live and work alongside local residents to create a new play informed by local issues. The play is then performed by professional and amateur actors at performance sites central and meaningful to the community. The company has already produced eight well-received plays in California communities, and with a new $425,000 grant from Irvine, Cornerstone will bring its unique approach to the cities of Arvin (Kern County) and Salinas.

San Francisco — The James Irvine Foundation today announced $3.7 million in grants to 13 arts institutions in the Central Coast that are committed to broadening and diversifying their audiences and strengthening their financial sustainability. The organizations selected this year for the Arts Regional Initiative are planning to use the grants to advance financial sustainability within a challenging economic environment and to increase cultural participation from underrepresented communities. While each institution is developing specific plans, initiative participants are implementing operational changes to recalibrate for the current economy, strengthening and diversifying board leadership, and developing culturally relevant artistic programs to attract diverse audiences and deepen their relationships with existing audiences.

"These Central Coast arts organizations are vital anchor institutions within their communities and provide an array of important opportunities for people to engage with the arts," noted Josephine Ramirez, Arts Program Director for the Irvine Foundation. "These grants represent our continued commitment to them as they explore new ways of achieving financial sustainability and attracting culturally diverse audiences."

The organizations represent a mix of artistic disciplines, including music, dance, opera, theater, visual arts and multidisciplinary arts. The grants will be awarded over three years and grantees will share resources, best practices and lessons learned. A complete list of grantees follows: