FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 28, 2021

Contact:
Vaishalee Raja,
Senior Communications Officer
213-283-2007
vraja@irvine.org

SAN FRANCISCO (September 28, 2021) — The James Irvine Foundation Board of Directors approved 22 grants totaling $24.5 million last week. The grants primarily support the Foundation’s three initiatives focused on working Californians (Better Careers, Fair Work, and Priority Communities).

The full list of board-approved grants includes:

Initiatives

Better Careers 

Chaffey College Foundation

A two-year grant of $500,000 to support the implementation of an apprenticeship outreach coordinator program in the Inland Empire, as co-developed through an 18-month Better Careers Design Group process, to increase the participation of young adults from low-income families in registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships.

JobTrain, Inc

A three-year grant of $750,000 for general operating support.

REDF

A two-year grant of $2 million to support expansion and capacity-building for Employment Social Enterprises that focus on increasing the economic mobility of California workers in low-wage jobs.

Third Sector Capital Partners Inc.

A one-year grant of $500,000 to provide technical support to the four regional Better Careers Design Group backbone organizations and teams to implement their community-driven workforce solutions.

Fair Work

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus

A two-year grant of $1.2 million to defend and strengthen workers’ rights and benefits in California, especially among low-income, immigrant, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian workers.

Chinese Progressive Association

A two-year grant of $975,000 for general operating support.

Jobs With Justice Education Fund

A two-year grant of $525,000 to strengthen the operations and capabilities of Jobs with Justice Education Fund to engage workers and coalitions to improve employment conditions and opportunities for California workers in low-income jobs.

Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates of Southern California

A two-year grant of $500,000 for general operating support.

Partnership for Working Families

A two-year grant of $1.5 million to support coalition work that expands engagement of workers in low-income jobs and elevates their voice in policy discussions that affect their lives and communities.

Regents of the University of California, on behalf of its Berkeley campus

A two-year-grant of $1.2 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.

Working Partnerships USA

A two-year grant of $1.25 million for general operating support.

Priority Communities   

Community Foundation of San Joaquin Inc.

A two-year-grant of $3.9 million to advance inclusive regional economic and workforce development in Stockton, through the Edge Collaborative.

Reinvent Stockton Foundation

A two-year grant of $2.95 million to invest in the youth development ecosystem in Stockton.

Additional Grantmaking              

California Budget & Policy Center

A two-year grant of $800,000 for general operating support.

Code for America Labs

An 18-month grant of $500,000 to help individuals with low-incomes and working families in California access tax benefits.

East Bay Community Foundation

An 18-month grant of $500,000 to support the REAL People’s Fund, a community-governed, grassroots-driven loan fund that invests in entrepreneurs of color based in historically disinvested neighborhoods in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Linked Learning Alliance

A two-year grant of $1 million to support the California programs and operations of the Linked Learning Alliance.

New Venture Fund

A one-year grant of $1 million to develop an initiative to strengthen the immigrant justice movement in California, through an entity such as We Are Home.

Panorama Global

A one-year grant of $400,000 to maximize the benefits of the American Rescue Plan and pending policy proposals for Californians in low-income jobs, through an entity such as Project Hyphen.

PolicyLink

A two-year grant of $1 million to support the advancement of equity and inclusion through the California Winning on Equity initiative.

Power California

A two-year grant of $800,000 to build a movement of informed and engaged young people of color through nonpartisan voter and civic engagement across California.

Regents of the University of California, on behalf of its Los Angeles campus

A two-year grant of $750,000 to conduct research at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative about the obstacles Latinos face in entrepreneurship and workforce participation.