Priority Communities is an initiative that builds on two prior years of pilot grantmaking in Fresno and Salinas. It adds to and deepens our grantmaking in the cities of Riverside and San Bernardino in 2020, and Irvine expects to phase-in grantmaking to Stockton in 2021. The initiative will invest approximately $135 million over seven years (2020-2026) in these communities to create inclusive economies that work for all residents.
The initiative builds on and replaces our previous grantmaking called Priority Regions, continuing our commitment to communities that represent the future of California but do not have the same access to public, private, and philanthropic resources as California’s coastal cities.
Initiative Goals
Our vision for this community-based grantmaking is an economy that works for all residents, with the goals of:
- Creating more good jobs that offer a family-sustaining wage, benefits, and opportunities to low-wage workers to advance economically
- Ensuring more low-wage workers obtain good jobs and the necessary training to land these positions
- Supporting effective, community-based approaches to increase the spread of good jobs
- Leveraging Irvine’s dollars to bring in more public, private, and philanthropic investments
Our Approach
We believe grantmaking in communities can have significant impact on the barriers to economic opportunity facing low-wage workers. Therefore, we piloted a new approach to grantmaking in 2018 and 2019 in Fresno and Salinas that allows local partners, who know their communities best, to decide where to invest in working Californians.
As part of this effort, Irvine collaborated with the Central Valley Community Foundation, the Latino Community Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Monterey County to expand access to our grantmaking dollars to grassroots organizations in three areas to strengthen their capacity to inform local community issues and develop local leaders (individuals and organizations). We also helped increase access to quality information by supporting culturally competent, local media organizations.
You can read a blog post from us about these early pilots, as well as one about listening we recently did in our priority regions. We’ll also announce the evolution of our strategy and investments later in 2020.
Recent Grants
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Central Coast Interfaith SponsorsView website
A one-year grant of $150,000 to expand organizing efforts in the Central Valley.
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Central Valley Community FoundationView website
An 18-month grant of $1.35 million to support resident engagement and leadership development in Fresno through a pilot regranting partnership.
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Community Foundation of Monterey CountyView website
An 18-month grant of $1.25 million to support resident engagement and leadership development in Salinas through a pilot regranting partnership with the Community Foundation of Monterey County.
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CSU San Bernardino Growing Inland AchievementView website
A two-year grant of $300,000 to support Growing Inland Achievement’s continued organizational capacity building and sustainability.
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FresnolandView website
A one-year grant of $180,000 to support the Fresnoland Lab, a project of the Central Valley Community Foundation Media Fund, to investigate housing challenges, explore solutions, and include community voice in the reporting process.
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Inland Empire Community FoundationView website
A nine-month grant of $300,000 to coordinate a planning process in San Bernardino to surface economic and community development strategies.
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Inland Empire Microenterprise CollaborativeView website
A two-year grant of $270,000 to support and expand micro-businesses in the Inland Empire, through an entity such as the Microenterprise Collaborative for Inland Southern California.
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Internews Network, Inc.View website
An 18-month grant of $300,000 to support the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside with improved access to information for all residents and to support a local news project.
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Latino Community FoundationView website
An 18-month grant of $1.35 million to invest in and strengthen Latino-led nonprofits in the Central Valley.
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Lift To RiseView website
A one-year grant of $300,000 to build an organizational reserve to support Lift To Rises’ sustainability and capacity.
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Parent Institute for Quality EducationView website
A one-year $118,000 grant for technology upgrades in PIQE's Fresno regional office, executive coaching for its new President/CEO, and enhancement of the organization's communication capabilities.
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Radio BilingueView website
A two-year grant of $550,000 to support organizational sustainability, high-quality journalism, educational, and cultural programming by and for Latino and Spanish-speaking audiences.
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Reinvent Stockton FoundationView website
A one-year grant of $420,000 to support the organizational infrastructure and leadership for a school-to-social justice pipeline in Stockton that enables civic and community action.
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The Community Foundation - IEGO PlanningView website
A one-year $400,000 grant to establish the collective impact infrastructure, mechanisms, and processes for long-term implementation of the Inland Economic Growth and Opportunity (IEGO) initiative.
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The Foundation at Fresno County Office of EducationView website
A one-year grant of $195,000 to support the Fresno County Cradle to Career sustainability efforts and cross-sector data system, through an entity such as The Foundation at Fresno County Office of Education.
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UC MercedView website
A two-year grant of $600,000 to support UC Merced's Civic Capacity Research Initiative.
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UC Riverside Center for Social InnovationView website
A one-year grant of $150,000 to support four Inland California Rising summits designed to promote Inland Empire and Central Valley partnership, leadership, and networks.
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University of the PacificView website
A 24-month $300,000 grant to support the Beyond Our Gates community early literacy initiative.
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Central Valley Community FoundationView website
A three-year grant of $15 million to invest in the implementation of six core projects that improve economic mobility and job creation in Fresno as identified during the community's Developing the Region’s Inclusive and Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) initiative.
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Latino Community FoundationView website
A three-year grant of $4 million to advance inclusive economic planning and quality job creation efforts that focus on Latinos in Fresno and Salinas.
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New World FoundationView website
A two-year grant of $500,000 for the Quality Jobs Innovation Fund, a pooled fund supporting quality jobs preservation and creation in the Central Valley and the Inland Empire.
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Valley Public RadioView website
A two-year grant of $360,000 to inform San Joaquin Valley residents about public policy issues through Valley Public Radio and digital platforms.
From the Blog
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Expanding Grantmaking in Priority Communities
Apr 15, 2020We’re announcing a new initiative that dramatically expands and deepens our investments in four California communities – Fresno, Salinas, Riverside, and San Bernardino – and expects to add Stockton in a future phase of grantmaking in 2021. The goal: to create local economies that work for all residents.
Read the Story -
Community Voices: Reflections from our Priority Regions
Dec 05, 2019Listening to and engaging Californians is a core value for us at Irvine. It’s also critical for achieving our singular goal: a California where all workers have the power to advance economically. Recently, we convened community leaders from our Priority Regions pilot communities of Fresno and Salinas to inform, deepen, and scale the impact of our work as we consider expanding to new communities.
Read the Story -
Priority Regions Pilot Update
Mar 27, 2018At the Irvine Foundation, we believe California cannot thrive unless the inland regions of the state also thrive. That is why, as part of Irvine’s mission to expand opportunity for the people of California, the Foundation has long prioritized support for leaders and organizations in the San Joaquin Valley and Inland Southern California.
Read the Story
Meet the Priority Communities Team
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