California Community Foundation Awards $9.3 Million to Strengthen Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, July 6, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The California Community Foundation (CCF) has awarded $9,393,600 through 112 grants to Los Angeles County nonprofit organizations working to address the needs of our region.

This quarter's robust portfolio of grants reflects investments in major initiatives to create change that impacts the root causes of some our region's most urgent issues.

Grants this quarter include funding to support engagement, education and enrollment in Los Angeles County communities with the highest numbers of youth eligible for SB75, the Health for All Kids Act. Signed into law in 2015, Health for All Kids provides health coverage for California's undocumented immigrant children. CCF is partnering with The California Endowment and the Blue Shield of California Foundation on funding implementation efforts in Los Angeles County.

Twenty-five grants are part of the final year of funding from CCF's Preparing Achievers for Tomorrow (PAT) initiative, a five-year project aimed at creating a brighter future for the youth of South Los Angeles and the South Bay by improving academic achievement, decision-making skills and self-esteem through sports, music and recreation. PAT was made possible by a $12.5 million legacy gift from an anonymous donor whose life was devoted to helping others and who valued the opportunities that music and athletics can provide young people. PAT will culminate in a festival for students this fall.

This is also the final year of the El Monte Community Building Initiative, a 10-year, $10 million investment to engage and empower residents of the City of El Monte in improving their quality of life, with a focus on health and education for youth. The El Monte Promise Foundation, established as a result of the initiative, will carry on this legacy.

Additional grants reflect the foundation's diverse priority areas in the arts, civic engagement, education, health, housing and economic opportunity, immigrant integration, nonprofit sustainability, smart growth and transition-aged youth. Please see below for a full list of grants this quarter.

CCF supports this work in the community through funds entrusted to the foundation by donors throughout its 100-year history.

"Our mission to lead positive systemic change in Los Angeles can only be fulfilled through partnership with visionary donors and dedicated nonprofit organizations," said CCF President and CEO Antonia Hernández. "I am proud of the work being done in Los Angeles County to address disparity and improve the quality of life for all residents."

The California Community Foundation has served as a public, charitable organization since 1915, empowering donors to pursue their own personal passions and to collaborate with us in addressing the root causes of challenges in Los Angeles County. CCF stewards $1.5 billion in assets and manages nearly 1,600 charitable foundations, funds and legacies. For more information, please visit calfund.org.

CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANTS BY FUNDING AREA
June 2016

Arts – 5 – $705,000
• Arts for LA
• California Alliance for Arts Education
• Cornerstone Theater Company
• Grand Vision Foundation
• Great Leap

Building a Lifetime of Options & Opportunities for Men (BLOOM) – 2 – $625,000
• Brotherhood Crusade
• Social Justice Learning Institute

Civic Engagement – 6 – $610,000
• California State University, Los Angeles Pat Brown Institute
• Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice
• East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
• California Calls
• L.A. Alliance for a New Economy
• Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE)

Education Pipeline – 5 – $400,000
• UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
• Crystal Stairs
• Families in Schools
• Parent Revolution
• Pepperdine Graduate School of Education & Psychology/ Parent U-Turn

El Monte Community Building Initiative – 1 – $500,000
• El Monte Promise Foundation

Health – 10 – $1,080,041
• L.A. Christian Health Centers
• L.A. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center
• San Fernando Community Health Center
• Venice Family Clinic
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital
• White Memorial Medical Center
• St. Baldrick's Foundation
• Tower Cancer Research Foundation
• UCLA Center for Cerebral Palsy
• Bet Tzedek

Housing & Economic Opportunity – 7 – $720,631
• A Community of Friends
• California Housing Partnership Corporation
• Inner City Law Center
• L.A. Family Housing
• Mercy Housing California
• PATH Ventures
• St. Joseph Center

Immigrant Integration – 33 – $915,000
• Antelope Valley Boys & Girls Club
• Antelope Valley Community Clinic
• Antelope Valley Partners for Health
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA
• Asian and Pacific Islander Obesity Prevention Alliance
• Central American Resource Center (CARECEN)
• Central City Community Health Center
• CHIRLA
• Community Build
• Community Health Alliance of Pasadena
• Day One
• East Los Angeles Community Corporation (ELACC)
• East Valley Community Health Center
• Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center
• El Monte Promise Foundation
• El Nido Family Services
• Florence Firestone Merchants Association
• Maternal and Child Health Access
• Mexican American Opportunity Foundation
• New Economics for Women
• Northeast Community Clinic
• Northeast Valley Health Corporation
• Pacoima Beautiful
• South Bay Family Healthcare Center
• South Central Family Health Center
• Southeast LA Community Development Corporation
• St. John's Well Child and Family Center
• To Help Everyone Clinic
• University Muslim Medical Association
• Watts Healthcare Corporation
• Watts Labor Community Action Committee
• YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles
• Youth Policy Institute

Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy Initiative – 2 – $200,000
• Low Income Investment Fund
• Girls Club of Los Angeles

Los Angeles Scholars Investment Fund – 2 – $190,000
• USC / Southern California College Advising Corps
• Community Partners / Southern California College Access Network

Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative – 1 – $605,000
• Nonprofit Finance Fund

Preparing Achievers for Tomorrow (PAT) – 25 – $1,824,000
• A Place Called Home
• A World Fit For Kids
• Amazing Grace Conservatory
• ArtworxLA
• Brotherhood Crusade
• CORE Educational Services
• Educare Foundation
• Gardena-Carson YMCA
• Heart of Los Angeles Youth, Inc.
• Jr. Posse Youth Equestrian Program
• Life Sail
• Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
• Los Angeles United Futbol Academy
• Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation
• P.F. Bresee Foundation
• Santa Cecilia Orchestra
• Street Poets, Inc.
• Students Run America
• Theatre of Hearts/Youth First
• TXT: Teens Exploring Technology
• UCLA Uni-Camp University Camp
• USC Thornton School of Music
• Watts Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club
• Youth Mentoring Connection
• Youth 'N Motion Academy, Inc.

Scholarships – 3 – $132,000
• A Place Called Home
• California State University, Fullerton School of Nursing
• UCLA Black Alumni Association Winston C. Doby Legacy Scholarship Fund

Smart Growth – 8 – $805,000
• Abode Communities
• Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Institute
• East Los Angeles Community Corporation
• The Funders' Network
• Hollywood Community Housing Corporation
• LA Voice
• Little Tokyo Service Center
• Los Angeles Community Action Network

Transition-aged Youth – 2 – $81,928
• South Los Angeles Homeless TAY and Foster Care Collaborative
• West San Gabriel Valley Boys and Girls Club

GRAND TOTAL: 112 grants, $9,393,600