Youth Mentoring Action Network (YMAN)
Source: YMAN’s website

This second cycle of grantmaking and impact investing in Fiscal Year 2023 includes a range of investments utilizing multiple Foundation tools and partnership strategies advancing our three drivers of racial justice that we’ve prioritized:

• Strong and healthy individuals and communities;
• Civic, cultural, economic, and political power of those most harmed by inequities; and
• Equitable and just systems.

To read more about our December 2022 grants and program-related investments please click here.

Named after the late civil rights leader and former Weingart Foundation Board Member, the John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows program aims to strengthen and develop current and emerging movement leaders to lead social and racial justice work that results in a more just and equitable Southern California region. We are now accepting applications and you can find information on how to apply in the ELIGIBILITY, SELECTION CRITERIA & HOW TO APPLY located here.

The California Community Foundation and Weingart Foundation launched a new report, “From Burnout to Wellbeing: Building a Sustainable Immigration Movement,” which examines the current state of nonprofits and staff within Southern California’s immigrant rights movement.

Read the report here.

We’re delighted to share with you our F.Y. 2022 annual report highlighting our partnership with frontline community leaders, funder colleagues, and cross-sector collaboratives in addressing structural racism throughout Southern California.

This fiscal year, we were able to be back out in person and in community, connecting with, and being guided by our partners as we engaged in proactive grantmaking and impact investing in communities most impacted by systemic racism.

Some highlights from our team in the field.

Looking ahead, we remain committed to learning from, partnering with, and growing people power and movements, to strengthening the infrastructure of the racial justice sector, and advancing racial equity.

Click here to read our F.Y. 2022 Annual Report.

Miguel A. Santana, President and C.E.O of the Weingart Foundation, wrote a piece for the Washington Post entitled “L.A. was built on zero-sum politics. Can its Latinos chart a new path?” in response to the racial power-brokering apparent in a taped conversation among three powerful Latino members of the Los Angeles City Council, recorded in October 2021 but only made public this month. As he notes, “Angelenos demand accountability and systemic change. No more backroom deal-making.”

Click here to read Miguel’s op ed.

BLU Education Foundation

To read more about our September 2022 grants and program-related investments, and to see the full list, click here.

Listening and responsiveness to the field are core values for our foundation and an integral part of our approach to advancing racial justice. To help inform our work, we regularly engage the Center for Effective Philanthropy (C.E.P.) to conduct a survey of grant partners, inviting candid and actionable feedback from nonprofits we support.

Key Takeaways from the Feedback Survey:

• Partners value our commitment to racial equity. Over 80% of the partners surveyed made a change related to racial equity as a result of working with us.
• Partners share thar our unrestricted, flexible and multi-year funding is critical for building organizational capacity, improving outcomes and impact, providing financial stability, and enhancing their ability to respond to emerging needs and opportunities. They encourage us to continue to provide unrestricted operating support, multi-year grants, and to make larger investments.
• Partners appreciate our more streamlined processes, spending a median of 20 hours across all requirements over the grant period, a shorter amount than is typical with most funders.
• Partners also shared that we have an opportunity to bring more clarity to our grantmaking process and further deepen our connection to community partners.

To delve deeper into the insights we gained through the survey and to share more about our grantmaking process, we created this video featuring Joyce Ybarra, our Director of Grant Operations, in conversation with Patricia Watkins, who is part of our team of program officers. Please visit our website to learn more about the survey findings and to access a full copy of the report.

Anthony Ng, Program Officer

While our nonprofit partners bring me hope, I know that many of us who are committed to social justice have felt grief and despair as we witness what feels like the roll back of civil rights across the country, particularly from recent rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). As these feelings creep up, I remind myself of this phrase popularized by organizer Mariame Kaba, “Hope is a discipline.”

Read more about why SCOTUS decisions matter.

Trans Latin@ Coalition

The Weingart Foundation recently awarded 64 grants totaling over $8.7 million to organizations advancing racial justice, providing critical services, and building political power in underserved communities. Half of the grantees are new partners reflecting our intentional effort to deepen reach with emerging organizations and those led by Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color (BIPOC). This round of funding completes a fiscal year where we deepened our racial justice work.

To read more about our June 2022 grants and program-related investments, and to see the full list, click here.

Katie Nguyen Kalvoda, founder and C.E.O. of G3 Ventures; Michael Tubbs, founder of EPIC; Jacqueline Waggoner, President, Solutions Division, Enterprise Community Partners

With innovative leadership on impact investing, alleviating poverty, and creating affordable housing solutions, these leaders each bring lived experience and a range of expertise that will further our mission. We look forward to working with them. Read more about our new Board members here.

Sincerely,

Aileen Adams
Weingart Foundation Board Chair

Miguel A. Santana
Weingart Foundation President and C.E.O.