This is a time of transition: Today we mark Miguel’s last day at the Weingart Foundation, and Joanna’s first as Interim President and C.E.O.  Effective October 16, Miguel takes the helm of the California Community Foundation as its President and C.E.O.  As we note this moment in the trajectory of both foundations, we also take the opportunity to look back at F.Y. 2023 and share some highlights of the work that we accomplished together.

Working with the Weingart Foundation board, colleagues and nonprofit, investment, and philanthropic partners, we are proud of the progress made in operationalizing  the Foundation’s commitment to racial equity during fiscal year 2023 through both grants and impact investments. The cumulative impact achieved through the Foundation’s committed nonprofit partners and strategic mission-aligned investments bolster the power of communities most impacted by historic structural and systemic racism.

The Foundation advanced its mission through the focused utilization of its financial and philanthropic capital. Striving to build an investment portfolio that is 100% mission aligned, the Weingart Foundation committed a total of $50M in mission aligned impact investments in F.Y. 23 alone, including $10 million to Kah Capital to help borrowers stabilize payments, $8 million to 645 Ventures supporting women entrepreneurs and founders of color, and $5 million to Primestor, a Latino-owned real estate developer building affordable housing, and several other mission-aligned investments.

Committed to growing people power and movements, strengthening the infrastructure of the racial justice sector, and prioritizing communities historically marginalized, in F.Y. 23, the Foundation made over $38M in grants to 174 partners in the field, 22% of which are first time partners. The size of these grants averaged $200K, often a catalytic investment for many emerging community partners. These investments were guided by our strategic framework focused on:

• Strengthening communities
• Building power; and
• Equitable and just systems

Using our own voices as racial justice leaders, we proudly endorsed the groundbreaking research and report by the California Task Force to Study Reparation Proposals that details the compounding and ongoing harms experienced by Black Californians. As a Foundation committed to addressing structural racism and the legacy of anti-Blackness, long-term investment in Black leadership and organizing in Black communities is a core part of our grantmaking including through collaborations like our $5 million commitment to the California Black Freedom Fund.

As we transition into our new roles respectively, we are reminded that our relationship as colleagues and friends mirrors the strong bond between the Weingart Foundation and the California Community Foundation, having partnered in service of immigrants, the unhoused, and young people and in strengthening the infrastructure of nonprofit organizations throughout L.A. County. We know that this collaboration will only get stronger as we continue to collaborate and advance equity in partnership with community leaders, movement builders, and collaboratives committed to justice.

Together in Justice,

Miguel A. Santana and Joanna S. Jackson

Read Our F.Y. 2023 Highlights

We’re delighted to share with you our F.Y. 2023 highlights of our work in partnership with frontline community leaders, funder colleagues, and cross-sector collaboratives in addressing structural racism throughout Southern California.