Black Alliance for Just Immigration
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Message from Miguel A. Santana and Joanna S. Jackson

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.
Recent Newsletters
Updates from The Weingart Foundation May 2023
The Weingart Foundation Honors the Legacy of Pioneering Leader Gloria Molina, 2023 Weingart Planning Conference, TruEvolution, Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors, Impact Investing Highlights, Read About Our Latest Round of Funding, ICYMI: Weingart Social Highlights
Update from The Weingart Foundation February 2023
Honor Black Lives Through Action, L.A. Governance Reform Project, The John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows Program, Join Our Team, Understanding the California State Budget Process – March 2 and Call for Sessions for the 2023 Los Angeles Immigration Summit – Due March 6
Update from The Weingart Foundation December 2022
New Leadership Brings New Opportunities; 10 Ideas for Fixing Los Angeles; New Report Finds Significant High Levels of Burnout, Mental Health and Financial Challenges Amongst Staff in Immigrant Rights Movement
Read Our F.Y. 2022 Annual Report
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.
An Open Letter Regarding Los Angeles City Council Members Nury Martinez, Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo from Latino Civic Leaders
We write today in our personal capacity as Latino civic leaders and Angelenos who believe in a just, equitable and inclusive Los Angeles for all. The hateful, racist, and divisive comments heard in the recording released this weekend have no place in public or behind closed doors.
The Weingart Foundation Awards Over $13.5M to Nonprofits Advancing Racial Justice
The Weingart Foundation awarded 54 grants totaling over $13.5 million to organizations providing critical services to communities most impacted by systemic racism, advancing racial equity, and building power in historically disinvested neighborhoods.