These funds promote strong and healthy communities by investing in BIPOC leadership, collective healing, and essential services to those most impacted by systemic racism.
March 31, 2022 (Los Angeles, CA) — The Weingart Foundation, a private grantmaking foundation, awards 62 grants and one program-related investment, all totaling over $14 million to organizations addressing systemic racism, and providing critical services to communities in need. The Foundation also prioritizes three areas of special interest: housing justice, immigrant and refugee rights and integration, and nonprofit capacity building, by partnering with organizations working in these spaces. The majority of this round of funding, 79 percent, provides unrestricted operating support to 51 non-profit partners and power-building coalitions working on advancing racial justice in Southern California. Of these, 85% are BIPOC-led organizations, one-third of which are Black-led.
“We are proud of the work of our community partners to end systemic racism and to respond to the disparities that it produces,” said Miguel A. Santana, President and CEO, the Weingart Foundation. “The Foundation stands with our partners by investing in their leadership and organizational resilience. We know that when they thrive, our communities thrive. Together, we can advance racial justice.”
Forty percent of the nonprofits receiving funding are first-time partners, consistent with the Foundation’s equitable approach of working in communities to learn about and identify non-profits leading impactful work. For example, in South Los Angeles, the foundation awarded grants to three new partners that are Black-led organizations focused on supporting at-risk or systems-involved youth. The Foundation also welcomes three new partners focused on supporting the BIPOC LGBTQIA+ community with leadership development, self-empowerment, and social services.
“LGBTQAI+ youth need safe spaces that celebrate and affirm who they are. With the support from the foundation, ProjectQ will be able to further its mission of supporting LGBTQA+ youth facing homelessness through workshops, job opportunities, and services that build confidence and self-empowerment,” said Madin Lopez, Founder and Executive Director, ProjectQ, a new Weingart Foundation partner.
In step with the Foundation’s focus on supporting ecosystems that support civic engagement and power building in communities of color, this round of funding continues investments to emerging organizations in Orange County and the Inland Empire, while also including new partners. These nonprofits are part of local coalitions such as the Black Equity Initiative, the Inland Empire Redistricting Coalition, the Orange County Opportunity Initiative, the People’s Redistricting Alliance, and the American Network of Services for Afghan Refugees. These coalitions are working to empower BIPOC youth, voters, and community members to help shape the future of their communities.
The Foundation also approved a program-related investment (below market rate loan) to A Community of Friends for $750,000 for up to six years in support of their innovative approach to build supportive housing faster and more cost-effectively for people who are unhoused with mental illnesses.
“On behalf of the Weingart Board, we are honored to partner with such effective grassroots organizations working so hard to meet essential needs in their communities. We are also proud of our partnerships with coalitions building power in traditionally disenfranchised neighborhoods,” said Aileen Adams, the Weingart Foundation Board Chair. “Our partners’ dedication to providing critical services–and to structural change–inspires us every day.”
ABOUT THE WEINGART FOUNDATION
The Weingart Foundation is a private, nonprofit grantmaking foundation that partners with communities across Southern California to advance racial, social, and economic justice for all. Our vision is a dynamic and effective social change sector that is creating equitable systems and structures needed to achieve justice. Founded in 1951, the Foundation has to date granted over $1 billion to organizations, strengthening their efforts in human services, health, education, and community power building. In addition, the Foundation builds networks and collaboratives with philanthropic, public sector, and community leaders to advance equity and justice together.