Grants of $7.8 million to make progress, deepen impact in California communities
Sept. 21, 2023
Continuing our commitment to make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence, Blue Shield of California Foundation made 27 grants totaling $7.8 million in the third quarter of 2023.
With the approval of the Board of Trustees, the Foundation and our grantee partners are moving forward on bold goals to serve California communities of color with low incomes.
“We are proud to partner with community leaders and organizations around the state in pushing for positive change,” said Debbie I. Chang, MPH, president and CEO of the Foundation. “When we work to change the systems that influence domestic violence prevention and health equity, we can make real, sustainable impact for communities most affected. When we tackle the root causes of domestic violence and health inequity — namely racism, gender inequity, and economic inequity — we can improve the lives of thousands of Californians at a time.”
Align systems with community priorities: $2.77 million
As part of our work to align systems with community priorities, the Foundation partners with grantees that encourage public systems to make policy and funding decisions that meet the needs of communities of color with low incomes.
A $125,000 grant to the TransLatin@ Coalition, for the California Trans Policy Alliance, will help more than two dozen community-based organizations work together on shared health equity and violence prevention goals.
“We are grateful to have the opportunity to partner with Blue Shield of California Foundation,” said Bamby Salcedo, president and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition. “With this support, we are going to continue to organize statewide to uplift the livelihood of trans, gender nonconforming, and intersex individuals.”
The Foundation also looks for ways to strengthen public systems — especially public health — so that they include and respond to the priorities of communities of color. A trio of grants will support the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII), Public Health Alliance of Southern California, and Central California Public Health Consortium with $515,000 each to continue their regional efforts advancing racial equity in public health agencies. Together, this group covers nearly every county in California.
Strengthen economic security and mobility: $1.83 million
One way to prevent domestic violence is to strengthen the economic security of women of color with low incomes. Through a $500,000 renewal grant to FreeFrom, the Foundation is continuing to support domestic violence survivors who advocate for changes in banking, paid sick days and safe days, and other economic security strategies.
A $400,000 grant for the California Divide, a CalMatters initiative, supports in-depth journalism that helps readers understand a root cause of health inequities and domestic violence: income inequality.
“Our California Divide project provides crucial coverage of economic inequality in California, and we’re proud to count Blue Shield of California Foundation as a key partner in that important work,” said Neil Chase, CEO of CalMatters. “As we gear up to serve millions of Californians in the coming election year and ramp up our statewide in-person events, we’re grateful that the Foundation shares our commitment to serving California and the understanding of the value of quality nonprofit journalism and storytelling.”
Break the cycle of domestic violence: $1.74 million
A Foundation grant in 2022 supported more than two dozen listening sessions involving California Department of Social Services staff, community-based organizations serving domestic violence survivors, and survivors themselves. While a full report on these sessions is still forthcoming, one outcome has been that Parent Voices, which engaged parent survivors in the series, is now developing a policy platform to better address domestic violence. A $100,000 grant to Parent Voices will allow the organization to team up on this policy platform with a longtime Foundation partner, the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. A $540,000 grant to the Partnership, in turn, bolsters its policy and advocacy leadership in the state.
“The support from Blue Shield Foundation of California has been a catalyst for transformative change for the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. It has provided us the ability to amplify the voices of those most marginalized, while nurturing and strengthening our Black, Indigenous, and people of Color leaders in the gender-based violence field,” said Jennifer Khalifa, senior director of prevention strategies. “With these vital funds, we have paved the way for community-based prevention strategies to prevent gender-based violence. These resources have also greatly fueled our advocacy efforts, enabling us to drive social change through public policy initiatives. We have also fostered powerful collaborations with organizations such as the Work and Family Coalition, actively participating in work that advances economic justice policies, safeguards survivors, and proactively address risk factors, such as housing and financial insecurity, for those impacted by gender-based violence.”
Other grants this quarter: $1.36 million
In addition, the Foundation is advancing health equity and domestic violence prevention with grants that broadly support our mission, such as those to Candid for data equity efforts, to Ethnic Media Services for work to sustain that sector, and to Alliance for Justice to assist California nonprofits that advocate for health equity and prevention of domestic violence.
“This package of grants includes promising community-driven solutions with great potential for large-scale impact,” Chang said. “As we work to make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence, we are grateful for the leadership of these grantee partners and others who are committed to health equity for communities of color with low incomes. We’re in this together.”
For a complete list of current grants and more information on all of the Foundation’s grantmaking, please see our grants database. We also support grantees on social media (find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram), and feature their work in our newsletter, Intersections.
To educate and mobilize employers of domestic workers to implement fair employment practices and advocate for policy changes that increase economic security of domestic workers and improve their health.
To support the California Divide series, which covers income inequality and solutions that can improve economic security and health and well-being for people of color with low-incomes and reach policy makers and communities with low incomes.
To provide general operating support to Child Care Law Center, a nonprofit that works to advance affordable child care for families with low incomes, equitable pay for family child care providers, and rights for children with disabilities.
To advance partnerships, policies and practices that will support expansion of a culturally responsive business incubator program for family child care providers across California to increase economic security and health for communities of color with low incomes.
To provide general operating support to Freefrom, a nonprofit that works to dismantle the nexus between gender-based violence and financial insecurity so that survivors have the opportunity to thrive and live free from abuse.
To support Caring Across Generations to lead Care Can't Wait California, a coalition and campaign that seeks to mobilize communities of color to expand access to paid family and medical leave, child care and early childhood education, long-term services and supports, living wage jobs for care workers, and supports for family caregivers.
To provide general operating support to Western Center on Law & Poverty, Inc., which promotes economic and racial justice by litigating, educating, and advocating around housing, public benefits, and economic security law and policy on behalf of Californians experiencing poverty, who are predominantly Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
To support the leadership of Black men and youth to create safe spaces for Black men and boys to engage in community conversations and activities designed to prevent domestic violence in the Black community.
To provide general operating support to California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, California’s statewide domestic violence coalition, to support work with member organizations and allies to advance domestic violence prevention through policy change, practice innovation, capacity building, and strategic communications.
To support and expand voluntary evidence-based home visiting programs in California through advocacy, collaboration, and communication strategies to prevent domestic violence and advance health equity.
To develop a subcommittee of parent survivors who will create community and a policy agenda to advance systems changes for domestic violence prevention that better meet the needs of survivors.
To build the capacity and knowledge of community leaders to activate and support their networks through community conversations and action to prevent domestic violence in communities of color in California.
To provide general operating support to the Central California Public Health Consortium, formerly the San Joaquin Valley Public Health Consortium, which provides the infrastructure for public health agencies in its region to work together on health equity-focused policies and practices.
To provide general operating support to Public Health Advocates, a leading statewide policy and advocacy organization focused on promoting health equity, strengthening public health and prevention policies, and promoting norms that foster health and social justice.
To support Berkeley Media Studies Group in providing communications training and technical assistance to California’s regional public health consortia and to advance health equity narratives statewide.
To provide general operating support to the Public Health Alliance of Southern California, which works to advance health equity by building infrastructure in municipal public health agencies that ultimately leads to a reduction in health disparities among people of color in the region.
To provide general operating support to State of Equity, which equips state government to dismantle racist policies and practices and increase accountability to communities.
To support the California Trans Policy Alliance, a coalition of grassroots trans-led organizations, to influence policy changes related to root causes of health inequities and violence among transgender Californians of color.
To provide general operating support to the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII), which provides the infrastructure for public health agencies in its region to work together on health equity-focused policies and practices.
To produce and promote high-quality, community-powered health journalism meeting the information needs that Latino and Mayan immigrant communities in the Bay Area express through their engagement with El Tímpano.
To support the editorial and operational needs of ethnic media serving California, with advocacy for the sector, business development opportunities, and content about health equity and domestic violence.
To train California journalists in health equity and domestic violence reporting that engages and empowers diverse communities and informs decision-makers who can drive systems change.
To provide general operating support to Candid, a nonprofit organization that captures and disseminates comprehensive data and insights about the social sector to advance equity and social change. Candid provides information that helps: 1) nonprofits find funders to support their work, and 2) funders verify and research nonprofits that are aligned with their priorities. Through the Demographics via Candid campaign, Candid empowers and encourages nonprofits to share vital demographic information (e.g., race, ethnicity and gender identity of CEO, Board and staff) one time on their Candid profile. This information can then be accessed by funders to learn if foundations are reaching racially and ethnically diverse organizations. In 2023, forty three percent of BSCF grantees reported demographic data of their leadership which was leveraged to populate our 2023 learning dashboard. Through partnering with Candid, our hope is to increase the percentage of our grantees demographic information reporting as well as to explore other vital data elements that may help us track progress towards advancing equity and social change.
To provide general operating support to Expanding the Bench (ETB), an initiative fiscally sponsored by the Colardo Nonprofit Development Center, to build the capacity and the infrastructure for diverse leaders across California and the country to apply Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation (CREE) principles and practices to advance equity in evaluation and measurement.
To support the dissemination of knowledge, skills, and application of power shifting approaches amongst leaders in the social sector to advance equity and inclusion in decision making of organizations most proximate to people of color in communities with low incomes.
To build the capacity of Foundation grantees and other California nonprofits to advocate for policies that improve health equity and prevent domestic violence by providing workshops, tailored technical assistance, and written resources (in Spanish and English) on regulations and laws on lobbying and advocacy.
To provide general operating support to the National Academy of Sciences to facilitate dialogue and inform action around the metrics and science, resources and policy, relationship and communication needed to transform the conditions for equitable health and well-being in communities.
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