Investing $7.4 million in California communities, Foundation stays the course
In continued partnership with organizations across California that are working to make this the healthiest state and end domestic violence, trustees of Blue Shield of California Foundation unanimously approved a $7.4 million grant docket in their third quarter meeting of 2025.
“These are incredibly challenging times for many of our fellow Californians,” said Debbie I. Chang, president and CEO of the Foundation. “We stand by the communities of color with low incomes that are the most affected by health inequities and domestic violence. This package of grants reflects our continued commitment to them and to our mission.”
Strengthen economic security and mobility: total grants of $1.9 million
The Foundation is renewing grants with several longtime partners in the work to strengthen economic security and mobility. These include FreeFrom, which addresses and prevents financial abuse, and Hand in Hand, which organizes the employers of domestic workers around fair wages, benefits, and job quality.
A new partnership for the Foundation is with the End Child Poverty in California coalition (ECPCA) powered by the organization GRACE. A $75,000 grant to the coalition will help support statewide leadership and advocacy on economic security issues, including tax credit access, Re-Imagining CalWORKs, guaranteed income, and child care rate reform.
“With one-third of Californians facing economic uncertainty and struggling to meet everyday needs, ECPCA is not only imagining a liberated future for children and families but creating that future through transformational public policy and partnerships,” GRACE President and CEO Shimica Gaskins said.
ECPCA is one of the driving forces behind California’s HOPE accounts, the largest baby bonds program in the nation that promises to be a powerful tool to address the racial wealth gap and the opportunity gap that all children with low incomes face. They have also made progress toward making CalWORKs more family-centered. With the Foundation’s support, ECPCA will engage more parents and youth with lived experiences of poverty in order to advance policy and systems changes that help families move from poverty to prosperity.
“The strength of our coalitions, our unified voices, the community members who have lifted up their stories, and the belief that we can do more together continues to be a strong lever for our work, even in times when nothing and no one is safe or protected,” Gaskins said.
Break the cycle of domestic violence: total grants of nearly $1.6 million
With renewal grants to each member of a cohort exploring restorative practices, the Foundation continues to invest in this pathway to healing from domestic violence. They are East Los Angeles Women’s Center, DeafHope, and Homeboy Industries, along with Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), Healing Together, Success Stories, and Community Justice Center. In this grant cycle, the emphasis is on evaluation of restorative practices, examining such measures as the self-determination of survivors who choose these practices and their cultural responsiveness.
Another longtime partner in breaking the cycle of domestic violence, and in the Foundation’s ethnic media strategy, is Alianza Metropolitan News. Alianza shares its coverage statewide through Spanish-language newspaper and radio partners. Publisher Rossana Drumond believes that “domestic violence can end with the help and support of each of us. The Latino Hispanic community is one of the most affected, especially those who only speak Spanish. Therefore, journalism that provides more information about prevention, solutions, and the hope of ending domestic violence is very important.”
Align systems with community priorities: total grants of $1.9 million
“We are in a challenging time with local health jurisdictions and public health in general under attack for even the simple task of identifying which communities suffer most from unhealthy conditions,” said Lori Dorfman, director of Berkeley Media Studies Group. This established Foundation partner is receiving a grant to support the communications strategies of local, regional, and state public health agencies in California.
“We work for a world where people are proud to say they work on racial and health equity because our duty in public health is to improve conditions for everyone,” Dorfman said.
The Foundation is also renewing significant support for three regional consortia of public health departments, in Southern California, the Central Valley, and the Bay Area. Together, this quarter’s grants show an enduring commitment to making public agencies more inclusive of and responsive to their communities.
Other grantmaking to advance our mission
The leadership of the Foundation’s evaluation and data strategy team is on display this quarter with a $750,000 investment in the California Study on Violence Experiences Across the Lifespan (CalVEX). CalVEX gathers quantitative and qualitative data on domestic violence in California. For the first time in our long partnership, this grant will include a pilot of a national study as well.
“These grants, along with our dozens of partner organizations around California, prove that the challenges we face are also opportunities for impact,” Chang said. “Working together over time, with our resilience and persistence, we can make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence.”
For a complete list of current grants and more information on all the Foundation’s grantmaking, please see our grants database. We also support grantees on social media (find us on LinkedIn and Instagram), and feature their work in our newsletter, Intersections.
To support Hand in Hand's statewide organizing of domestic employers and care consumers to engage in education and advocacy to improve the health, safety and economic well-being of domestic workers.
To build the capacity of domestic violence service organizations to advocate for, promote, and implement policies and programs at the intersection of domestic violence and housing.
To provide general operating support to Caring Across Generations to build a movement to make care accessible, affordable and equitable for all through working in deep partnership with family caregivers, care workers, disabled people and aging adults, and across national, regional and cultural work.
To provide general operating support to Freefrom to end gender-based violence by building economic freedom and safety with and for survivors.
To provide general operating support to GRACE to make a positive difference in the lives of low-income families and their children through collaborations that seek to reduce barriers to economic stability.
To provide general operating support to Justice in Aging to fight senior poverty by securing access to affordable health care, long-term services and supports, and economic security.
To support advocacy, outreach, and education activities that expand eligibility for and support implementation and take-up of paid family and medical leave policies in California.
To support Expecting Justice's research, evaluation and strategic communications of the Abundant Birth Project, a guaranteed income pilot focused on improving preterm birth and maternal health outcomes in California.
To improve the way domestic violence is covered by funding solutions-based, culturally responsive journalism focused on amplifying and advancing strategies to break the cycle of domestic violence in Spanish speaking, Latinx communities in California.
To support engagement in restorative justice learning community activities to strengthen the capacity of organizations implementing restorative justice practices to prevent domestic violence in the Fresno area.
To support the evaluation of restorative justice practices serving Deaf survivors and their families to strengthen practice, build evidence, and expand access for restorative justice approaches to prevent domestic violence in California.
To support the evaluation of restorative justice practices serving Latine immigrant survivors and families, including fathers in Los Angeles, to strengthen practice, build evidence, and expand access for restorative justice approaches to prevent domestic violence in California.
To support the evaluation of restorative justice practices serving BIPOC, Queer, Trans, and Gender Expansive people to strengthen practice, build evidence, and expand access for restorative justice approaches to prevent domestic violence in California.
To support engagement in restorative justice learning community activities to strengthen the capacity of organizations implementing restorative justice practices to prevent domestic violence in Los Angeles.
To provide general operating support to the Culturally Responsive Domestic Violence Network to advance policy and practice change to prevent domestic violence in communities of color in California.
To provide general operating support to the Culturally Responsive Domestic Violence Network to advance policy and practice change to prevent domestic violence in communities of color in California.
To provide general operating support to the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color to strengthen policy change and capacity building with a focus on healing, gender justice, and racial equity to end intimate partner violence.
To support a culturally-responsive Black parenting program to prevent intergenerational intimate partner violence and trauma by supporting Black families in the greater Los Angeles area through leadership development, social supports, and prevention trainings.
To support engagement in restorative justice learning community activities to strengthen the capacity of organizations implementing restorative justice practices to prevent domestic violence in California.
To provide general operating support to Asian Resources, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to provide essential services, advocacy, and opportunities to enrich the lives of Californians.
To provide general operating support to the Central California Public Health Consortium to build the capacity of municipal public health agencies to advance health equity.
To provide general operating support to the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII), to build the capacity of municipal public health agencies to advance health equity.
To provide communications training, tools, and messaging support to local health departments and regional public health groups across California.
To provide general operating support to the Public Health Alliance of Southern California to build the capacity of municipal public health agencies to advance health equity.
To produce and promote multilingual, community-driven, trauma-informed journalism on health equity and women's issues affecting Latino and Indigenous Mayan immigrants in the East Bay
To support the editorial and operational needs of ethnic media that provide California communities with in-language information about health equity, immigration policy, and domestic violence.
To train and support diverse California journalists in reporting on health equity and domestic violence, including how to increase their impact through community engagement and collaboration with other outlets.
Support the REALize Power Alumni Network to develop its infrastructure and implement sustainable programming aimed at strengthening the capacity and leadership development of nonprofit and grassroots organizations staff to apply equitable evaluation practices.
To sustain the California Study on Violence Experiences Across the Lifespan (CalVEX) study, and expand the study to include a national pilot that generates quantitative and qualitative data on intimate partner violence and domestic violence at both state and national levels, with findings highlighting root causes, protective factors, and unique experiences of underrepresented communities.
To support Capitol Impact in developing and executing a California gubernatorial forum that is a nonpartisan dialogue among candidates on issues such as economic security, domestic violence prevention, and health equity.
To support Los Angeles County Center for Strategic Partnerships, a public-private pilot designed to promote collaboration within and among public and private stakeholders in Los Angeles County to fund, test, and spread family-focused strategies that prevent vulnerable children, youth, and families from entering county systems.
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