June 2019 Grant Announcement: Everyone Counts
We are proud to announce that on June 19, 2019, Blue Shield of California Foundation’s Board of Trustees approved a set of breakthrough grants that will improve Californians’ health through initiatives to reduce violence, change systems, ensure a fair and accurate census, and create new opportunities for community strength and family well-being.
The Foundation is investing nearly $1 million in a coordinated effort to explore and evaluate the use of restorative justice practices to address domestic violence, and to disseminate evidence-based practices across the state. Restorative justice aligns community and survivor interests with strategies to transform the behavior of harm-doers while creating opportunities for healing, both in homes and in communities. The Contra Costa Family Justice Center Alliance will use $660,000 to develop the pilot and Impact Justice will receive a training grant of $325,000 to disseminate findings.
To advance a vision of a California that is free from gender-based violence, we are exploring ways to influence financial systems to break the cycle of domestic violence. A $225,000 grant to the Criterion Institute, a nonprofit research institute, will support coordination among investors, philanthropists, and diverse social change experts to mobilize capital investments in businesses that promote positive social norms, and to support the engagement of California stakeholders, train movement leaders on finance as a tool for social change, and establish relationships between asset managers and grassroots leaders.
“These grants represent our deepening commitment to prevention and community partnership, which enable us to work together to learn, test, invent, and redesign strategies to address interrelated health and social issues and bring us closer to a vision of wellness for our state,” said Carolyn Wang Kong, Chief Program Director.
Building on the success of the California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative, which over the last three years has seeded community-driven collaboratives to improve health and well-being, we are expanding our support to advance this promising model through a $2.1 million grant to Community Partners.
As Census 2020 nears, we are significantly increasing our investment to ensure a fair and accurate count in our state. A complete count will protect our political voice and the federal services, programs, and projects that Californians need. According to a recent projection by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, nearly 800,000 Californians could be missed in next year’s census. We are especially concerned with the groups that are at highest risk of an undercount, including residents of rural areas, immigrants, and young children of color. Through $600,000 in new grants, we are supporting multiple efforts to make sure that the health and well-being of Californians are protected through a fair census.
Additional funding will support health journalism, philanthropic alliances, and a statewide partnership to address and prevent domestic violence. Together, these partners will promote innovative approaches, uncover new research and facilitate community-led collaboration, challenge harmful gender norms, uphold justice for survivors of domestic violence, and ensure a complete count. We are in this together, and by working with — and for — one another, our state can be the healthiest in the nation with the lowest rate of domestic violence.
For a full list of this quarter's grants click here.
