Strengthen economic security and mobility

Health and well-being for Californians are inextricably connected to their economic security. When families are economically secure, they can meet their basic needs — such as safe and stable housing, keeping food on the table, paying the bills, caring for one another when needed, and saving for the future. This leads to healthier individuals, families, and communities—and can prevent violence in the home, as economic insecurity can be both a risk factor and a result of domestic violence.

Communities of color and people with low incomes, women, and immigrants face disproportionate barriers to achieving economic stability and mobility, and we’re committed to addressing the root causes of these inequities and removing those barriers. With a focus on policy and systems change, we invest in approaches that expand access to income and benefits: that increase care workers’ wages, benefits, and job quality, while keeping care affordable and accessible for families; and that spur innovations to provide greater economic security for survivors of domestic violence.

Supporting Californians to lead healthy and dignified lives

Our work to strengthen economic security and mobility for Californians means working with grantee partners across the state who are supporting Californians to access the resources they need to lead healthy and dignified lives.

“We see income and wealth, particularly when viewed through the lens of racial and gender equity, as powerful long-term contributors to health and well-being. Strengthening economic security and mobility for Californians means creating equitable opportunity to improve financial well-being, to set up the next generations for success, plan for the future, and tend to their health and the health of their families.”

—Rachel Wick, Senior Program Officer

Creating impact through systems change

Woman and children at a daycare

We support grantees who are working to catalyze policy changes that will have a positive impact on communities of color with low incomes in California. Specifically, we’re promoting:

  • Increasing equity in access to paid family leave
  • Exploring long-term policy solutions for guaranteed income
  • Making CalWORKs and community college systems work for student parents
  • Protecting the health and safety of domestic workers
  • Increasing public investment in entrepreneurship and small business development for care workers
  • Increasing public investment in innovative approaches to support domestic violence survivors, such as Domestic Violence Housing First programs to prevent homelessness

Grantees

Grantee Year Grant Amount Region
Legal Aid at Work 2023 $430,000 Statewide
California Community Colleges CalWORKs Association 2023 $357,362 Statewide
United Ways of California 2023 $350,000 Statewide
Golden State Opportunity 2023 $150,000 Statewide
Capital & Main 2023 $100,000 Statewide
Women’s Foundation of California 2023 $650,000 Statewide
Public Health Foundation Enterprises Inc 2023 $200,000 Statewide
Center for Community Change 2023 $150,000 Statewide
The Regents of the University of California San Francisco 2022 $517,501 Statewide
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence 2022 $500,000 Statewide
SMALL BUSINESS MAJORITY FOUNDATION INC 2022 $450,000 Statewide
The Regents of the University of California San Francisco 2022 $289,010 Statewide
Social Finance, Inc. 2022 $200,000 Statewide
City and County of San Francisco 2022 $200,000 San Francisco Bay Area
Mujeres Unidas y Activas 2022 $1,600,000 Statewide
Tides Foundation 2022 $500,000 Statewide
Downtown Women's Center 2022 $500,000 Los Angeles
The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles 2022 $354,768 Statewide
Equal Rights Advocates 2022 $200,000 Statewide
Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California 2022 $200,000 Statewide

Related publications and insights

The faces behind the work

Portrait of Rachel Wick

Senior Program Officer

Portrait of Richard Thomason

Director of Policy

Portrait of Courtnee Hamity

Senior Evaluation and Data Strategy Officer

Portrait of Krysten Massa

Senior Communications Associate

Portrait of Karen Ben-Moshe

Policy Program Officer

Portrait of Bernadette Choudhary

Senior Program Coordinator