Leading for Power & Change Fund Grant

Overview

_NOTE: We’re changing our Letter of Interest (LOI) process for grant-seekers this year, as Cal Wellness embarks on a strategic planning journey to shape the future of our work. Instead of accepting LOIs year-round, we’re moving to specific submission windows: the next will be July 1-31. We’ll provide an update later this year on LOI submissions for the rest of 2025.  ._

Our Vision & Mission

Our vision is for every resident of California to enjoy good health and experience wellness. Our mission is to protect and improve the health and wellness of the people of California by increasing access to health care, quality education, good jobs, healthy environments and safe neighborhoods.

Our Work

* We use our resources to advance our mission through grantmaking, investments, sharing our learning and lifting our voice.
* We fund direct services that address the urgent needs people are facing in their communities, particularly the needs of low-income individuals, people of color, youth and residents of rural areas.
* We recognize, encourage and strengthen leaders to be powerful agents of change.
* We support advocacy and civic engagement so that communities can build power and create public policies that reflect their vision, will and needs.
* We trust and invest in nonprofit organizations so that they can operate at full capacity.
* We partner with community-led organizations, philanthropic organizations, businesses, government and individuals who want to improve health and wellness for Californians.

What We Fund

Our vision is that every person in California enjoys health and wellness. That means living in a safe and healthy community. Having access to quality education and good jobs. Drinking clean water. And having access to healthy foods.

But we know that a lot gets in the way of people enjoying health and wellness. The barriers are many and they are systemic. Wellness is directly affected by our race, class, gender and disability. By our zip code. By our family history. By our immigration status and past involvement with the criminal justice system.

That’s why we partner with community organizations to remove barriers to individual and community wellness. And to put in place more equitable processes and systems that improve individual and community wellness.

Through our grantmaking program—Advancing Wellness—we support organizations that are increasing access to health care. Innovative organizations that are advocating for quality education. Organizations big and small that are fighting for good jobs with fair wages and benefits. Local organizations that are working to make our streets and neighborhoods safe.

Leading for Power & Change Fund

We have been inspired by and invested in the vision of communities of color and organizations led by people of color. In addition, the events of 2020 have made all too clear that racism and structural inequities permeate every institution and system in our nation, resulting in disproportionate illness and death for people of color.

We are energized by the Black-led, multi-racial, multi-generational protests calling for racial and social justice at a scale we haven’t seen in a generation. Because dismantling racism and anti-Blackness requires coordinated and unified multi-racial coalitions for social justice and progressive change. And it requires powerful organizations that are led by people of color.

But leaders of color face many barriers to achieving their bold visions. Historically, philanthropy does a poor job of getting funds to these leaders and their organizations, which makes organizational financial stability very challenging. A Race to Lead report found that leaders of color have smaller organizational budgets than their White peers and have a difficult time accessing and raising funds from foundations, government and individual donors. Bridgespan and Echoing Green report that funders are subject to implicit bias that shows up as mistrust toward leaders of color – mistrust of their strategies and their vision. In addition, the nonprofit sector is overly represented by White leadership even though nonprofit organizations led by people of color are more likely to understand and strive to address systemic injustices through building power and making demands for policy and structural change. Yet only seven percent of nonprofit chief executives and 18 percent of nonprofit employees are people of color. And the percentage of people of color on nonprofit boards remains at just 15 percent, a number that has not changed in nearly two decades.

To advance systemic and progressive change while improving community outcomes and health, our Leading for Power and Change portfolio seeks to amplify the voices, leadership, and power of people of color, and other people who have historically been excluded from full participation in civic society.

Equity in the Nonprofit Sector

We’ll support leadership development and capacity building that will help people of color-led organizations, and organizations with a racial justice analysis, to be stronger and more resilient. We’ll support organizations to increase their assets, and recruit and retain talented staff of color. For example, we will fund leaders to take sabbaticals while their organizations strengthen the next level of leadership.

Mobilizing Movements and Power Building ( not accepting Letter of Inquiry at thie time)

We want to make sure that organizations have the resources to mobilize, advance health and racial equity, and hold public and private sector leaders and policymakers accountable. We’ll support integrated civic engagement, along with opportunities for people to organize, advocate and speak out for policies that affect their lives.

Reimagining Social Justice

Initiatives and or/strategies to increase the inclusion of communities of color in fields that influence decision making in philanthropy and the sustainability and effectiveness of non-profit organizations including, finance, research and communications.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

* Your organization must be a nonprofit public agency, religious organization or tribal government.
* You must have Section 501(c)(3) status and be classified as a public charity.
* Your organization can’t discriminate by race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation or national origin.
* Your proposal would benefit those living in California.
* What We Fund:
* Organized efforts and initiatives designed to increase the recruitment, development and retention of non-profit leaders of color in the social justice movement.
* Organizations that partner with organizations led by and centered on communities of color to strengthen their organizational infrastructure and capacity to advance the movement for racial justice.
* Initiatives and/or organized efforts to evolve philanthropy’s policies and practices that have historically excluded communities of color from sustainable philanthropic investments and leadership within philanthropic institutions.

Ineligibility

* Cal Wellness does not provide international funding or fund organizations located outside the United States.
* Cal Wellness does not fund individuals seeking funding.
* Your application is not for an annual fund drive, building campaign, major equipment or biomedical research.
* What We Don't Fund:
* Core support to individual organizations working to strengthen their internal diversity, inclusion and equity practices.