| Contact: Max Freund Project Director, Inland Empire Funders Alliance info@iefunders.org (909) 575-7906 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2024 |
San Bernardino & Riverside Counties, CA – The Inland Empire Funders Alliance is proud to announce the awarding of grants totaling over $450,000 to 37 nonprofits throughout the region under its Civic Engagement Pooled Fund initiative. The grants will enable community-based organizations in the Inland Empire to engage the people they already serve every day in the democratic process.
The awarded organizations are undertaking a diverse array of initiatives designed to boost civic participation and ensure that all community members can have their voices heard at the polls. Funded organizations will host candidate forums, facilitate workshops on propositions and ballot measures, offer voter registration education, and improve voting access through the establishment of community-based voting locations and dropboxes. The effort is especially focused on people and communities that have historically faced obstacles preventing them from engaging in the democratic process.
The grants were strategically distributed to nonprofits of all sizes throughout the two-county region that already serve as trusted messengers to the people and communities they serve — ranging from neighborhood food pantries, to housing and health providers, arts and media, education and environmental justice organizations.
Photo caption: Nonprofits are helping people around the Inland Empire vote to make their voices heard. (Credit: TODEC)
“We are thrilled to support these dedicated organizations working tirelessly to engage and educate voters in the Inland Empire,” said Anita Dharapuram, VP of Community Development Banking for PNC Bank and Advisory Board Chair of the Inland Empire Funders Alliance. “This funding is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and representative democracy in our rapidly growing and diverse region.”
Margarita Luna, Managing Director at The California Endowment and past chair of the Funders Alliance, emphasized the importance of this balanced approach: “By strategically distributing funds and building relationships across organizations with varying levels of experience, the Funders Alliance is continuing its efforts to grow a robust civic engagement ecosystem. This ensures that nonprofits of all types can increase their ability to help our communities build civic muscle when residents understand they have a right and responsibility to be engaged in their communities.”
The pooled fund represents the combined investment of several leading philanthropic institutions, including The California Endowment, The Weingart Foundation, The IEHP Foundation, The Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund, Women’s Foundation California, and the IE Community Foundation.
Denisha Shackelford, Program Manager at the IE Community Foundation and the Funders Alliance’s Co-Lead for Collaborative Grantmaking Initiatives, highlighted the collaborative spirit of the initiative: “The Civic Engagement Pooled Fund is a testament to what we can achieve when funders come together with a shared vision. Our combined resources will enable nonprofits to implement innovative strategies, from door-to-door canvassing and community education events to creative arts, social media campaigns, and media outreach.”
About the Inland Empire Funders Alliance
The Inland Empire Funders Alliance (www.iefunders.org) is a network of over 30 grantmaking organizations dedicated to advancing equity, advocacy, and systemic change in the Inland Empire by uplifting the region’s assets and opportunities, and leveraging resources for impact. Since 2020 the Funders Alliance has worked to improve the quality of life in the IE through strategic, impactful philanthropy in partnership with nonprofits and the community. Funders Alliance members combine their knowledge, relationships, and resources in support of solutions that go to the root of the region’s most pressing issues and action for equity, such as racial justice, education access, economic opportunity, environmental justice, and community health. For more information about the IE Funders Alliance and its work, please visit www.iefunders.org.
Press Contact:
Max Freund
info@iefunders.org
(909) 575-7906