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Effort Will Encourage More Than 755,000 Eligible L.A. County Residents to Apply for Citizenship

LOS ANGELES – November 10, 2015 – In an unprecedented multi-sector partnership, major Los Angeles immigrant rights organizations, leading Spanish-language media and the City and County of Los Angeles have joined forces today on a coordinated campaign to promote citizenship.

¡Protégete!…¡Ciudadania Ya! (Protect Yourself! Citizenship Now!) aims to inform, educate and assist L.A. County’s estimated 755,000 residents who are eligible to naturalize. In light of recent naturalization rates decreasing across the United States, the campaign partners saw a need to revitalize and re-educate the public about the benefits of citizenship, including increased income and stronger protections under the law. The effort was inspired by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Step Forward LA initiative, which brought together nonprofits and city and county governments around the goal of promoting greater immigrant integration.

“Los Angeles area residents need the involvement, engagement and protection of their elected representatives as they navigate the naturalization process. We are committed to providing them with the resources and support that they need,” said Mayor Garcetti. “This unprecedented partnership will be a model for collaboration around the state and the country.”

The campaign will hit the airwaves today on major Spanish-language media outlets and go to the streets to educate eligible residents about the process and expand access to trustworthy services in every corner of the region. These outlets serve unique roles in the Latino community, playing both informative and empowerment roles. This is the first time that all Spanish-language outlets have come together in a campaign as partners.

“Helping our communities thrive in the United States is a core part of who we are as a mission-driven company,” said Univision Los Angeles Senior Vice President and General Manager Luis Patiño. “This historic collaboration will help listeners and viewers in the Los Angeles-area understand the benefits and rights that come with U.S. citizenship, including an opportunity to have your voice heard through voting in local and national elections.”

Phone banks will be open for viewers to get information on how to become a citizen and make appointments at workshops that will take place throughout the county.

“We are partnering with other trusted L.A. nonprofit organizations to leverage our collective resources to reach eligible residents in L.A. County,” said NALEO Educational Fund Executive Director Arturo Vargas. “By providing assistance with the process and increased access to free and low-cost support with the application, our aim is to dramatically increase the number of naturalized citizens over the next year.”

The campaign is led by a strong coalition that includes Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis; the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), the Council of Mexican Federations (COFEM), Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles (AAAJ-LA); and Spanish-language outlets Azteca America, Entravision, Estrella TV/Liberman Broadcasting, La Opinión, Telemundo 52 Los Angeles KVEA, Univision Radio and KMEX 34 Univision Los Angeles.

The campaign is made possible through funding support from a partnership between the California Community Foundation and Juntos Podemos/Together We Can.

For more information, please visit ciudadaniaya.info.

CONTACT
Taleen Ananian
tananian@www.calfund.org
(213) 452-6203

Download printable PDF.

Asian Journal

LOS ANGELES, CA – March 26, 2015 – The California Community Foundation (CCF) has partnered with leading local, state and national philanthropic organizations to raise $847,255 for nonprofit organizations on the front lines of caring for refugee youth in Los Angeles County.

Generated through a collaborative fundraising effort and disseminated through the Our Children Relief Fund, the grants support organizations providing critical services in the areas of legal, mental health, case management and coordinated systems of care to address the humanitarian crisis in our community. An estimated 3,400 children have been identified in Los Angeles County that are seeking refuge and services after fleeing a life of violence in Central America. As the home to the largest concentration of Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans in the United States, Los Angeles County is the primary region receiving refugee youth in California.

“Many of these children have experienced crisis and trauma before arriving here and require shelter, food, health care and legal counsel. We are proud to support the organizations working tirelessly on this humanitarian issue,” said Antonia Hernández, president and CEO of CCF. “I also applaud the foundations that have shown leadership to ensure that this vulnerable population has access to services.”

Nonprofit organizations that received funding:

Foundations that contributed to the Our Children Relief Fund:

CCF also worked with organizations like Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) and Hispanics in Philanthropy to organize distribution of an additional $678,000 in funding for Los Angeles County organizations. The crucial coordination effort aimed to fill service gaps in order to provide comprehensive relief and ensure maximum impact of grant dollars.

This humanitarian crisis is not over as another surge of arrivals is expected this year. Please visit https://www.calfund.org/OurChildren to make a contribution to the Our Children Relief Fund. CCF will grant 100 percent of individual donations and foundation support to nonprofit organizations that are currently the lifeline for many of the refugee children in Los Angeles County.

Providing assistance to refugee youth is part of CCF’s long history of working to support the inclusion of immigrants in the civic and economic fabric of Los Angeles. From partnerships to implement national immigration reform mandates in the mid-1980s to President Obama’s recent executive action on immigration, CCF is committed to helping more new Americans integrate and make their voices heard so together we can build a stronger and more prosperous future for all Angelenos.

About the California Community Foundation
The California Community Foundation (CCF) unites the power of philanthropy with innovative strategies to create greater equity, opportunity and prosperity in Los Angeles County. It has served as a public, charitable organization since 1915, empowering donors to pursue their own personal passions and to collaborate with us in transforming Los Angeles. CCF stewards nearly $1.4 billion in total assets and manages more than 1,600 charitable foundations, funds and legacies. Learn more at www.calfund.org.

CONTACT
Taleen Ananian
tananian@www.calfund.org
(213) 452-6203

 

Inside Philanthropy

Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES, CA – January 28, 2015 – The California Community Foundation (CCF) announces a significant addition to its management team with the hiring of Efrain Escobedo as vice president of civic engagement and public policy.

Escobedo will lead a department that aims to empower all Angelenos to shape the major issues affecting their lives through collective engagement and shared problem-solving. Escobedo will oversee CCF’s investments in civic engagement activities that foster social change across many of the foundation’s priority program areas. He will continue the foundation’s work in supporting successful implementation of President Obama’s executive action for immigration reform and community outreach for AB60, the law that allows undocumented residents to apply for a California driver’s license.

A Los Angeles native, Escobedo has dedicated his career to fostering civic engagement and effective policymaking. He is recognized nationally as a leader and expert in elections policy and has played a key role in increasing Latino political participation in the United States. He most recently served as the manager of governmental and legislative affairs for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, where he worked on legislation, media and community outreach to increase voter participation.

“Civic engagement is a critical piece of our work that touches all areas of life in Los Angeles. It ignites mutual understanding among diverse communities and instills a shared sense of responsibility for our future,” said CCF President & CEO Antonia Hernández. “With his skills, passion for Los Angeles and many years of experience advancing civic participation and social change, Efrain is a wonderful fit for CCF.”

Prior to joining the county in 2009, Escobedo served as the senior director of civic engagement for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, where he managed programs around elections, naturalization and the Census, among other responsibilities. Escobedo earned his bachelor’s degree in American studies and ethnicity from the University of Southern California and is a recent graduate of the Los Angeles County Executive Leadership Program.

As CCF marks its 100th year, the foundation is playing an increasingly active role in public policy dialogues in the region and activating members of the community to affect larger outcomes in their lives through collective engagement. The Civic Engagement and Public Policy Department at CCF contributes to social impact through a diverse spectrum of issues, including immigrant integration, early child care and education and the promotion of civic engagement in L.A. County’s American Muslim community.

Leadership in these critical areas goes hand-in-hand with the foundation’s range of efforts to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable Angelenos, including programs like Grameen America Los Angeles, a global microfinance model that provides women entrepreneurs with capital and support that contributes to job creation and lifting families out of poverty; the Los Angeles Scholars Investment Fund, aimed at reversing the college graduation rates among low-income students through supporting nonprofits with successful graduation rates; and Building a Lifetime of Options and Opportunities for Men, considered a national model for changing the trajectory for young black men in the probation system.

The California Community Foundation (CCF) unites the power of philanthropy with innovative strategies to create greater equity, opportunity and prosperity in Los Angeles County. We have served as a public, charitable organization since 1915, empowering donors to pursue their own personal passions and to collaborate with us in transforming Los Angeles. CCF stewards nearly $1.4 billion in total assets and manages more than 1,600 charitable foundations, funds and legacies. Learn more at www.calfund.org.

CONTACT
Taleen Ananian
tananian@www.calfund.org
(213) 452-6203

Download a printable PDF.