Pass It Along Fund

One act of kindness, when it’s needed most

The Pass It Along Fund was established at CCF by anonymous donors in the true spirit of philanthropy: to help Angelenos in moments of critical need without expecting anything in return. The original donors required that 100 percent of the money go directly to assist recipients within 72 hours of the request, with little paperwork or bureaucracy. They asked that recipients have no obligations except to pass along two acts of kindness.

Over the last 20 years, the Pass It Along Fund has granted nearly $10M, impacting thousands of lives throughout Los Angeles County when people needed it most.

CCF does not grant to individuals directly. Please refer to our list of nonprofit partners for inquiries related to receiving services or funding in Los Angeles.

Pass it Along Success Stories

Offering Hope and Community 

Being a single mother to an 11-year-old and 17-year-old while working to make ends meet as a housekeeper is challenging as it is, but add a pandemic and economic uncertainty, and it can seem nearly impossible. This is exactly where Angelina found herself when the stay at home orders were announced in mid-March. All the homes she cleaned asked her not to return until it was safe. Emotionally distraught, Angelina and her young family needed a lifeline. Angelina is among the 1.6 million Californians who are out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Economic hardship is rapidly emerging as a central concern of our nonprofit partners and communities across Los Angeles County, particularly for working poor families furloughed in industries like service, hospitality and construction.

CCF’s approach to economic hardship assistance was to activate and fully fund the Pass It Along (PIA) program, which is a proven network of long-standing direct service providers who have long provided emergency assistance with CCF support for over 20 years. The PIA program provides grants to nonprofits who can help provide direct hardship assistance to individuals.

When Angelina needed help, she was able to turn to PIA grantee, the Bresee Foundation, for help. Bresee was able to evaluate her circumstances and determine how to offer support. Without money for rent, Angelina was at risk of becoming homeless, but because of her courage to ask for help and Bresee and PIA’s support, she was able to pay two-months’ rent and gain some hope during a trying moment. Angelina reflected, “During these times, there’s been a lot of stress because you think about not being able to pay rent and falling behind on your bills. Personally, I have had trouble sleeping. This aid is a big help because it is going to help us pay for rent. The foundation makes us a part of a family, part of the community and it makes us feel supported.”

When so many of our neighbors like Angelina need to feel supported and part of a community, we can create more acts of kindness by helping each other when we need it most.

Pass It Along Impact

To read more about how the Pass It Along Fund has made an impact in the lives of other individuals, please click here.

How You Can Help

Create more acts of kindness by helping our neighbors when they need us most. Help us Pass It Along!

To make a secure, tax-deductible donation online, click on the button below.

Donate Now

You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Pass It Along Fund. Checks should be mailed to:

California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Contributions to the California Community Foundation represent irrevocable gifts subject to the legal and fiduciary control of the foundation’s board of directors. This charge will appear on your credit card statement as a payment to “Calif Comm Fdn – CCF”. In addition, California Community Foundation incurs a third-party administrative fee of 2.7 percent for credit card contributions. The foundation will charge the fee directly to the individual fund.