News Release | March 19, 2019

Application Process Opens to Provide Community-Based Youth Development Services

A new grant opportunity to support and expand local youth development services and programs centered on healing, learning, and opportunity in high need areas across Los Angeles County opened today. This collaboration will expand opportunities and resources for programs that keep youth out of the criminal justice system and help those in the system successfully transition back into the community.
News Release | February 7, 2019

Los Angeles County Poised to Provide Additional Community-based Services for Youth Diversion and Development in History-making Partnership

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday approved a historic Public/Private Partnership between the Los Angeles County Probation Department and two of the area’s leading grant-makers—the Liberty Hill Foundation and the California Community Foundation. This landmark collaboration will dramatically increase services and opportunities delivered by local community-based organizations to youth currently in the probation system and to at-risk youth to divert them from entering the County system altogether. The Probation Department will allocate $3.2 million from the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) funds to the respective foundations who will in turn set up a grant process for grass-roots and emerging community-based organizations. This will allow for faster distribution of the funds and an opportunity for smaller organizations to access these funds that may not normally have had the infrastructure to compete for county contracts. The grants distributed through this partnership will expand opportunities and resources for programs that keep vulnerable youth out of the justice system and help those in the system transition back into the community. These programs provide critical socio-emotional support that is proven to successfully prevent many youth from entering the juvenile justice system, while also cutting the recidivism rates of those who have. With this new partnership, Los Angeles County will continue to be the nation’s leader for demonstrating how an effective community-based model focused on prevention and treatment not only decreases the number of youth incarcerated, but also improves chances for more youth to earn their high school diplomas, become gainfully employed and decrease the likelihood of being incarcerated as an adult. The services made available via this collaboration will be provided within the youths’ own communities thus making it easier for the families to access. With a shared goal to provide youth rehabilitative programs centered on healing, learning and opportunity, grantees will receive funding for their critical work advancing education, mental health, cultural and workforce programs. The grantees will also benefit from Liberty Hill’s proven track record of coalition-building, training, and support to build organizational capacity for growth and success. Grantees will develop capacity-building plans, and have access to individualized coaching and cohort-based trainings helping them to be more competitive for future funding. “Community based organizations have already demonstrated their power in helping to effectively allocate these critical resources,” said Liberty Hill President & CEO Shane Murphy Goldsmith. “This will prevent losing more vulnerable young people to incarceration; instead, they will be connected in meaningful ways in our communities and will help us make Los Angeles the County we know it can be.” The California Community Foundation believes that the collaboration will ultimately make a positive difference in the lives of countless people. “By shifting the focus from simply avoiding criminal or classroom misbehavior to fully embracing methods that result in high school graduation, college readiness and career success, we can dramatically change the lifetime opportunities for young people and the well-being of our community as a whole,” said California Community Foundation President and CEO Antonia Hernández. “Together we can help all our young people to realize their limitless potential.” In the last few years the Los Angeles County Probation Department has been actively establishing relationships with local non-profits dedicated to helping expand programs that improve the health of youth and their families. Probation dedicated $14 million to community-based diversion programs in 2018. “We are proud of this new partnership with Liberty Hill and the California Community Foundation because of our shared objective to improve the outcomes of youth in our communities,” said Chief Deputy Probation Officer Sheila Mitchell who oversees the operations of Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls and residential treatment camps. “This strengthens our goal of partnering with community-based organizations that have proven track records for proactively providing critical programs for our youth.” Community organizations that are interested in learning more about this partnership and how to join may email youthdevelopment@www.calfund.org. For more information on the Public/Private Partnership and Liberty Hill’s participation, please contact Courtney Kassel, Chief Communications Officer, by phone at 323-556-7230 or email at ckassel@libertyhill.org. For more information on the Public/Private Partnership and California Community Foundation’s participation, please contact Roshin Mathew, Director of Communications, by phone at 213-413-4130 or by email at rmathew@www.calfund.org. For more information on the Public/Private Partnership and the Los Angeles County Probation Department’s participation, please contact Kerri Webb, Public Information Officer, by phone at 562-315-3388 or by email at kerri.webb@probation.lacounty.gov.
News Release | May 18, 2016

California Community Foundation Selected by Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers Fund Grant Program to Accelerate Economic Opportunity

CCF Joins Leading Nonprofit Organizations Across the United States to Address Urban Challenges  LOS ANGELES – MAY 18, 2016 – The California Community Foundation (CCF) announced today that it has been selected as a recipient of the Community Progress Makers Fund, a $500,000 grant over the course of two years to continue the foundation’s work in the community around supporting Black men and boys, among other projects. This new injection of funds at CCF will in part help bolster CCF’s Building a Lifetime of Options & Opportunities for Men (BLOOM) initiative. Since its inception in 2012, BLOOM has worked with more than 500 young Black men in South Los Angeles to develop the skills they need to complete high school, move toward post-secondary options and become productive members of society. BLOOM is a model that the White House spotlighted when My Brother’s Keeper was first launched in 2013. In addition to the grant, CCF will also have access to technical assistance from leading national researchers and experts and will be provided opportunities to connect with other grantees to share and learn best practices. “I am grateful to the Citi Foundation for recognizing the importance of supporting local community-building initiatives in Los Angeles,” said California Community Foundation President & CEO Antonia Hernández. “This is the largest outside grant and the first national funding partner to support our work with Black men and boys. We look forward to continued partnership with Los Angeles organizations delivering academic and career guidance to our future community leaders.” The Community Progress Makers Fund is a $20 million grant initiative to support 40 visionary nonprofit organizations, including CCF, in their efforts to establish new approaches to long-standing urban economic challenges in the United States – including economic development, environment sustainability, urban infrastructure and affordable housing. “The Citi Foundation feels privileged to support organizations that have demonstrated such strong commitments to their local communities and a willingness to share their experiences with others for the betterment of their neighborhoods,” said Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation. “These organizations have a track record of implementing solutions that work for their communities because they know the people there, understand what resources to tap and, most importantly, feel deeply invested in the places where they live and work. We believe that’s the key to leading urban transformation efforts in Los Angeles and elsewhere across the country.” The Community Progress Makers Fund builds upon the Citi Foundation’s commitment to identify and support innovative solutions and organizations that are helping build stronger, more resilient cities that are engines of economic opportunity for all. The flexibility of core operating support will allow organizations and their visionary leaders to deploy solutions that address a range of issues. ### The California Community Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life for all Los Angeles County residents by addressing the root causes of the county’s most urgent problems. The foundation has served as a public, charitable organization since 1915. For more information, please visit www.calfund.org. The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation’s “More than Philanthropy” approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit citifoundation.com. CONTACT Taleen Ananian tananian@www.calfund.org 213.452.6203