Nonprofit Opens Second Café in Highland Park, Where Foster Youth Data Drove the Decision

The California gubernatorial candidates’ forum, sponsored by CCF, brought together several candidates, who discussed immigration and health care. Univision also broadcast a livestream of the forum which is posted on YouTube. 

Leading candidates for California’s next governor attended a forum hosted by California Community Foundation.  The discussion showed unified opposition to federal immigration policies and robust support for immigrant rights, including universal healthcare access.

At the daylong summit United We Stand: Defending Democracy and Each Other, Miguel Santana underscored that the ICE raids unfolding across the country are about far more than immigration. “This is about a fundamental question that more and more Americans are asking,” Santana said. “‘Am I the next person whose rights will be violated?’”

Miguel Santana was quoted in a story about the “mansion tax,” saying CCF still supports Measure ULA but has concluded that it needs to be reworked. “We believe in its mission and purpose, but we also believe that we have to respond to the unintended consequences,” he said. “And one of the unintended consequences is that it has essentially induced the equivalent of a recession on the production of housing.”

Miguel Santana was interviewed about the ongoing recovery from the devastating January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and described how the California Community Foundation mobilized its Wildfire Recovery Fund after seeing the scope of the disaster from the air, saying, “Flying over it really brought light to how serious the whole thing was … From the very beginning I had a feeling this was going to be a really unprecedented disaster.” The fund raised over $100 million from nearly 50,000 donors and quickly distributed $30 million in the first month to nonprofits addressing immediate needs; in the year since it has awarded tens of millions more to support emergency relief, housing, mental health services, legal aid and long-term recovery programs, even as many survivors remain displaced and face insurance and financial barriers that the foundation is now trying to address in partnership with financial institutions.

These organizations are making a difference. A story focusing on recovery efforts one year after the Los Angeles wildfires, highlighted California Community Foundation as playing a critical, long-term role in helping communities recover—and build resilience for what lies ahead.

CNN en Español featured the “Rising Together” float as a space of healing for Spanish-speaking wildfire survivors, including Altadena resident Rubén Rodríguez, who described losing his home alongside every neighbor on his street. Miguel Santana explained the float’s deeper purpose: “From the stories of survivors, they felt it was important to do something symbolically to recognize this actually happened and so many lives were impacted.”

NPR covered the “Rising Together” float on parade day, featuring Miguel Santana’s reflection on the emotional toll survivors continue to face a year later. “People are really starting to feel a real mental breakdown,” Santana said, describing struggles with a failing insurance system and inadequate federal disaster relief. He hoped the float would offer a moment of healing: “We’re hoping that, even for just one day, when they see that float going down a street that they’re all familiar with, that they know that the world does care about them, that they’re not alone in their journey of grief.”