Darla M. Cooper of The RP Group has been awarded a 2026 Leadership Award in recognition of her inspirational work in championing community college success through student-centered research and policy change.
Learn more about Darla’s impact at: lnkd.in/g5zC4B7w
#IrvineAwards
Celina Alvarez of Housing Works of California has been awarded a 2026 Leadership Award in recognition of her transformative work in advancing sustainable homeless response systems through frontline workforce training and wellness.
Learn more at: lnkd.in/gkrnK2vr
#IrvineAwards
Virgil Moorehead Jr. And Amy Mathieson of Two Feathers Native American Family Services have been awarded a 2026 Leadership Award in recognition of their impactful work in transforming youth mental health by integrating clinical care, culture, and leadership.
Learn more at: na2.hubs.ly/H03_Nvm0
Lian Cheun of Khmer Girls in Action has been awarded a 2026 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award in recognition of her transformative work in strengthening democracy through youth leadership, organizing, and cultural healing.
Learn more at: lnkd.in/gAYqruUB
#IrvineAwards
Adrianne Hillman and Erin Garner-Ford of Salt + Light have been awarded a 2026 Leadership Award in recognition of their inspirational work in building community-focused housing to restore stability and belonging.
Learn more about their impact at: lnkd.in/g6ChQGPc
#IrvineAwards
Chris Chatmon of Kingmakers of Oakland has been awarded a 2026 Leadership Award in recognition of his transformative work in shaping positive youth futures through cultural identity, mentorship and leadership pathways.
Learn more about Chatmon’s impact at: lnkd.in/gh_efdJ3
#IrvineAwards
We're thrilled to share the newest slate of The Courage Project awardees!
From walking for peace to stepping up to feed our neighbors and answering the call for help in the face of disaster, these awardees show what it means to show up for your community.
Learn more: thecourageproject.org
Nonprofits want to invest in their people, but they can’t do it alone.
How can funders support nonprofit workers? Nonprofit Finance Fund highlights funding practices and strategies funders can implement to strengthen the #nonprofit workforce, and in turn, the communities they serve: bit.ly/40ea1y8
The ability to meet basic financial needs, including rent, healthcare, and childcare, is essential to well-being. Yet more than half of California nonprofits reported that they’re unable to pay all full-time staff a living wage. Without economic security, worker well-being remains unattainable.(2/3)
“Worker well-being is community well-being. When our staff are taken care of, our community is taken care of.” – Nonprofit Leader
bit.ly/40ea1y8 (1/3)
How are low-income workers faring in today's economy, and what do they want leaders in philanthropy, government, and business to do differently?
Check out this blog post from Irvine’s Kim Ammann Howard and Annie Bickerton: bit.ly/3N3G6ps
Do you know a leader or leadership pair advancing transformative solutions to critical issues facing #California?
Nominate them now for the 2027 #IrvineAwards: bit.ly/40Exvww
Each award recipient’s organizations receive $350,000 and support in sharing their solutions with policymakers.
A new study by KIWA, the UCLA Labor Center, and AAPI Data looks at the working conditions of supermarket workers in Koreatowns across Los Angeles and Orange County and highlights ways to create fairer working and living conditions.
Check it out at: bit.ly/4kVJ4Zt
The stagnant job market makes it harder for unemployed workers to find their next job.
One in four jobless workers is considered long-term unemployed, meaning they have been looking for work for more than 27 weeks, the highest rate since the pandemic.
capitalandmain.com/ai-hiring-sc...
“The Californians Powering America” exhibit spotlights immigrants' often-overlooked contributions through powerful visual stories.
On view at the San Fernando Library & La Cañada Flintridge Library through March 31. Free & open to the public.
@capitalandmain.bsky.social: bit.ly/4rtfsFo
Meet the 2026 Leadership Award recipients!
Their work is driving positive change in youth mentorship and mental health, civic engagement, higher education research, housing, and support for the frontline homelessness workforce.
This year marks 20 years of the #IrvineAwards. In that time, one thing has remained true: Leadership rooted in community is what moves California forward.
Congratulations to this years recipients!
Powerful photos capture the lives and work of California immigrants whose contributions often go unseen or underappreciated.
A selection of images from an exhibition at Los Angeles County libraries shows the range of visual stories on display through March.
capitalandmain.com/photo-essay-...
Curious how foundations and nonprofits are thinking about using AI?
Join us on March 4 in San Francisco to learn about the Center for Effective Philanthropy's AI With Purpose report and insights from funders navigating AI in the field.
Register now at: bit.ly/4rbF3Sx
A worker weeding around blackberry bushes
"Bonita" it's hard at work removing weeds with a hoe. She works 6 days a week 8 hours a day. "This work is important because it helps the plants grow clean and strong and the bushes will produce lots of fruit." #WeFeedYou
Interested in learning about #ImperialValley nonprofits organizing at the intersection of environmental, labor, and immigrant justice as the region’s role in lithium extraction grows?
Join Irvine, The LIFT Fund, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees on Feb. 24: bit.ly/4aN9F6G
We are excited to announce the recipients of the 2026 Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards, whose work is driving positive change in youth mentorship and mental health, civic engagement, higher education research, housing, and homelessness.
Learn more about them here: bit.ly/4rWaqRF
Interested in reading about what we’ve learned through our investments in housing affordability?
Check out the Advancing Housing Affordability in California playbook at bit.ly/4r9xFrA and read about Irvine’s Housing Affordability project at bit.ly/4tr1t4m
Check out this piece from the UC Berkeley Possibility Lab to learn how we can ensure the three things Californians depend on to achieve economic stability—education, employment, and digital connectivity—are available to all residents: calmatters.org/sponsored/20...
The Courage Project honors individuals and organizations—like PICO California—that reflect the best of the American spirit and strengthen democracy at the community level: youtu.be/SYzI-NTIMHY?...
Do you know someone who is standing up for their community? Nominate them now at thecourageproject.org
In this new blog post, Irvine’s Rajib Guha reflects on our Housing Affordability project, shares encouraging signs of progress in the field, and introduces the Advancing Housing Affordability in California: A Funder Playbook: bit.ly/4tr1t4m
We’re happy to see how much progress the Linked Learning Alliance has made across California!
Their work shows what’s possible when districts, educators, students & partners come together to prepare young people for college and high-opportunity careers: d985fra41m798.cloudfront.net/resources/20...
State of Engagement Fellows. For California state government leaders interested in civic engagement, participatory policymaking, and community outreach. Deadline to apply: February 15, 2026. Possibilitylab.berkeley.edu/Fellows
Are you a mid-to-senior leader at a California state department or agency who oversees civic engagement, participatory policymaking, and community outreach?
Apply now to the State of Engagement Fellowship to bridge the gap between government and community for policy impact: bit.ly/4qdoxRb
Wages lag behind rising costs. According to @urbaninstitute.bsky.social, between 2017 and 2025, earnings rose by 38%, while childcare, healthcare, and housing costs increased even more.
Addressing the affordability crisis requires ensuring access to jobs with family-sustaining wages. bit.ly/4bzp4ti
The workers fueling AI say they’re hamstrung by a lack of control over their work process, which could result in lower-quality work and, in turn, higher-risk AI systems.
