About California Volunteers Fund
Increase the quality, scale, and sustainability of California Volunteers programs tackling the state’s pressing opportunities through service, volunteerism, and direct action.
Focus Areas
climate action and resilienceyouth developmentworkforce developmenteducationmental healthvolunteer mobilizationcommunity service
Who They Fund
climate corps members / program participantslocal community participants / attendees of climate action daysresidents of NYCresidents of Los Angelesresidents of Butte County / California communities
About California Volunteers Fund
California Volunteers Fund’s largest recent awards are five matching grants of $472,500 each for Climate Corps expansion, including support for Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation, Northern Arizona University Foundation Inc, Serveminnesota, North Carolina Office of the Governor, and Utah State University. That pattern shows a funder using sizable, repeated grants to help state partners build climate-based service programs beyond California. The fund’s grantmaking also reaches service programs inside California, including the California Climate Action Corps and Youth Mental Health Corps, which connect volunteer service with community needs and career pathways. Alongside those larger initiatives, the fund supports public events and member-experience work tied to climate engagement, plus operating support for organizations such as The Representation Project and the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Its active programs point to a clear service model: paid fellowships, cohort-based training, volunteer mobilization, and hands-on community action. The recent grants suggest a funder that backs both program expansion and the operational pieces that help service corps and public campaigns function across multiple sites and audiences.
What California Volunteers Fund Funds
Climate and resilience are central to the fund’s portfolio. It gave $22,000 to Edible Schoolyard Project for general support for a joint NYC Climate Week lunch, linking convening work to climate public engagement. It also supported event-based climate participation with $9,000 to Bay Area Community Resources for CA Climate Action Corps events. Service-corps infrastructure is another clear thread: California Climate Action Corps and Climate Corps Expansion appear as active programs, with large grants to state partners to build climate-based service capacity. Youth development and workforce pathways also show up through the Youth Mental Health Corps, which pairs paid service positions with training and credentials for young adults entering behavioral health careers. The fund’s education and community-action work is reflected in #CaliforniansForAll College Corps, which combines financial support, experience, and cohort-based service around education, climate, and food insecurity.
How California Volunteers Fund Gives
Recent grants cluster at the high end and the low end of the fund’s size range. The typical grant size is p25 $9,050, median $247,250, and p75 $472,500, with several awards repeated at $472,500 across 2024 and 2025. The recurring appearances of the same state partners across years suggest multi-year relationships rather than one-off support. The foundation is a regular funder, not a fund for individuals, and it does not make program-related investments. It also accepts some unsolicited donations and sponsorships through a $500–$5,000 range for selected program-support opportunities, while the main program grants are much larger and tied to specific initiatives.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.4M
Total Assets
$7.7M
Total Revenue
$7.9M
Total Expenses
$5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $9K and $473K, with a median of $247K.
25th Percentile
$9K
Median
$247K
75th Percentile
$473K
Geographic Reach
National8 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
SOPHIA GARCIA
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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