Inland Empire Community Foundation

About Inland Empire Community Foundation

A defining feature of Inland Empire Community Foundation’s recent grantmaking is its mix of large regional investments and targeted place-based funds tied to Inland Empire needs. The foundation’s recent awards include a $5,512,857 general operating grant to Altura Credit Union Foundation in Riverside, along with major gifts to local institutions such as Inland Empire Labor Institute and Blu Educational Foundation. That combination shows a funder that supports both infrastructure and program delivery across the region. The foundation also uses pooled and named funds to channel money into specific priorities. Its Black Equity Fund directs resources toward Black-led organizations and initiatives addressing racial equity in the Inland Empire, while the Community Impact Fund supports eligible nonprofits in Riverside and San Bernardino counties through unrestricted grants for operating costs, capacity, and infrastructure. The Women’s Giving Fund adds another layer, awarding community grants to organizations such as Moses House Ministries. Across the grant list, Inland Empire Community Foundation backs education, civic engagement, arts and culture, nonprofit capacity, youth development, and basic-needs work, with some grants extending beyond California to national and international relief and food-security organizations.

What Inland Empire Community Foundation Funds

In education and scholarship, the foundation gave $1,024,958 to Desert Scholarship Foundation for scholarship support and $598,630 to UC Regents UC Riverside for scholarship. It also funded Blu Educational Foundation in San Bernardino in multiple years for education-related work, including $531,500 in 2024 and $506,800 in 2025. For food access and health-related relief, it awarded $5,000,000 to San Antonio Food Bank and $5,000,000 to Oregon Food Bank, both for health and human services. Related support also went to Lowcountry Food Bank for health and human services and to SeaShare for the same broad purpose. In civic engagement and media, the foundation gave $559,657 to Tides Foundation Inland Empowerment for redistricting outreach and advocacy efforts, and $746,646 to JobWorks Education and Training Systems for civic benefit. Arts and culture funding appears as well, including $985,000 to Inland Empire Labor Institute for arts and culture.

How Inland Empire Community Foundation Gives