The California Community Foundation is a left-of-center provider of donor-advised funds based in Los Angeles, California. The organization focuses on funding primarily left-of-center and liberal California-based organizations that advocate for political issues such as environmentalism and expansionist immigration policy. The organization has given more than $3 billion in grants since 2000 and holds assets totaling more than $1.4 billion as of 2018, making it one of the 100 largest charitable foundations in the United States. In 2015, the organization was the 44^th largest in terms of grants made. ¹

Immigration Activism

In February 2020, the UCLA School of Law opened the doors to a Center for Immigration Law and Policy thanks in part to a $5 million grant from alumni donors and the California Community Foundation. ² California Community Foundation also funds organizations which provide legal representation to illegal immigrants and advocate against legal entities enforcing immigration laws such as ICE and DHS.

California Community Foundation hosts an annual Immigration Summit in Los Angeles; the summit has strongly criticized Trump administration immigration policies. The event brought Hispanic, Muslim, and African immigrants together to discuss issues such as poverty, education, and economic issues in California. The organization highlighted facts such as the poverty rate for illegal immigrants being almost double that of natural born citizens, how large the voting population of children of illegal immigrants will be in 2020, and how long illegal immigrants tend to stay in the country. ³

Grantmaking

Left-of-Center Causes

CCF makes a substantial amount of grants annually to generally left-of-center and liberal organizations which push a variety of issues. For example, the organization made a $35,000 grant to New Venture Fund, a large fiscal sponsorship non-profit which funds left-of-center and liberal entities. The organization also made a $35,000 grant to the Movement Strategy Center, a finding entity based in Oakland, California which tends to align with socialist organizations. The Organization also made a $36,600 grant to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-of-center organization which has a long history of bias against right-leaning entities. ⁴

Immigration

The California Community Foundation has a history of giving to liberal organizations which advocate for immigration issues such as legal representation while some call for extremes such as open borders. In 2018 the organization made a $10,000 grant to Voto Latino, a left-of-center organization which calls on young voters to vote for left-of-center and liberal issues. The organization also made a $40,000 grant to Power California, a left-of-center organization which appeals to race politics aiming to increase voter numbers for left-of-center issues. CCF also made a $978,051 grant to Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a left-of-center advocacy group for liberal expansionist immigration policy and immigrants’ rights and a $600,000 grant to the Vera Institute for Justice, a left-of-center organization which provides legal services for illegal immigrants. ⁵

LGBT Issues

CCF has made a number of large grants to left-of-center organizations advocating for LGBT issues. In 2018, CCF made a $5,100 grant to LGBTQ Victory Institute, a PAC which supports openly LGBT candidates for public office; a $598,761 grant to the Los Angeles LGBT Center, a Los Angeles-based organization which provides health and social services to LGBT people; and

$22,000 to the Equality California Institute, a left-of-center lobbying group which focuses on LGBT issues in California. ⁶

Abortion

CCF has made a number of sizeable grants to organizations which advocate for abortion rights and perform abortions in the United States. This includes a $7,599 grant to California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, a liberal organization located in California which advocates for abortion rights, and $440,002 to Planned Parenthood and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the largest network of abortion providers in the country. ⁷

People

Antonia Hernandez is the president and CEO of the California Community Foundation. Hernandez has a history in working for left-wing immigration advocacy organizations and previously served as the president and general counsel for Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a left-wing litigation group that engages in advocacy for illegal immigrants. ⁸

Gwen Baba is a member of the board of directors for CCF. Baba previously served as a member of the board of directors for Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest LGBT-interest organizations in the country. She also served as a member of the board of directors for the Los Angeles LGBT Center. ⁹

Funding

The California Community Foundation holds assets of $1.4 billion according to 2018 tax documents making it one of the largest providers of donor-advised funds in the United States. ¹⁰ The organization made $225 million in grants in 2018, almost $50 million more than it made the previous year. ¹¹

1. “Foundation Stats: Largest Foundations By Total Giving.” Guidestar. Accessed February 7, 2020. http://data.foundationcenter.org/#/foundations/all/nationwide/top:assets/list/2015.
2. “UCLA Law launches Center for Immigration Law and Policy with $5 million commitment.” UCLA Newsroom. Accessed February 7, 2020. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-establishes-immigration-law-policy-center.
3. “68 percent of undocumented Los Angeles County residents have lived in US for more than a decade, report says.” Munoz, Anabel. ABC7 News. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://abc7.com/5832363/.
4. “2018 IRS Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: California Community Foundation.” Schedule I, Part II: Grants and other assistance to domestic organizations and domestic governments.
5. “2018 IRS Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: California Community Foundation.” Schedule I, Part II: Grants and other assistance to domestic organizations and domestic governments.
6. “2018 IRS Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: California Community Foundation.” Schedule I, Part II: Grants and other assistance to domestic organizations and domestic governments.
7. “2018 IRS Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: California Community Foundation.” Schedule I, Part II: Grants and other assistance to domestic organizations and domestic governments.
8. “Antonia Hernandez.” California Community Foundation. Accessed February 12, 2020. https://www.calfund.org/about-ccf/ccfstaff/presidents-office/.
9. “Gwen Baba Profile.” California Community Foundation. Accessed February 12, 2020. https://www.calfund.org/about-ccf/board-of-directors/gwen-baba/.
10. “Foundation Stats: Largest Foundations By Total Giving.” Guidestar. Accessed February 7, 2020. http://data.foundationcenter.org/#/foundations/all/nationwide/top:assets/list/2015.
11. “2018 IRS Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: California Community Foundation.” Part I: Summary.