The James Irvine Foundation is a California non-profit donor organization with a history of donations to left-of-center labor union activist organizations such as the National Employment Law Project, left-of-center immigration advocates such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and anti-energy organizations such as the Liberty Hill Foundation. ^{1 2} It has given grants well in excess of $1 million to at least 20 such organizations, and smaller amounts to many others. ²

The Irvine Foundation made nearly $1.9 billion between 1937 and 2015. ^{3 4}

Background

The James Irvine Foundation was created by James Irvine, an agricultural landholder in Orange County, California, in 1937. Irvine’s company, the Irvine Company, saw its landholdings grow in value as southern California experienced suburban growth in the 1940s and 1950s; when James Irvine died in 1947, the Foundation began receiving the full proceeds from his holdings. ⁵

The James Irvine Foundation has given nearly $1.9 billion in grants since 1937, with a historical giving focus on non-profits in California. Total grants for 2018 equaled $95.9 million. ³

Finances

According to its 2023 990 form, the James Irvine Foundation reported a revenue of $219,761,840, expenses at $224,641,319, and total assets of $3,300,619,484. ⁶

Grantmaking

In January 2016, the James Irvine Foundation leadership announced the organization would focus its giving on poverty alleviation and increasing the political influence of low-income Americans. ⁷ Its grants to public policy advocacy organizations often fall into three general categories:

• Organizations involved in left-of-center labor union activism, such as the National Employment Law Project, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Partnership for Working Families, the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. ²
• Organizations involved in left-of-center immigration advocacy, such as the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. ²
• Organizations involved in opposition to energy production, such as the Liberty Hill Foundation,¹ and the Center on Race, Poverty, and Environment. ^{1 8}

In 2025, the James Irvine Foundation joined a coalition of groups to launch The Courage Project, a national initiative recognizing “everyday acts of civic bravery” by individuals and nonprofit organizations across the United States. The project was established with an initial $5 million commitment and provides awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 to support grassroots civic engagement efforts.⁹

According to a July 2025 article by the Washington Free Beacon, the state of California’s “behested payments” database reportedly shows that in July 2023 California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) had requested the James Irvine Foundation to donate roughly $500,000 to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. ¹⁰

Left-of-Center Recipients

At least 20 left-of-center advocacy organizations have received total grants in excess of $1 million from the Irvine Foundation since 1998.

• PICO National Network – $8.3 million since 2005. ²
• Liberty Hill Foundation – $6.7 million since 1999. ¹
• Partnership for Working Families – $5.8 million since 2007. ²
• Tides Foundation and Tides Center – combined $6 million since 1998. ¹
• Common Cause and Common Cause Education Fund – combined $5.8 million since 2005. ²
• Immigrant Legal Resource Center – $4 million since 2005. ²
• Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) – $4.7 million since 2005. ²
• National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) – $3.75 million since 2017. ²
• Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) – $1 million since 2016. ² (MUA is one of 12 organizations that created NDWA). ¹¹
• National Employment Law Project – $3.6 million since 2016. ²
• Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) – $3.2 million since 2006. ²
• Center on Race Poverty & Environment – $3 million since 2006. ¹ (This is an anti-energy organization that seeks to end hydraulic fracturing⁸).
• PolicyLink – $2.9 million since 2005. ^{2 12}
• Movement Strategy Center – $2.7 million since 2013. ²
• Working Partnerships USA – $2.6 million since 2005. ²
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund – $2.5 million since 2011. ²
• League of Women Voters of California Education Fund – $2.4 million since 2005. ² (This is the California affiliate of the League of Women Voters).
• Chinese Progressive Association – $1.6 million since 2016. ² (This organization has advocated for left-of-center policies such as higher income taxes in California¹³).
• Restaurant Opportunities Centers United – $1.4 million since 2016. ²

Leadership

Don Howard is president and CEO of the Irvine Foundation; he is a career strategic consultant to corporate and non-profit clients, having worked for the Bridgespan Group, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Scient Corporation. ¹⁴

1. Data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Queries conducted April 5, 2019.
2. “Search Grants.” James Irvine Foundation. Accessed April 5, 2019. https://www.irvine.org/grants
3. “About.” James Irvine Foundation. Accessed April 5, 2019. https://www.irvine.org/about
4. “James Irvine Foundation.” Inside Philanthropy, Accessed April 23, 2025. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/find-a-grant/grants-i/james-irvine-foundation
5. “About Irvine.” The James Irvine Foundation. Accessed July 22, 2019. https://www.irvine.org/about/history.
6. Return of Private Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). James Irvine Foundation. 2023. Parts I and II. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/941236937/202413169349102431/full
7. Daniels, Alex. “Another Big Grant Maker Redirects Its Giving Toward Poverty.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. January 28, 2016. Accessed April 8, 2019. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Another-Big-Grant-Maker/235100
8. “Oil, Gas and Fracking.” Center on Race Poverty & Environment. Accessed April 5, 2019. https://crpe-ej.org/our-work/climate-change-and-energy/oil-gas-fracking/
9. Matthiessen, Connie. “Big Funders Take a Symbolic Stand through the Courage Project.” Inside Philanthropy, June 30, 2025. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/big-funders-take-a-symbolic-stand-through-the-courage-project. 
10. “Gavin Newsom Pushed Private Foundation To Donate $500,000 to Defund Police Group, Records Show.” Washington Free Beacon: Morning Beacon, July 21, 2025. Accessed August 1, 2025.
11. “History.” Mujeres Unidas y Activas. Accessed April 5, 2019. http://mujeresunidas.net/about/history/
12. “Our Homes, Our Future: How Rent Control Can Build Stable, Healthy Communities.” PolicyLink. February 2019. Accessed April 5, 2019. https://www.policylink.org/resources-tools/our-homes-our-future
13. “PRESS RELEASE — CPA & Mobilize the Immigrant Vote Release Polling Results Showing Asian Voters Support Taxing the 1%.” Chinese Progressive Association. April 11, 2012. Accessed April 5, 2019. https://cpasf.org/media-resources/cpa-mobilize-the-immigrant-vote-release-polling-results-showing-asian-voters-support-taxing-the-1/
14. “Staff: Don Howard.” About Irvine · The James Irvine Foundation. Accessed July 22, 2019. https://www.irvine.org/about/staff/don-howard.