HISTORY
The Guillermo J. Valenzuela Foundation was established in 2015 by Dr. Valenzuela. As a physician living and practicing in the Inland Empire for many years, Dr. V (as he is known to friends and colleagues) had long recognized that he had benefitted from this community. For years he had given to worthy causes in the community, but Dr. V was inspired to set up the Foundation with the specific goal of improving the health of underserved communities in the Inland Empire.
At a recent event recognizing the 2019 Valenzuela Foundation grantees, Dr. V said, “I want you to know that my goal with this Foundation is that it become a mirror of all of you. Each of you in this room is working to improve the health of our communities. I want this Foundation to do the same. I am in awe of what each of you do with your time and your talent to advance our shared goal of improving people’s lives. I want this Foundation to be a part of the fabric of our community.”
Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded grants totaling almost two million dollars to worthy nonprofit organizations in the Inland Empire. The Guillermo J. Valenzuela Foundation is an active member of Southern California Grantmakers and the Inland Empire Funders Alliance.
MISSION
The Guillermo J. Valenzuela Foundation is dedicated to improving the health of underserved communities in Southern California’s Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
The Foundation works to expand access to health care and improve quality care through research, education, grantmaking, programs, and partnerships.
The Foundation’s current priorities are:
Women’s Health: Because women are the backbone of their families and our communities of the Inland Empire, ensuring they have access to providers and services is a priority of the Foundation.
Increasing the Number of Medical Providers Committed to Practicing in the Inland Empire: Because the underserved communities in Southern California’s Inland Empire lack adequate networks of primary and specialty providers who live and work in our neighborhoods, increasing the number of Doctors of Medicine, Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician’s Assistants is another priority of the Foundation.
VISION
Expanding health care access and improving health outcomes contributes to self-determination, quality of life improvements, and increased opportunities for underserved communities in the Inland Empire.
VALUES
- Treat people with dignity and respect.
- Communicate with transparency.
- Base grantmaking decisions on our commitment to improve the health of Inland Empire communities, including those whose race, gender, immigration status, disability, age, sexual orientation, or zip code has prevented them from realizing the rights all people deserve.
- Respect and trust the work of our grantees.
- Commit to continuous learning and improvement as a foundation and through our grantees: Listen > Assess > Learn > Improve.
- Whenever possible, leverage resources through collaboration for greater impact.
- Exercise leadership on issues of importance to the Foundation and our grantees.
