Inland Empire Funders Alliance
Organizational Background
The Inland Empire Funders Alliance is a collaborative network of organizations with significant formal grantmaking activities in the Inland Empire region of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties that have joined together to increase communication, coordination, and collaboration. The mission of the Funders Alliance is to advance equity, advocacy, and systemic change in the Inland Empire by uplifting the region’s assets and opportunities, and leveraging resources for impact.
Members include organizations providing ongoing grants, program investment, or volunteer hours exceeding $25,000 annually to community-based nonprofits and/or public agencies in the two-county region. Dues are on a sliding scale based on annual contributions. Members have opportunities to:
• Learn: Network and build relationships with other grantmakers in the region to make their own funding strategies more responsive and prudent.
• Leverage Resources: Maximize their grantmaking impact by sharing information and data with other funders on funding activities and strategies, and by joining with funders across the region in co-funding or pooled funding for shared effectiveness.
• Advance Collective Impact: Elevate the region’s needs, assets, and solutions so funders can be more bold, strategic, and generative in their individual and collaborative action and influence with other regional stakeholders.
• Provide professional development: Nominate junior staff to work on collaborative projects to benefit the Inland Empire.
Grants
| Year | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $25,000 | The grant will be part of the Inland Empire Rapid Response Fund a pooled fund to provide critical and timely support for nonprofits providing services in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the negative impact it will have on vulnerable people and communities. A total of 12 foundations contributed a total of $1,030,000 which was disbursed in four waves totaling 93 grants. |
| 2019 | $30,000 | The Funders Alliance received a $30,000 grant for the Inland Empire Census Roundtable to support Census 2020 activities in the Inland Empire. The grant will be part of a pooled fund which is designed to complement other funding streams to support organizations engaging in reaching hard-to-count (HTC) communities, of which there are many in the IE. San Bernardino and Riverside counties are particularly difficult to reach because of how large the regions are in terms of population (about 4.5 million) and size. As a result, the IE is in danger of a significant under-count during the Census and, with the anticipated growth in the region, this could result in inadequate public funding and unrepresentative drawing of district lines over the coming decade. Federal assistance programs (that impact women’s health and) distribute funds based on census derived statistics include Medical/Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicare Part B, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and Assistance Payments, State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), and Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Community-based organizations have deep and long-standing relationships in the communities they serve and are therefore positioned to be trusted messengers about the need to participate in the Census. |