The Riverside Press-Enterprise
$280,000 in grants given to `inspiring' groups helping IE Latino community
The CIELO Fund at the Inland Empire Community Foundation awarded $280,000 to 25 Latinoled and serving organizations. The Cultivating Inland Empire Latino Opportunity, or CIELO, Fund was founded in 2022 by IECF Board Member Jesse Melgar and several Latino community leaders throughout the region as 1 of 8 signature funds commemorating IECF’S 80th anniversary.
IECF received 110 submissions from nonprofits in Riverside and San Bernardino counties during the initial application period. The CIELO Fund Leadership and Grantmaking Committee worked to select the recipients and awarded grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000.
The giving was guided by a CIELO Fund commissioned report released in partnership with the UC Riverside Center for Social Innovation. The first round of giving focused on organizations engaging in work addressing economic mobility, educational equity, civic engagement, health equity and immigrant services. Grants were also given to organizations supporting positive narratives about the Latino community through media.
“CIELO is a terrific example of what we can do in the IE when we decide to make change, in partnership with the communities who are driving their own solutions,” said Michelle Decker, IECF president and CEO. “Our Latino community is in so many ways thriving and giving so much to our economic, cultural, and community resilience, but CIELO stands to remind us of so much more work to be done.
It is an honor to work alongside board members and volunteers, like Jesse and the CIELO Grants and Leadership Committee to build and share this funding.”
The CIELO Fund inaugural grantees are Alianza Coachella; Asociación de Emprendedores; California Immigrant Youth Justice Coalition; CARECEN — San Bernardino; Casa Blanca Home of Neighborly Service; Centro del Inmigrante; CHIRLA — San Bernardino; Desert Sun — Coachella Latino Voices Initiative; East Coachella Valley for Change; Escuela de la Raza; Galilee Center; GANAS — Genuine. Animate. Navigate. Assist. Succeed.; Get in Motion Entrepreneurs; Highland Boxing Club; Inland Empire Future Leaders Program; Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Association; Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Collective; Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice; KVCR/NPR — IE Latino Voices; La Red de Provedoras; Ontario-montclair Promise Scholars; Read with Me; San Bernardino Community Services; TODEC Legal Services; and Unidos for La Causa.
“Our inaugural CIELO Fund grantees are a group of truly inspiring organizations doing impactful work daily to uplift Latinos in the Inland Empire,” said Melgar.
Organizations awarded grants are working on a range of projects and programs that support the Latino community, according to Melgar. This includes creating economic opportunity, closing education and civic engagement gaps, supporting immigrants and improving access to healthcare for Latinos in communities throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
“This fellowship that CIELO is funding will allow IEIYC youth leaders to increase their capacity and commitment to our regional issues in environmental justice, labor, employment, and health equity,” said Angel Fajardo, director of IE Immigrant Youth Collective, an inaugural grantee. This work is a crucial step in transforming the IE to a region with larger opportunities that nurtures talent and trailblazers.”
The CIELO Fund has raised nearly half a million dollars thanks to the major support from foundations, local businesses, and dozens of individuals who believe that strengthening philanthropic infrastructure for the Latino community is vital for the region’s success. This includes major support from the Weingart Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation.
Melgar attributes the early success of the CIELO Fund to the dedicated leadership and grantmaking committee and hopes the Fund will continue to grow its support and impact in the region. Philanthropists seeking to support the CIELO Fund can donate directly from IECF’S website or contact the Foundation for more information.
“We are proud to invest in these innovators and remain inspired by the more than 100 deserving organizations who submitted applications this round,” Melgar said. “The overwhelming response and interest underscores the need for further investment in the Latino organizations, leaders, and communities who call the Inland Empire home.”