Weingart Foundation
December 22, 2008

Dear Colleague:

In June 2008, a group of California foundations known as the Foundation Coalition announced their intention to develop a new set of grantmaking activities that would focus on the needs of minority-led and other small grassroots nonprofits that serve minority populations and other low-income communities. A series of discussions among coalition members led to a consensus that there were significant capacity-building and leadership development needs for these organizations. While each of our foundations was already providing substantial funding in these areas, we agreed more could, and should, be done.

Over the past five months, we engaged in a planning process that included a review of best practices, analyses of lessons learned from our previous grantmaking, and conversations with several dozen nonprofit leaders in California. The attached report, “Strengthening Nonprofit Minority Leadership and the Capacity of Minority-Led and Other Grassroots Community-Based Organizations,” outlines this process and the initial grantmaking activities of our foundations.

The release of this report brings the work of the Coalition to a conclusion, although our individual commitment to these efforts will continue. It has been my privilege to serve as chair of the Coalition during this process, and I want to acknowledge the integrity of my philanthropic colleagues. Despite heavy losses in their investment portfolios, they have kept faith with our previously announced commitment and have developed new grantmaking programs that will total $30 million over the next two to three years.

On behalf of the Coalition, I thank the many organizations and individuals who provided us with input in the planning of these new grantmaking efforts. We see it as an important first step in extending our collective reach to small nonprofit organizations that play a critical role in addressing the needs of low-income communities in our state.

Sincerely,

Fred Ali
Chair, Foundation Coalition
President and CEO, Weingart Foundation

Foundation Coalition: The Ahmanson Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation,
The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, UniHealth Foundation and Weingart Foundation.

Click here to download the report.