California Community Foundation
Encyclopedia
The California Community Foundation (CCF) is a leading philanthropic organization in the United States, managing approximately $1 billion in assets and granting nearly $100 million to nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County and causes around the world.
Charitable solutions available to individuals, families, corporations and other nonprofits through CCF include donor-advised funds, endowment funds, restricted endowments, field of interest funds, scholarship funds and supporting organization funds.
CCF also provides financial advisors with educational opportunities and support in such areas as cause identification, non-profit research and grantmaking support, scholarship
management and local civic engagement opportuniáties for their clients.
CCF is much more than a grantmaker. It is a convener of opinion leaders, decision-makers and stakeholders on issues of importance in the region. It is also an advocate for vulnerable populations such as youth recently emancipated from foster care, adults with developmental disabilities, and the elderly.
1946 – Mary Bierce becomes first full-time employee of the foundation. Its founder, Joe Sartori, passes and leaves the foundation $1 million in his estate.
1955 – The foundation achieves $10 million in assets and awards $300,000 in grants.
1963 – The first donor advised funds are established at the foundation by Eugene and Harold Stern.
1986 – When the AIDS epidemic begins ravaging Los Angeles, CCF and donors take the lead in addressing prevention, treatment and social services, funding vital programs that are deemed “too controversial” by government agencies.
1986 – As a result of a fire that nearly destroys the historic Los Angeles Public Library, CCF launches the Save the Books campaign and 10,000 donors respond.
1997 – Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, names CCF one of the 10 best-managed nonprofits in the U.S.
1999 – The sale of Centinela Hospital Medical Center results in the creation of the Centinela Medical Community Fund and Centinela Medical Care Fund at CCF to ensure that residents of Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lennox, Los Angeles, El Segundo, Watts, Compton and Lawndale continue to have access to affordable health care services.
2002 – CCF establishes the Community Foundation Land Trust in order to create development opportunities for affordable homes, achieve equity appreciation for entry-level homeowners and ensure homes remain permanently affordable for generations. Over the next seven years, CCF will invest more than $20 million in properties within Los Angeles County.
2004 – Antonia Hernández joins the California Community Foundation as President and CEO.
2006 – In October, the foundation announces a $200 million bequest from the late philanthropist Joan Palevsky
. Her unrestricted gift is CCF’s largest to date, boosting its assets to more than $1 billion and doubling its community grantmaking to about $20 million annually.
2006 – CCF launches the El Monte Community Building Initiative (CBI), a landmark 10-year initiative to engage residents of the City of El Monte in developing solutions that will ensure children and youth grow up healthier and better prepared for college and careers.
2006 – CCF opens the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund (IADIF) with one donor for the purpose of funding nonprofit organizations that support U.S. military personnel and families who are being impacted by deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
2007 – CCF launches the Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy Initiative (LAPAI) to educate parents on the importance of early learning and involvement in their children's education, engage local and regional policymakers, and award grants to nonprofit organizations.
2008 – The foundation achieves $1 billion in assets, managing 1,500 unique charitable funds.
2009 – CCF makes emergency grants to support the fight of massive wildfires in the Angeles National Forest, as it did in response to similar California fires in 2003 and in 2007.
2010 – CCF receives the Council on Foundations' 2010 Critical Impact Award for community foundations for the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund. Since 2006, IADIF has distributed $243 million to 53 nonprofits nationwide for the support of more than two million troops and family members.
2010 – CCF ranks 48th among all foundations in the U.S. with more than $1.12 billion in assets, and second among all community foundations in grantmaking.
2010 – The 2010 Census Initiative of CCF achieves its goal of a 70 percent participation rate by L.A. County residents in the population census through a combination of cross-sector partnerships, strategic grantmaking, and innovative technology and data.
2010 – CCF receives a 4-star rating for the fifth consecutive year from Charity Navigator for its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances. Only six percent of all charities in the U.S. have been similarly recognized, indicating CCF outperforms most other charities.
2011 – Led and supported by CCF, a taskforce of parents, educators, school administrators, community leaders and others develops a blueprint and set of tools to encourage and facilitate greater involvement by parents with children enrolled in the L.A. Unified School District.
2011 – CCF Fellowship for Visual Artists is awarded to 20 emerging and mid-career artists in L.A., bringing the number of individual artists to 195 who have received $1.8 million and other support over 23 years.
2011 – CCF and The Eisner Foundation honor six outstanding nonprofits and three extraordinary individuals with the Unsung Heroes of Los Angeles Awards.
2011 – CCF pledges new $12 million investment in South L.A. through multi-year grants to community-based nonprofits providing music, sports and recreation programs to 14-18 year olds.
Arts
initiatives aim to strengthen the cultural vitality of L.A. County by increasing the operational capacity of small and mid-size arts and cultural organizations, increasing arts opportunities that are affordable and accessible to underserved communities, and improving participation in the arts by diverse, low-income residents and professional artists.
Education
projects focus on improving school readiness and K-5 student performances in reading and math and support partnerships among schools, districts, teachers and parents that demonstrate a commitment to this goal.
Health Care
programs seek to improve access to regular, sustainable and affordable sources of quality health care for low-income adults and children, with a focus on community clinics and uninsured individuals.
Human Development
programs aim to increase self-sufficiency among aging adults and youth coming out of the foster care system.
Housing and Neighborhoods initiatives concentrate on increasing access to affordable housing, and efforts that emphasize multiservice, geographically-focused approaches to improve conditions in underserved neighborhoods. The Community Foundation Land Trust of CCF buys land, works with private and public partners that obtain financing and approvals to build, and then ensures that they remain affordable homes for decades to come.
Immigrant Integration A five-year, countywide initiative to facilitate quicker, easier and more effective integration by newcomers into the social, civic and economic fabric of society.
LA Preschool Advocacy Initiative A multi-year effort to increase access to quality early care and education for underserved communities and to support efforts that address the child care and development needs of children, ages 0–5.
Mission and Philanthropic Empowerment
As a community foundation, CCF is tax-exempt and makes grants for charitable purposes in a specific geographic area of the U.S. Its mission is to strengthen Los Angeles communities through effective philanthropy and civic engagement. To that end, its services and products are designed to inspire and enable philanthropic giving by donors, with financial advisors, to nonprofit groups, and in collaboration with other partners.Charitable solutions available to individuals, families, corporations and other nonprofits through CCF include donor-advised funds, endowment funds, restricted endowments, field of interest funds, scholarship funds and supporting organization funds.
CCF also provides financial advisors with educational opportunities and support in such areas as cause identification, non-profit research and grantmaking support, scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
management and local civic engagement opportuniáties for their clients.
CCF is much more than a grantmaker. It is a convener of opinion leaders, decision-makers and stakeholders on issues of importance in the region. It is also an advocate for vulnerable populations such as youth recently emancipated from foster care, adults with developmental disabilities, and the elderly.
History
1915 – CCF is established and managed by Security Trust and Savings Bank in Los Angeles, Calif. For the next 65 years, the community foundation stays relatively small and is affectionately known as the “typewriter foundation” for making small grants mostly for equipment and capital.1946 – Mary Bierce becomes first full-time employee of the foundation. Its founder, Joe Sartori, passes and leaves the foundation $1 million in his estate.
1955 – The foundation achieves $10 million in assets and awards $300,000 in grants.
1963 – The first donor advised funds are established at the foundation by Eugene and Harold Stern.
1986 – When the AIDS epidemic begins ravaging Los Angeles, CCF and donors take the lead in addressing prevention, treatment and social services, funding vital programs that are deemed “too controversial” by government agencies.
1986 – As a result of a fire that nearly destroys the historic Los Angeles Public Library, CCF launches the Save the Books campaign and 10,000 donors respond.
1997 – Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, names CCF one of the 10 best-managed nonprofits in the U.S.
1999 – The sale of Centinela Hospital Medical Center results in the creation of the Centinela Medical Community Fund and Centinela Medical Care Fund at CCF to ensure that residents of Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lennox, Los Angeles, El Segundo, Watts, Compton and Lawndale continue to have access to affordable health care services.
2002 – CCF establishes the Community Foundation Land Trust in order to create development opportunities for affordable homes, achieve equity appreciation for entry-level homeowners and ensure homes remain permanently affordable for generations. Over the next seven years, CCF will invest more than $20 million in properties within Los Angeles County.
2004 – Antonia Hernández joins the California Community Foundation as President and CEO.
2006 – In October, the foundation announces a $200 million bequest from the late philanthropist Joan Palevsky
Joan Palevsky
Joan Palevsky , a former wife of Max Palevsky, was an investor and philanthropist who contributed to many charitable organizations during her lifetime and after....
. Her unrestricted gift is CCF’s largest to date, boosting its assets to more than $1 billion and doubling its community grantmaking to about $20 million annually.
2006 – CCF launches the El Monte Community Building Initiative (CBI), a landmark 10-year initiative to engage residents of the City of El Monte in developing solutions that will ensure children and youth grow up healthier and better prepared for college and careers.
2006 – CCF opens the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund (IADIF) with one donor for the purpose of funding nonprofit organizations that support U.S. military personnel and families who are being impacted by deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
2007 – CCF launches the Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy Initiative (LAPAI) to educate parents on the importance of early learning and involvement in their children's education, engage local and regional policymakers, and award grants to nonprofit organizations.
2008 – The foundation achieves $1 billion in assets, managing 1,500 unique charitable funds.
2009 – CCF makes emergency grants to support the fight of massive wildfires in the Angeles National Forest, as it did in response to similar California fires in 2003 and in 2007.
2010 – CCF receives the Council on Foundations' 2010 Critical Impact Award for community foundations for the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund. Since 2006, IADIF has distributed $243 million to 53 nonprofits nationwide for the support of more than two million troops and family members.
2010 – CCF ranks 48th among all foundations in the U.S. with more than $1.12 billion in assets, and second among all community foundations in grantmaking.
2010 – The 2010 Census Initiative of CCF achieves its goal of a 70 percent participation rate by L.A. County residents in the population census through a combination of cross-sector partnerships, strategic grantmaking, and innovative technology and data.
2010 – CCF receives a 4-star rating for the fifth consecutive year from Charity Navigator for its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances. Only six percent of all charities in the U.S. have been similarly recognized, indicating CCF outperforms most other charities.
2011 – Led and supported by CCF, a taskforce of parents, educators, school administrators, community leaders and others develops a blueprint and set of tools to encourage and facilitate greater involvement by parents with children enrolled in the L.A. Unified School District.
2011 – CCF Fellowship for Visual Artists is awarded to 20 emerging and mid-career artists in L.A., bringing the number of individual artists to 195 who have received $1.8 million and other support over 23 years.
2011 – CCF and The Eisner Foundation honor six outstanding nonprofits and three extraordinary individuals with the Unsung Heroes of Los Angeles Awards.
2011 – CCF pledges new $12 million investment in South L.A. through multi-year grants to community-based nonprofits providing music, sports and recreation programs to 14-18 year olds.
Program Areas
CCF provides grants and other support to a range of local nonprofits with an emphasis on helping vulnerable populations and strengthening communities of L.A. County in five areas.Arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
initiatives aim to strengthen the cultural vitality of L.A. County by increasing the operational capacity of small and mid-size arts and cultural organizations, increasing arts opportunities that are affordable and accessible to underserved communities, and improving participation in the arts by diverse, low-income residents and professional artists.
Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
projects focus on improving school readiness and K-5 student performances in reading and math and support partnerships among schools, districts, teachers and parents that demonstrate a commitment to this goal.
Health Care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
programs seek to improve access to regular, sustainable and affordable sources of quality health care for low-income adults and children, with a focus on community clinics and uninsured individuals.
Human Development
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
programs aim to increase self-sufficiency among aging adults and youth coming out of the foster care system.
Housing and Neighborhoods initiatives concentrate on increasing access to affordable housing, and efforts that emphasize multiservice, geographically-focused approaches to improve conditions in underserved neighborhoods. The Community Foundation Land Trust of CCF buys land, works with private and public partners that obtain financing and approvals to build, and then ensures that they remain affordable homes for decades to come.
Civic Engagement
CCF believes the actions of ordinary people can affect the outcomes of larger issues in their lives through collective engagement and shared problem-solving, and so has committed to and invested in civic engagement activities to foster social change.Immigrant Integration A five-year, countywide initiative to facilitate quicker, easier and more effective integration by newcomers into the social, civic and economic fabric of society.
LA Preschool Advocacy Initiative A multi-year effort to increase access to quality early care and education for underserved communities and to support efforts that address the child care and development needs of children, ages 0–5.