COLLABORATIVE GRANTMAKING INITIATIVES –
DRAWING INVESTMENTS TO THE INLAND EMPIRE

IE Funders Alliance and the Black Equity Initiative of the Inland Empire have recently joined forces to establish the IE Black Equity Fund, hosted at the IE Community Foundation. One of the first of its kind, the fund will raise $5 million for Black-led organizations in the Inland Empire over the next two years. Funds will be used to advance the mission of Black-led and empowering organizations in the Inland Empire through core support, program and project support, and capacity building, all driven by the leadership and voice of the members of the Black Equity Initiative. To read more, visit https://www.iegives.org/funds/ieblackequityfund/ and read more about the Black Equity Initative here: https://blackequity.org/fund

The Inland Empire Census Funders Table (IECFT) was established in 2019 to drive toward a collaborative fundraising goal of $1.5 million from private philanthropy to be granted to nonprofit organizations working to achieve a complete count on the 2020 Census.

The first pooled fund by the Funders Alliance, the IECFT had multiple anticipated outcomes:

1. Pooled fund allocations to complement and align with funding and contracting by the local ACBO;
2. IECFT funding will also align with the statewide funders table’s dual goals for the Census – a complete count and building the nonprofit infrastructure for change in the Inland Empire;
3. Close coordination with the IE Complete Count Committee and the IE Census Outreach Table, to ensure that Census investments are distributed equitably;
4. IECFT members actively encouraged other funders to invest in Census 2020; and
5. Investments in the Census will be transparent to the community and will be evaluated for effectiveness.

The IECFT raised $1.5 million for Census outreach efforts. The funds were allocated through three rounds of grantmaking:

The fund contributors have agreed to direct the remaining funds ($410,000) toward redistricting efforts in the region.

The ​IE Funders Alliance Rapid Response Fund (IEFARRF) ​was established to provide critical and timely support for nonprofits providing services inRiverside and San Bernardino counties in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the negative impact it will have on vulnerable people and communities.

Eligibility Criteria

Key Dates

• Original fundraising goal was $1,000,000
• 12 foundations contributed a total of $1,030,000
• Contributors included statewide private foundations, local funders, corporate funders, and the local community foundation
• Fund was housed at the Inland Empire Community Foundation, which charged no administrative fees

Award Allocation

Members of the Funders Alliance are participating on review committees to help determine the allocation of funds.

Riverside County Nonprofit Assistance Fund

The Changing the Narrative Campaign is the first collaborating grantmaking initiative the Inland Empire Funders Alliance embarked on in 2017.

Over the course of several years the Funders Alliance, in partnership with The 20/20 Network, implemented a multi-sectoral campaign to shift to a strengths- and opportunity-based perception of the Inland Empire and its people, and away from the prevailing problem-based narrative. The goal of the campaign was to demonstrate the Inland Empire’s strategic importance to California, for the purpose of attracting many kinds of investment, especially philanthropic, to the region.

For samples of the Toolkit’s messaging, please visit this page

The campaign also produced tools to help local nonprofits build communications capacity to tell their story from an asset-based frame and better position them as difference makers. The Funders Alliance partnered with the Inland Empire Community Collaborative (IECC) which developed a full-service Nonprofit Training Series and delivered it across the region. Nonprofits in six different regions – Riverside, Big Bear, Coachella Valley, Victorville, First 5 San Bernardino Academy, and the THRIVE conference – benefited from the training.

The Toolkit has been successful in promoting greater alignment, collaboration, and a shared vision across the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.

RESOURCES

• Toolkit
• Report on nonprofit training series