IECC Receives Nearly $400,000 in Unrestricted Grants from the California Wellness Foundation and the Weingart Foundation

Funds will allow IECC to pave a new path for nonprofit policy and power building

San Bernardino, CA – The Inland Empire Community Collaborative (IECC) is proud to announce that we have received two major grants totaling nearly $400,000 from the California Wellness Foundation and the Weingart Foundation.

The California Wellness Foundation has generously granted IECC $250,000 through their Leading for Power and Change grant. These unrestricted funds allow the IECC to continue to support and build the capacity of nonprofits in the region. We would like to extend a special thank you to Program Officer Marisol Inzunza for her longstanding advocacy for nonprofits in the region.

The Weingart Foundation has also generously granted $125,000 in unrestricted funds to the IECC. We are grateful for Program Officer Patricia Watkins for her early support and investment in our efforts to build the capacity of nonprofits in the Inland Empire.

“This is a pivotal time to support the work of nonprofits,” said Susan Gomez, Chief Executive Officer of IECC. “These funds demonstrate that our nine-year efforts of nonprofit capacity building is making a difference in the Inland Empire. This is a gesture of confidence in our ability and our capacity to do our work It’s extraordinary and we’re grateful to have it.

In June of 2021 the Inland Empire Community Collaborative (IECC) Board and staff came together to discuss the future of the IECC. Over a long three-day weekend, amid a summer heat wave, the IECC team forged a new strategic plan to grow and expand the capacity of the collaborative. With our mission realigned and a new vision in focus, IECC embarked implementing this new plan for success. Six months later, our work has not gone unrecognized.

Thanks to the substantial donations from these foundations, IECC will not only continue our work on building nonprofit capacity but also ensure our work revolves around empowering people most affected by inequity. Focusing on grassroots organizing and coalition building allows us to help organizations and community stakeholders build an ecosystem to coalesce and take action. We can only build community power through our active support of coalitions and alliances by opening communication channels that facilitate information sharing resulting in opportunities for collective action policy and advocacy.

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