Fund for an Inclusive California Boosts Power Building Efforts for Housing Justice Across the State with $1.7 Million in Grants

(Oakland, Calif.) — Common Counsel Foundation’s (CCF) Fund for an Inclusive California announces $1.7 million in grants to grow the influence and impact of small and emerging grassroots power building organizations advancing a housing justice agenda throughout California. This round of grants range from $25,000–$100,000 and contribute to the Fund’s $13.5 million total in funding for community-led housing solutions since 2018. The grants reaffirm the Fund’s commitment to supporting the leadership and influence of directly impacted communities on the decisions and policies that ensure safe, affordable, and stable housing for everyone. 

“Housing justice cannot be achieved without building political power. CCF is reaffirming our commitment to this work and aim to embody what it means to cede power, take the lead from movement partners, and align resources to advance a bold vision for housing justice,” shares Jazmin Segura, director of Housing Justice Initiatives at Common Counsel Foundation. “This work is more critical now than ever before, and CCF is doubling down on funding power-building at the local and statewide levels.”

The Fund is led by a unique co-governance structure made up of both community leaders and funders. Since its inception, the Fund for an Inclusive California has prioritized accountability to its community partners through shared decision making and developing funding strategies in consultation with those partners to nurture, strengthen, and expand local and regional power across the state. 

“The Fund’s partnerships and grantmaking exemplify funding that is guided by deep-rooted relationships, which aligns with and elevates the solutions created by people who have lived through these challenges,” says says Diana Amparo Jiménez, Program Officer, Housing Justice at Weingart Foundation and member of the Fund’s co-governance body. “This is the powerful role we can play as funders, supporting their visionary solutions that ensure a more equitable and just society for generations to come.”

This $1.7 million provides vital funding for organizations in the Central Valley and Inland Region — areas confronting some of the state’s most challenging housing issues — along with the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and statewide organizations. Groups funded are advancing critical efforts, including long-term visionary strategies, such as taking land out of the speculative market, increasing the voting power of young Black, Indigenous, and people of color across the state on housing issues, advocating for local and state policies that protect the rights of tenants, and engaging low-income Californians to curtail the abuses of corporate landlords. 

“Our communities face mounting challenges in securing a place to call home, and keeping it amid the pressure of corporate investors,” shares Pastor Curtis, executive director of Faith in the Valley, a long-standing partner of the Fund. “Despite these hurdles, we celebrate each hard-fought victory in securing renter protections for our communities. As we look ahead to a new year and the federal threats that will impact working people, we remain steadfast in our commitment to building stronger, more deeply united communities and protecting those most at risk. Together, we are growing our power, day by day, towards our vision of thriving neighborhoods.”

For a full list of nonprofits in this round of grants, please visit Fund for Inclusive California.

For media inquiries, please contact Sabrina Chin, Director of Communications, at [email protected].

About Fund for an Inclusive California

The Fund for an Inclusive California advances racial and economic equity by supporting power building of communities of color. The Fund is a program of Common Counsel Foundation. Since 2017, the Fund has aligned funders to support an ecosystem of housing justice efforts led by communities across California, making $13.5 million in grants. The community partners are organizing to protect tenants, preserve and produce affordable housing for low and extremely low-income residents, and advancing equitable development policies that prioritize the long-term well-being of all Californians. Learn more at F4ICA.CommonCounsel.org

About Common Counsel Foundation

Common Counsel Foundation has more than 35 years practicing progressive philanthropy, funding grassroots social movements and centering the leadership of communities that have historically been marginalized by intersecting systems of oppression. We partner with families and individual donors and are home to multi-funder collaborative initiatives, all with the goal to expand philanthropic resources for progressive social movements. In 2023, Common Counsel directed nearly $48 million in grants to community-led organizations. Learn more at www.commoncounsel.org.