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Project to Help Non-Profits Gain Access to Almost $200B in State and Federal Funds

The Center at the Sierra Health Foundation, a Sacramento-based organization that promotes health and racial equity, and the James Irvine Foundation, a private San Francisco-based philanthropic nonprofit that advocates for Californians who earn low wages, are the first two foundations investing in the fund called the Community Economic Mobilization Initiative (CEMI).

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CEMI is expected to begin funding the CBOs in the summer of 2022 with $14 million from the James Irvine Foundation and $1 million from the Center at Sierra Health.
CEMI is expected to begin funding the CBOs in the summer of 2022 with $14 million from the James Irvine Foundation and $1 million from the Center at Sierra Health.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

Non-profit organizations across California will be able to apply for funding from a pool of cash created with an initial investment of $15 million from two foundations.

The money will help local Community Based Organizations (CBOs) gain access to almost $200 billion in federal and state funding coming down the pike for economic development projects.

The Center at the Sierra Health Foundation, a Sacramento-based organization that promotes health and racial equity, and the James Irvine Foundation, a private San Francisco-based philanthropic nonprofit that advocates for Californians who earn low wages, are the first two foundations investing in the fund called the Community Economic Mobilization Initiative (CEMI).

“CEMI will strengthen nonprofits working in marginalized communities and help them secure and influence the use of public funds designated to reduce economic and environmental inequities,” said Chet P. Hewitt, president and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation and The Center.

This year, California is expected to receive close to $200 billion in federal and state funding. The money will be sourced from the American Rescue Plan ($43 billion) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ($56 billion), as well as the state’s Community Economic Resilience Fund ($565 million) and its budget surplus ($46 billion).

“This is a much-needed investment for community-driven organizations, particularly those that support the most vulnerable Californians. Historically, they have not been invested in the same manner as larger organizations. Many of them were affected throughout the pandemic and need this fiscal and operational support,” said Kellie Todd Griffin, convenor of the California Black Women’s Collective, an organization of more than 1500 Black women leaders in various professions from different regions of the state. “My hope is that there will be intentionality to be inclusive of the organizations that can have the greatest impact in our communities.”

CEMI is expected to begin funding the CBOs in the summer of 2022 with $14 million from the James Irvine Foundation and $1 million from the Center at Sierra Health.

“We have a golden opportunity to make sure these investments reach community-based organizations that best know the infrastructure their communities need for economic growth that is inclusive and resilient,” said Don Howard, president and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation.

Howard says the funding from CEMI aligns with the James Irvine Foundation’s mission of supporting low-income workers because it helps grassroots organizations and community advocates participate in the planning and decision-making that goes into the distribution of public funds.

“We need an economy built on inclusion, equity, and dignity for all work and workers — and that starts by making room for diverse leaders to have a say in how these once-in-a-generation investments shape their communities’ futures,” Howard continued.

The CEMI funding will provide technical assistance and training to the CBOs that qualify to build their capacity and infrastructure and build models for what community-driven economic development looks like, according to the Center at Sierra Health Foundation.

The funders of CEMI say they believe the organizations they support will grow into a strong network that can drive more “equitable economic development policy, regulation and accountability at state and local levels.”

The California Endowment (TCE), a private foundation with headquarters in Los Angeles, has also committed to investing in CEMI.

TCE is a 56-year-old foundation that supports programs that improve the health care of Californians living in underserved communities.

“The availability of state and federal funding provides California with an important opportunity to address critical health and economic challenges for the most vulnerable Californians,” said Dr. Bob Ross, president and CEO of TCE.

“This potential can only be realized by investing in community-led change,” Ross added.

Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the foundations for taking a leadership role in making a difference in the lives of Californians who need help the most.

“This initiative will help grow the capacity of committed organizations to continue their important work in communities across the state. This will be especially important as we focus on COVID-19 recovery and creating a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all,” Newsom said.

Hewitt says the project will result in “transformative change” in California.

“The past few years have laid bare the impact of long-term disinvestment in poor communities. We must do all we can to position community institutions to grow power and create opportunity for the places and populations they serve,” he said.

Tanu Henry 

Tanu Henry 

California Black Media

California Black Media

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

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Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)
Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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