The California Wellness Foundation has announced grants and impact investments totaling $18.2 million to advance health equity in California.

The foundation awarded 75 grants focused on strengthening the healthcare safety net, improving access to high-quality oral health care, supporting budget and policy advocacy in communities of color, and buttressing the resilience of California nonprofits. Recipients include the Los Angeles-based Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, which was awarded $2 million to launch an independent four-year medical degree program to train physicians from underrepresented racial minority backgrounds; Alliance for Justice, a Washington-based organization, which will receive $750,000 to enable nonprofits across the country to advance progressive and systemic change through advocacy; and grants of core operating support totaling $1.3 million to community health clinics and clinics that provide affordable or free oral health care, including Anphon Corporation, Imani Clinic, Special Needs Network, Smile Unto Him, and Sonrisas Dental Health.

In addition, the foundation awarded a $1.5 million program-related investment (PRI) to Liberty Hill Foundation in Los Angeles to enable it to provide bridge loans to social justice nonprofits facing ongoing financial challenges due to delays in payments on government contracts, and $500,000 to iimpact, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment manager, which will partner with women developers of color who are unable to get financing through traditional real estate lenders.

“Among other priorities, this docket represents our commitment to sending dollars directly into communities and making significant investments when we see opportunities to push the needle toward greater health and racial equity,” said Cal Wellness president and CEO Judy Belk.

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