The California Wellness Foundation has announced grants totaling $20.5 million in support of reproductive justice as well as civic engagement and community power building in communities across the state.

The foundation awarded 68 grants across four Advancing Wellness portfolios—community well-being, equity in access, economic security and dignity, and leading for power and change, with a focus on power building in BIPOC, immigrant, and low-income communities; public policy advocacy that prioritizes the experiences and needs of underserved and marginalized Californians; and leadership and sustainability of BIPOC-led and -serving reproductive justice organizations.

Recipients include ACCESS Reproductive Justice, Black Women for Wellness, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, and ACT for Women and Girls, which will engage in policy advocacy efforts focused on low-income people of color, Black women, Latinas, and LGBTQ+ youth, respectively. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Planned Parenthood Shasta Diablo, and Women’s Health Specialists - Chico will use their grants to provide quality reproductive health and family planning care to low-income people living in rural and conservative regions.

Cal Wellness also awarded three core operating support grants totaling $2 million to movement building and civic engagement 501(c)(4) nonprofits focused on addressing social determinants of health—the first private foundation in the state to do so. The recipients are PowerCA Action, which will build the leadership and political power of young people of color; Asian Pacific Environmental Network Action, which will mobilize 30,000 Asian immigrant and refugee voters; and California Calls Action Fund, which will work to expand the electorate to include more people of color to fund public services, increase government effectiveness, create more equitable tax systems, and foster economic growth.

“We knew that it was coming, but it didn’t make the reversal of Roe any less painful,” said Cal Wellness president and CEO Judy Belk. “Overnight, millions of women across the country lost their freedom to choose for themselves when and whether to give birth. At this moment, when fundamental rights are at stake, we are excited to see communities, advocates, and policy makers across state lines join together to protect and expand reproductive freedom and for the opportunity to work in partnership with leaders in the office of Governor Newsom.”

For a complete list of grant recipients, see the Cal Wellness website.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/SeventyFour)