The California Wellness Foundation has announced grants totaling $8.9 million to help advance health equity in the state.

Grants awarded during the foundation’s third quarter include support for wildfire disaster relief, equitable access to safe water, services for women of color at risk of HIV/AIDS, and new initiatives to advance economic security in low-income communities. To eradicate poverty and strengthen the middle class, the foundation awarded $700,000 in support of the movement for a guaranteed basic income. To assist communities affected by large-scale disasters, the foundation awarded a total of $225,000 to three organizations, including the El Dorado Community Foundation, which will provide emergency financial relief through its Caldor Fire Fund; the North Valley Community Foundation Fund, which will provide emergency response services, financial assistance, and mental health support; and the Upper Room Dining Hall, which will provide meals, personal protective equipment, and immediate assistance to wildfire evacuees and individuals experiencing food insecurity in El Dorado County.

And five organizations were awarded a total of $930,000 to protect the water quality and quantity in communities experiencing water insecurity and fund projects that include community organizing, advocacy, coalition building, and innovation. Recipients include the Central Valley Agroecology Network, Pueblo Unido CDC, and Comite Civico del Valle.

“Our grant partners are using every tool imaginable — policy advocacy and organizing, coalition building and education, direct service and direct cash aid — to right social wrongs, address structural inequities and create an economy and a healthcare system that works for all Californians,” said Cal Wellness interim vice president of programs Alex M. Johnson. “We’re grateful to these organizations doing critical work in and behalf of our communities and are honored to provide funding for their efforts.”

For more information on the foundation’s third-quarter grants, see the Cal Wellness Foundation website.