OVERVIEW: The California Immigrant Resilience Fund supports immigrants, economic security, hunger, homelessness and emergency relief in Los Angeles County, Orange County, the Inland Empire and the Border Region of Southern California.
FUNDING AREAS: Immigrants, economic security, hunger, homelessness, emergency relief
IP TAKE: Due to the powerful Southern California funders involved with CIRF, this unique collaborative effort holds a lot of potential for the future, even after the need for COVID-19-related funds has passed.
PROFILE: Established in 2020, the California Immigrant Resilience Fund (CIRF) is a collaborative fund launched in California by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. CIRF is part of a public-private partnership with Governor Gavin Newsom and is led by Emerson Collective and Blue Shield of California Foundation. Other early supporters include the California Endowment, James Irvine Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, California Wellness Foundation, Sunlight Giving, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Marin Community Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Akonadi Foundation. The foundation aims to "provide cash assistance to undocumented Californians and their families who are ineligible for COVID-19 federal relief and state safety-net programs.” It funds local efforts for immigrants, economic security, hunger, homelessness and emergency relief.
The California Immigrant Resilience Fund assists the approximately two million undocumented Californians who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funders behind this effort want to help families who do not have access to federal relief and basic services, like food and shelter, because of their citizenship status. CIRF is committed to racial, social and economic justice, and it provides fair and equitable cash assistance with the help of around 60 local partners. CIRF primarily gives to local relief funds that focus on undocumented people in specific geographic regions. This cash assistance goes towards groceries, rent, utility bills and medical expenses. Although CIRF is a COVID-19 response fund, it also creates a more long-term infrastructure and a statewide network to address future crises too.
Grants often range between about a few hundred to few thousand dollars. Learn more about this funder’s local giving on the impact page of the funder’s website. Grantmaking in the region focuses on Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino and Riverside County in the Inland Empire and the Border Region of Imperial County and San Diego County. CIRF partners that provide cash assistance to undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles County include the BAJI California COVID Mutual Aid Fund and KIWA Coronavirus Pandemic Solidarity Project. Orange County partners include the Latino Health Access COVID-19 Community Relief Fund and Centro Cultural de Mexico en el Condado de Orange. Inland Empire partners are the Regional Immigrant Emergency Relief Fund Coachella Valley and the Regional Immigrant Community Support Fund. Border Region partners include the Farmworker CARE Community Relief Fund and Comunidades de Imperial Immigrant Relief Fund.
This fund has various partners in Southern California that accept unsolicited requests for funding. However, many of these partners have long waiting lists or may not be accepting new applications at certain times. Direct general questions to the CIRF team at donate@gcir.org.
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