What We Fund - The California Wellness Foundation - The California Wellness Foundation

We’re changing our Letter of Interest (LOI) process for grant-seekers this year, as Cal Wellness embarks on a strategic planning journey to shape the future of our work. Instead of accepting LOIs year-round, we’re moving to specific submission windows that will be open now through April 30, and July 1-31. We’ll provide an update later this year on LOI submissions for the rest of 2025. Learn more here.

Our vision is that every person in California enjoys health and wellness. That means living in a safe and healthy community. Having access to quality education and good jobs. Drinking clean water. And having access to healthy foods.

But we know that a lot gets in the way of people enjoying health and wellness. The barriers are many and they are systemic. Wellness is directly affected by our race, class, gender and disability. By our zip code. By our family history. By our immigration status and past involvement with the criminal justice system.

That’s why we partner with community organizations to remove barriers to individual and community wellness. And to put in place more equitable processes and systems that improve individual and community wellness.

Through our grantmaking program—Advancing Wellness—we support organizations that are increasing access to health care. Innovative organizations that are advocating for quality education. Organizations big and small that are fighting for good jobs with fair wages and benefits. Local organizations that are working to make our streets and neighborhoods safe.

Where Our Grant Dollars Go

Every year we award more than $35 million dollars to advance wellness in our communities, cities and counties, as well as statewide. We support direct services, public policy, leadership and capacity building.

To get a grant, your work must fit into one or more of our specific priority areas and serve one or more of our target populations. We fund organizations that are addressing urgent needs people are facing in their communities. Specifically, we focus on low-income communities, people of color, youth, immigrants and residents of rural areas.

Advancing Wellness Grantmaking

COMMUNITY WELL‑BEING Communities Leading Transformation Learn More

Equity in Access Defending Health Care and Immigrant Rights Learn More

Economic Security & Dignity Strengthening the Floor and Raising the Ceiling Learn More

Leading for Power & Change Striving for Racial Justice Learn More

Women of Color Health Initiatives

We invested more than $13 million over six years to advance health and economic opportunity for Black and Latinx women across the state.

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Reproductive Justice

Cal Wellness supports comprehensive access to sexual and reproductive health care services, which have been under intense attack during the past few years. In particular, we strive to ensure that women and birthing people of color have bodily autonomy and are treated as the experts in their health care needs. Our reproductive justice strategy supports improving access to comprehensive reproductive health care including abortion services and systems change efforts to improve birth outcomes for Black women and birthing people in California.

Please reach out to Jennifer Wright at jwright(at)calwellness.org for more information.

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Disability Justice

Cal Wellness pledges to support disability-led organizations engaging in community organizing, advocacy, and policy work, in addition to supporting leaders who work at the intersection of racial justice and disability justice. Learn more below about The Presidents’ Council of the Disability & Philanthropy Forum, a community of foundation presidents who recognize that disability inclusion is essential to solving society’s most critical human rights, social justice, and health equity challenges.

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“What do you fund?” “What is an LOI?” Find answers to these and many other questions.

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A letter of interest is the first step in requesting a grant. Here’s how to submit a letter of interest.

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Research

Accountability, continual learning and respect for our community partners have always been among our core values. For 25 years, we’ve regularly used research and surveys to get candid, anonymous feedback about our work.

Our most recent survey, conducted in 2017 in partnership with the Center for Effective Philanthropy, provided us with significant insights that have already helped us better define, assess and improve our effectiveness as a funder.