Orange County Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Orange County Community Foundation supports a broad range of community interests in Orange County, California.
IP TAKE: Nonprofits serving the communities of Orange County, California, should sign up for an online meet and greet with the Orange County Community Foundation. This funder prioritizes connecting organizations to the right grantmakers within its network of collaborative, field-of-interest and donor-advised funds. There are also many opportunities to participate in the foundation’s networking and collaborative community initiatives. The foundation posts current opportunities on its grants overview page, but, with over 600 funds, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
PROFILE: Established in 1989, the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) is a community funder based in Newport Beach, California. Its mission involves “[t]ransforming our Community's Heartfelt Intention into Greater Impact for Good.” The foundation makes grants through over 600 donor-advised, community and field-of-interest funds spanning the areas of health, education, environment, opportunity, social justice, veterans causes, arts and culture and much more. In addition to grantmaking, the foundation supports Orange County with initiatives and events that enable networking, collaboration, fundraising and research for a broad range of community needs and issues. While much of this funder’s grantmaking focuses on Orange County, grants, especially those from its donor-advised funds, have supported organizations in other parts of the U.S.
Grants for Education, Work and Opportunity
The overlapping areas of education, career development and economic opportunity together represent a significant portion of this funder’s annual giving, with grants and scholarships stemming from dozens of funds. The following are highlights of the foundation’s education giving and engagement for education and economic opportunity in Orange County.
The Excellence in Education Fund is a field-of-interest community fund that focuses on “improving educational outcomes for youth, especially those facing barriers to academic success.” This fund does not elaborate on its specific goals, but grants have supported public and private schools and districts throughout the county.
The Orange County Workforce Development Initiative works toward “connecting educational institutions and workforce development programs to in-demand, middle-skills jobs within targeted sectors in Orange County via formalized pipelines.” The program facilitates “partnerships […] between community colleges, nonprofit organizations, and local employers working collaboratively to identify, support, and ultimately place candidates in middle-skills jobs.”
The Hispanic Education Endowment Fund runs an annual scholars program for college-bound students. Guidelines are linked to the program page during application windows.
Other funds making grants in these areas include the Scholar’s Hope Endowment Fund, the Pacific Club Scholarship Fund, the Big Canyon Country Club Scholarship, and others. A searchable database of funds is available here. A separate page provides information on available scholarships and how to apply.
Education grantees include Santa Ana’s Achievement Institute of Scientific Studies, the Cate School of Carpinteria, Fullerton Union High School and the Laguna Beach Education Foundation. Grants related to work and opportunity have gone to Orange Coast College, the Orange County Adult Achievement Center and Pathways to Independence of Los Alamitos.
Grants for Environment, Climate Change and Clean Energy
Environmental and climate change grants also account for a significant portion of this funder’s annual giving. It is worth noting that many of the foundation’s donor-advised funds support environmental causes and initiatives around the country and around the world. However, the foundation, through its field-of-interest Environment Fund, “supports programs and services that enhance environmental literacy and public understanding of Orange County’s environmental issues.” Related grantmaking has supported organizations including Parks California, the Ecology Center of San Juan Capistrano and Orange County Coastkeeper.
Other funds supporting environmental and climate change causes include the Big-Leaved Crownbeard Habitat Funds, the Ecology Center Endowment Fund, the Laguna Beach Urban Tree Fund and Southern Orange County Gnatcatcher Conservation Fund.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
The Organge County Community Foundation runs a field-of-interest fund for Health and Wellness that focuses on “ prevention and early health intervention efforts for children.” Beyond this, the fund does not name specific priorities for its giving. Related grants have supported AltaMed Health Services, Serving Kids Hope of Santa Ana, the Laguna Beach Community Clinic and the Hoag Hospital Foundation. Additionally, some grants for brain cancer awareness and research stem from the donor-advised KM Legacy Foundation Fund.
Grants for Mental Health, Housing and Homelessness
The Orange County Community Foundation does not run a field-0f-interest fund for mental health, housing or homelessness, but tax filings reveal a strong commitment to funding these issues. Apparent priorities appear to be addiction disorders, victims of domestic violence and vulnerable youth. Grantees include Grandma’s House of Hope, Mercy House Living Centers, the Child Guidance Center, Fresh Lifelines for Youth, and Laura’s House, a domestic violence shelter in Aliso Viejo.
Grants for Racial Justice, Immigrants and Refugees
The Orange County Community Foundation runs field-of-interest and community funds focus on social justice and equity for marginalized people.
The African American Alliance Fund was established by the foundation’s executive vice president and COO Tammy Tumbling “to raise awareness about systemic racism and support programs that advance Black residents within Orange County and surrounding communities.” The foundation describes the fund as “the first of a lasting commitment to investing in the promise and potential of our diverse communities.” This is one of the foundation’s newer endeavors, and as yet it does not name specific priorities for grantmaking. Early grantees of this initiative include 100 Black Men of OC, the Association of Black Cardiologists, the Council of African American Parents and the Cal State Fullerton Black Student Scholarship Fund, among others.
Launched in 2023, the Orange County Social Justice Fund envisions “an Orange County where all residents have equal economic, civic, and social rights and opportunities.” This fund focuses on diversity, unity and “creating local impact.” A first round of grants supported 25 area organizations with about $400,000 in grants. Grantees include the Arab American Civic Council, Latino Health Access, the LGBTQ Center of Orange County, Project Kinship and Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development, among others.
The Orange County Opportunity Initiative is a collaborative fund “dedicated to ensuring that Orange County embraces the promise and potential of our immigrant communities to create a stronger future for our region.” This fund does not name specific strategies for its grantmaking, but related grants have supported organizations such as the South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency, the Tiyya Foundation of Santa Ana, Voice of Refugees and the U.S. Institute Against Human Traficking.
Grants for Veterans and Military
The Orange County Veterans Initiative is a collaborative fund that “is committed to embracing service members and integrating them back into civilian life.” The fund was launched in 2015, with a comprehensive assessment of local veterans’ needs in the areas of housing, health, mental health and career development. The fund then coordinated “philanthropic, public, and private sector resources” to improve services. Since then, the initiative has supported 17 nonprofits with $5.7 million in grants and served over 30,000 veterans with job placement and other services. Grantees include the Veterans Legal Institute, the Warrior Scholar Project, the Support the Enlisted Project, Semper Fi and America’s Fund, and Shelter to Soldier, which trains shelter dogs to be psychiatric service animals to veterans with post traumatic stress disorder.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Many of the foundation’s arts and culture grants stem from its Arts and Culture field-of-interest fund, which aims to support “the growth and stability of the arts and cultural sector in Orange County.” This program does not name specific goals or areas of focus. Grantees include the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the Pacific Chorale, the Muckenthaler Cultural Center and the Laguna Playhouse, among many others.
Important Grant Details:
The Orange County Community Foundation makes grants ranging from $1,000 to about $2 million, with only a few exceptions.
This funder’s collaborative and field-of-interest grantmaking mainly serves organizations in Orange County, California, but the foundation also administers hundreds of donor-advised funds that give nationally or globally.
Grantmaking for Orange County supports organizations of all sizes with both operating and project support.
This foundation posts current grant opportunities here. Grantseekers should reach out to schedule an online meet and greet so that the foundation may better connect nonprofits to grant opportunities within its broad array of funds.
Grantseekers and others may also wish to collaborate with this funder in its other non-grantmaking strategic initiatives, which offer opportunities to network with donors affiliated with this foundation.
For additional information about this foundation’s giving, see its FAQ and News and Insights pages.
Direct general inquiries to the foundation via its contact page or by telephone at 949.553.4202.
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