Pasadena Child Health Foundation

OVERVIEW: This funder supports children’s health and education, as well as initiatives for the Pasadena community that enhance the lives of children and families.

IP TAKE: The Pasadena Child Health Foundation’s grantmaking is administered by the Pasadena Community Foundation. Grantmaking is exclusive to Pasadena and tends to support core local organizations over multiple years. Nevertheless, the foundation’s giving is quite broad thematically, extending its reach beyond children’s health and education to initiatives that enrich the lives of the entire Pasadena community. Apply for grants of up to $25,000 through the Pasadena Foundation’s easy-to-navigate application portal.

PROFILE: Based in Pasadena, California, the Pasadena Child Health Foundation (PCHF) evolved from other health organizations for children and was officially established in 1951. Since 2016, the foundation has conducted its grantmaking through the Pasadena Community Foundation. PCHF’s mission is “to reduce disparities that adversely impact the health of children residing in the Pasadena Unified School District attendance area.” The foundation names three overlapping areas of focus: Promoting Healthy Early Childhood Development, Strengthening Family and Community Connections and Healthy Bodies and Sound Minds. Grantmaking is exclusive to Pasadena and surrounding communities. Across all grantmaking, the foundation prioritizes support for “prevention and early intervention strategies and activities that incorporate the principles of collaboration, leveraging existing resources, and expanding capabilities to improve the health and well-being of Pasadena-area children.”

Grants for Early Childhood Education

PCHF’s Promoting Healthy Early Childhood Development focus area targets interventions and programs that support physical, cognitive and social-emotional development from birth through age eight. In addition to early childhood education, the initiative supports programs that work to enhance “healthy parent-child interactions” including those that support language, literacy and early numeracy development. Among the foundation’s past grantees are Mothers Club Family Learning, the Pasadena Educational Foundation and Learning Works Charter School.

Grants for Public Health and Mental Health

Maternal, newborn and child health and mental health are major areas of focus for this funder. Through its Healthy Bodies and Sound Minds grantmaking area, the foundation funds efforts for “proper nutrition, exercise, mental wellness and access to preventative care,” including reproductive health care, dental care and mental health services. Past grants have gone to organizations including Planned Parenthood of Pasadena, Girls on the Run of Los Angeles County, Young and Healthy in Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center.

Grants for Community Development

PCHF’s Strengthening Family and Community Connections works broadly to improve the lives of children and families in Pasadena. Giving here aims to strengthen “protective factors” in kids’ lives that “ensure that children are safe, facilitate strong relationships in the child’s life, increase the strength of the family to care for the child, and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect.” Grants have supported some faith-based organizations, including the Westminster Presbyterian Church and the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church. The foundation also made a grant to Pasadena’s Flintridge Center, which works to “to break the cycle of poverty and violence through community planning, innovation and action.”

Important Grant Details

PCHF awards grants in amounts of up to $25,000 to organizations that serve children and families in Pasadena, California.

  • All grantmaking is conducted through the Pasadena Community Foundation.

  • Perhaps because of its limited geographic range, grants tend to support organizations for multiple years.

  • This funder accepts applications for a single annual grantmaking cycle via the Pasadena Community Foundation’s application portal.

  • Check the foundation’s web page for updates application due dates, detailed guidelines and new funding opportunities.

While the names of members of PCHF’s advisory board are listed on the foundation’s web page, it does not offer a direct way of getting in touch. Reach out, instead to the Pasadena Community Foundation via email at pcfstaff@pasadenacf.org or telephone at (626) 796-2097.

PEOPLE:

Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).

LINKS: