Anaheim Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Anaheim Community Foundation supports community organizations in the city of Anaheim, California with a strong focus on local youth.
IP TAKE: The Anaheim Community Foundation is a modest operation that serves community needs in a city of about 350,000 people. Its grantmaking focuses on youth and community development, but it also works to coordinate public and private sector stakeholders to meet the community’s evolving needs. At this time, it does not appear to manage donor-advised funds but channels donations into its own grantmaking programs. This is an accessible funder for organizations operating in Anaheim; it accepts applications for its programs during specific windows of time each year. Reach out with questions via the foundation’s contact page.
PROFILE: Established in 1984, the Anaheim Community Foundation (ACF) is “dedicated to improving the quality of life in Anaheim by increasing charitable giving, connecting donors to community needs they care about, and providing leadership in critical community issues.” Its stated mission is to “build community through people, partnerships, and pride” and its work involves addressing community needs through grantmaking, youth programs, scholarships, volunteerism, community support and donor services. It also gives annual awards for community service. This foundation is run by a volunteer board of directors that “provides leadership and manages donations to ensure they are returned to the community to meet vital needs.” Rather than naming specific causes or areas of interest, this foundation runs grantmaking programs that work responsively to address current needs in the community. However, the foundation regularly supports education, economic development, community development, civic engagement, health, mental health and food systems, with a strong focus on the city’s youth.
This funder also articulates a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, recognizing “the diversity of the Anaheim community and the value of achieving inclusiveness and equity in its programs, activities and governance that reflects and respects that diversity.”
Grants for Education, Work ad Opportunity, Mental Health
A significant portion of the ACF’s engagement prioritizes Anaheim’s youth population and works to provide educational, economic and civic opportunities.
The foundation houses the Accelerate Change Together program (ACT Anaheim), which it describes as “a robust community partnership” through which “business, community and nonprofit leaders” work to improve the lives and prospects of Anaheim’s youth. The initiative was established in the 2010s in response to a dearth of mental health resources available to students in the Anaheim Union High School District and has since collaborated with organizations including Western Youth Services, the Children’s Bureau, the Big Brother and Big Sister of Orange County and Waymakers to meet the pressing mental health needs of needs of the city’s youth. Other areas of engagement include “college and career pathways” and civic engagement.
ACF awards Youth Scholarships for children ages 17 and under to participate in out-of-school, enrichment, recreation and camp programs run by the City of Anaheim. Information about applications and due dates is available at the program’s webpage.
Grants Community Development, Public Health and Food Systems
Two additional programs at ACF support community development broadly, with grants supporting organizations like libraries, health care providers and food pantries.
The Community Impact Grant program is run in collaboration with the Samueli Foundation and works to “bolster and enhance the efforts of the city by addressing the needs of the community by providing services for residents in Anaheim; and to build the capacity of the nonprofit sector by engaging in conversations and collaborations among cross sector entities.” This program appears to accept applications for funding annually and suggests grantseekers sign up for the foundation’s newsletter for information about application windows and due dates.
Grantees include the Sunkist Library, the Miraloma Family Resource Center, the Oak Canyon Nature Center and the Pop Up Pantry Program.
The Christopher K. Jarvi Helping Hands grant program was named for the founding director of the foundation who died in 2013. This program “focuses on strengthening youth, residents and community through supporting community-based organizations.” The program runs a single annual grant cycle, but also provides emergency funding from $250 to $2,500 to “organizations facing a one-time challenge.” Applications for emergency grants may be submitted here. For updates about the regular annual grantmaking program, sign up for the foundation’s newsletter.
Past Helping Hands grantees include the Anaheim Ballet, the Anaheim Public Library, CASA of Orange County, the Magnolia School District and the Orange County Human Relations Council.
Important Grant Details:
ACF’s grants typically range from $250 to about $250,000.
This community foundation prioritizes Anaheim’s youth and existing community organizations that provide critical resources to residents.
On the whole, grantmaking is limited to the city of Anaheim, although a few organizations that work county-wide have received grants.
This community foundation does not appear to manage donor-advised funds at this time, but donors may contribute to a specific program or donate in honor of a loved one.
This foundation accepts applications for its grant and scholarships programs. Guidelines are provided on program pages but, with the exception of emergency grants, guidelines are posted only during periods during which applications are accepted. Sign up for the foundation’s newsletter for updates.
For additional information about past grantees, see the foundation’s news page or its past tax filings.
Use the foundation’s contact page for general inquiries.
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