Pajaro Flooding Relief Resources

March 29, 2023

On March 10, the Pajaro River levee failed due to the heavy rainstorms brought on by California’s series of atmospheric rivers and flooded the town of Pajaro in Monterey County. Over 2,000 residents, largely low-income migrant farm workers and their families have been forced to evacuate due to the widespread destruction. As of March 17, community members have yet to return to their homes due to long delays and many are concerned about how additional rains this week may worsen the flooding.

L.A. County Food Equity Roundtable – Addressing Food Inequities Through Public-Private Partnerships

March 13, 2023

In February 2021, the L.A. County Chief Sustainability Office, Annenberg Foundation, CCF, and Weingart Foundation came together to support a motion to pilot the Los Angeles County Food Equity Roundtable (LACFER) – a committee of cross-sector leaders dedicated to achieving equity in food systems across L.A. County.

Understanding Private Foundations

February 21, 2023

A private foundation is a popular vehicle that allows a client to maintain high public visibility about their charitable work while providing control over board appointments and investment decisions. This structure also allows clients to hire staff and make grants to individuals, under certain circumstances, and other charities.

Advisor Profile: A Conversation with Nikki Kerman

At CCF, we’re fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with advisors that have a strong personal interest in philanthropy such as Nikki Kerman. Nikki is counsel in Venable’s Nonprofit Organizations and Transactional Tax groups in Los Angeles. Nikki focuses her practice on advising tax-exempt organizations, such as public charities and private foundations, on […]

Home LA Fund Donors are Instrumental in Increasing Affordable and Permanent Housing in LA County

February 10, 2023

By Sean Doss, Senior Program Officer, Housing At CCF, I am tasked with implementing the foundation’s Accelerating Permanent Supportive Housing (“APSH”) Initiative where we have successfully empowered the ecosystem of housing stakeholders to house the chronically homeless. The Initiative has streamlined and lowered the barriers to housing development, advanced the development of innovative low-cost housing […]

Turkey and Syria Earthquake Resources

February 7, 2023

On February 6, a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey along the border of northwest Syria followed by a magnitude 7.5 aftershock that hit the region shortly after. It has been reported that over 7,200 people have been killed and thousands more injured and missing. The scale of severe damage across the region and […]

How to Support the Monterey Park Community

January 26, 2023

The California Community Foundation (CCF) stands in solidarity with the community of Monterey Park and those impacted by the tragic violence over the Lunar New Year weekend. We are deeply saddened by the loss of life, especially as it comes during a time usually marked by celebration and joy in the Asian American community.   How […]

Humboldt Earthquake Relief Resources

December 22, 2022

On December 20th, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Humboldt County in Northern California, leaving widespread damage to homes and roads, and tens of thousands without electricity. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to support relief efforts, which provides Humboldt County access to resources under the California Disaster Assistance Act. […]

The Gift of a Lifetime: Turning Retirement Accounts into Charitable Good

November 14, 2022

There is good news for community foundation donors in their 70s—and for the communities and causes they care about. The qualified charitable deduction rules allow donors to leverage their giving while reducing their taxes. In 2022, the IRS made it permanently possible to give individual retirement account (IRA) assets to a public charity via a […]

A Conversation with Elham Ardestani & Jonathan Lurie from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

“Philanthropy does as much for the person giving as it does for the person receiving.” Jonathan Lurie Jonathan Lurie and Elham Ardestani are both attorneys at the Los Angeles office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Jonathan is senior counsel and Elham is an associate in the Private Clients Group at the firm. Both focus […]