Issue Based Groups

Child & Family Well-Being Funders Collaborative

Child & Family Well-Being Collaborative group convenes quarterly to focus on policy reform and related advocacy efforts in the areas of child welfare and foster care; and to explore opportunities for private support for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services related projects.

LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment

LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment (the Partnership) is a philanthropic funding collaborative comprised of some of the country's largest private foundations, impactful family foundations and public funders of early childhood development. The LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment is dedicated to realizing the potential of every child in Los Angeles County. We are a diverse collaboration of funders and government agencies that promotes innovations to prepare children for success when it is most effective and impactful for us all: in the earliest years.

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Los Angeles Arts Funders

LA Arts Funders is a peer learning group that provides opportunities for public and private sector grantmakers to deepen their knowledge of arts philanthropy, expand their professional networks, and explore topical issues affecting LA County's arts and culture ecosystem.

LA Arts Funders is open to public and private sector grantmakers that fund arts grants in the Southern California region. Grantmaking organizations that also solicit funds are expected to designate representatives whose role involves program and/or policy, not solely development. Philanthropic consultants must be current members of Southern California Grantmakers.

Education Funders Group

Meeting for over a decade, the Education Funders Group brings philanthropic funders together to learn about issues, trends, and needs in the field of education (Pre K through 12th grade) to inform individual and collective grantmaking. Ideas for topics are proposed by funders, who work with the co-conveners to organize a learning session. Over the years, the group has explored a variety of topics, including early childhood education, after school programming, parent engagement, blended learning, linked learning, STEM, implementation of the common core, and college access/college success. Founded by Ray Reisler, former Executive Director of the S. Mark Taper Foundation, the group's current co-chairs are Dorothy Fleisher, Program Director, W. M. Keck Foundation, and Peter Rivera, Senior Program Officer, Education, California Community Foundation.

Environmental Funders Group

The SCG Environmental Funders Group meets quarterly to educate funders about environmental challenges and opportunities in Southern California, share lessons learned, and foster collaboration.

Foundation Aging Network

An informal group of grantmakers from across all of Southern California interested in sharing issues related to serving an older adult population.

Health Funders Group

The SCG Health Funders Group convenes multiple times a year to explore emerging issues in healthcare and health policy through an intersectional approach. The group hosts topic-based and peer-to-peer learning sessions. These facilitated sessions will provide a forum for updates on critical issues, highlights of promising programs and opportunities for collaboration.

Inland Empire Funders Alliance

The Funders Alliance is a collaborative network of organizations with significant formal grantmaking activities in the Inland Empire region of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties that have joined together to increase communication, coordination, and collaboration. Grantmakers interested in learning more about the region for potential funding are welcome to join the meetings to connect with peers.

Southern California’s Inland Empire region of San Bernardino and Riverside counties is one of the fastest-growing population centers in the United States. Located 40 miles east of Los Angeles, the IE is rich in diversity, culture, history and economic opportunity. The IE Funders Alliance is committed to partnering with the region’s 11,000 innovative, resourceful, mission-driven nonprofit organizations to help the region’s 4.5 million people fulfill their extraordinary promise and potential. The Inland Empire presents foundations, corporate funders, and public agencies with a unique opportunity for alignment, leverage, and positive impact. We are the IE. We are the New California.

The Funders Alliance mission is to advance equity, advocacy and systemic change in the Inland Empire by uplifting the region’s assets and opportunities, and leveraging resources for impact. The primary goals of the Funders Alliance are:

• Regional networking and information sharing among funders and with other sectors.
• Advocacy for the needs of the region, its nonprofits, and communities.
• Alignment and leveraging of funds to maximize impact on common goals.
• Increasing the capacity of service providers within the region.

Ventura County Funders Forum

Southern California Grantmakers, Ventura County Community Foundation, and First 5 Ventura County are pleased to sponsor the Ventura County Funders Forum, a forum for foundations, grant makers and funders who support charitable organizations in Ventura County, advancing the public good and the work of nonprofits. All organizations that provide grants to nonprofit organizations in Ventura County are welcome to attend and participate in a forum designed to educate, inform, share and collaborate where similar goals, charitable intent, multiple visions, dedicated philanthropy and informed experience can find common ground.