Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) is the region’s largest and only nationally accredited community foundation. We proudly serve a growing, diverse, vast area of communities and thousands of donors.
We’re here to help you, your family or your business make a meaningful difference on the issues you care about in the community by building the culture of philanthropy.
Founded in 1941, IECF manages almost $125 million of assets behind more than 400 funds that support a variety of donor-directed grants and scholarships. Specifically, our donors support arts and culture groups, youth and family agencies as well as environmental, animal, senior, veterans, and various other causes.
Our volunteer board of directors includes members who reflect the diversity of age, ethnicity, religion, geography, gender, and education of the Inland Empire. They govern a staff of experts in finance, charitable giving, grantmaking and programs, and communications who deliver high-quality service and support to our donors and nonprofit organizations.
In 2022, IECF awarded over $35 million in grants, including $8 million for scholarships and education. Locally, IECF has granted over $18 million to charities and educational institutions in the Coachella Valley over the past ten years. Some of these charities include Green Room Theater Co. Coachella Valley; Animal Samaritans; CV Rescue Mission; Desert Ensemble Theater; Friends of Desert Mountains and many more.
As a community leader and convener, IECF maintains a deep understanding of the issues, continually assesses needs, and establishes priorities to meet the moment for our region. These include the following efforts:
Build Coachella Valley Fund: With recent gifts from the Western Wind Foundation, Amazon and others, the Fund supports the social, economic, and environmental resilience of the Coachella Valley and its surrounding communities.
Creative Corps Inland SoCal: Grants totaling more than $3.8 million were awarded to artists, culture-bearers, organizations, and agencies throughout Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Over the summer, Creative Corps Inland SoCal, a state-funded initiative of the California Arts Council (CAC) in collaboration with the IECF, Arts Connection – The Arts Council of San Bernardino County, Riverside Arts Council, and the California Desert Arts Council, unveiled the 53 award recipients. These grants aim to support creative initiatives that advance CAC’s goals of awareness around public health, the environment, social justice, and civic participation.
Riverside County Nonprofit Assistance Fund: The Fund was established to build on Riverside County’s efforts to strengthen, expand, and support the local nonprofit sector. This assistance, funded through the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA), will develop long-term strategies focused on impact, sustainability, and building economic and community resiliency including in the Coachella Valley.
Ready to start your giving with us? Give any amount to an existing fund, or create an endowed fund to help your community, nonprofit, or cause you care about, like children, education, or the environment.
For more information, contact John McGuirk, Regional Charitable Giving Officer, at jmcguirk@iegives.org or 760.836.2400; or Brie Griset Smith, SVP of Charitable Giving at bgrisetsmith@igives.org. www.iegives.org.
