The CIELO Fund Celebrates Raising $2 Million for Inland Empire’s Latino Community

In Celebration of Latino Heritage Month, the Inland Empire Community Foundation announced today that the CIELO Fund has raised over $2 million since launching in 2022 to support Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations and initiatives throughout the Inland Empire. 

In total, the CIELO Fund has invested nearly $1 million into the region’s Latino community through grantmaking, scholarships, narrative change initiatives and original research. This includes $650k in grant awards to 56 grassroots organizations and $232k in scholarships to Latino students. 

Notably, the CIELO Fund has collaborated again with KVCR/NPR to produce the popular IE Latino Voices radio segment, and upcoming partnerships with CalMatters and Los Angeles Times’ Latino vertical, De Los, which will further raise awareness of Latino causes in the region.

“We are filled with immense pride and gratitude for the hundreds of funders who have made the CIELO Fund’s impact possible, and for the grassroots organizations that serve as the heartbeat of our communities,” said Jesse Melgar, IECF Vice Chair and Founding Chair of the CIELO Fund. “Raising over $2 million in our first two years is more than a milestone—it’s a testament to the resilience, dedication, and unwavering commitment of our grantees, and the determination of our scholarship recipients, who are transforming lives and communities across Riverside and San Bernardino counties. These organizations and students are charting a new path for the region’s future and laying the foundation for a more just and equitable future. They inspire us all, and this is only the beginning of what we can achieve when we lead with vision, purpose, and community at the center. Adelante, always.”

 “This inspiring charitable support has been fundamental to the early success of the CIELO Fund at IECF,” emphasized Brie Griset Smith, CSPG, Chief Development Officer at IECF. “We look forward to advancing the culture of philanthropy and engaging more donors in championing this crucial cause and shedding light on the needs and opportunities of Latinos in the Inland Empire.”

 New Research

In 2024, The CIELO Fund partnered with the Possibility Lab at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies to produce a polling brief examining Inland Empire Latino Experiences Accessing Basic Resources. The report finds that most IE Latino voters have access to clean water, safety, and connectivity, yet affordable housing, healthy food, eldercare and childcare, and energy are difficult to find. This builds on a past body of research from UC Riverside, USC, and LatinosLEAD. The CIELO Fund also announced a new partnership for the coming year with the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute.

Building a Culture of Philanthropy

The CIELO Fund has raised $2 million thanks to investments from the California Endowment, the Weingart Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the California Wellness Foundation, the California Healthcare Foundation, Chavez Family Foundation, the S.L. Gimbel Foundation, and support from dozens of corporate and institutional donors. The Fund has also been strengthened by more than 100 individual donations.

Community Led

The CIELO Fund Leadership and Grantmaking Committee consists of Inland Latino leaders who live and work in the region. This includes university presidents, college district chancellors, several vice chancellors, community-based organizational leaders, leaders in academia, and corporate leaders.

For more information, visit iegives.org/cielofund