CIELO Fund Secures $1.5M in State Funding from Senators Eloise Gomez Reyes, Sabrina Cervantes
3 min read
The $1.5M fund was secured through a budget meeting, with the CIELO Fund being a candidate as a budget item at the California State Senate. Photo by Connor Hampton
Sen. Eloise Gomez Reyes and Sen. Sabrina Cervantes secured 1.5M in state funding for the CIELO Fund at the CIELO Fund 2026 Grants & Scholarships Brunch Oct. 3.
“It’s more than just a one time funding,” Cervantes said. “It’s about investing in the people that need the most support, oftentimes that are left in the shadows.”
The CIELO Fund was launched to invest in Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations and strengthen Latino nonprofit infrastructure in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Without the CIELO Fund, visibility, voice and resources would be difficult to attain for Latino organizations, according to IECF Vice Chair Joseph Williams. Organizations part of the fund are able to increase perception of issues they are affected by.
The committee of the fund will get perspectives from the community to ensure the allocation of the money will be a collaborative process.
“You are the ones that make a difference in the lives of people every single day,” Reyes said to the crowd of nonprofit organizations. “For us to be able to provide this funding to CIELO Fund, lets us take a little bit of credit for the great work you are already doing for our community.”
Cervantes said this money would not just be important for civic infrastructure in the Inland Empire, but making sure to use their power as senators to elevate the next generation of youth.
Aunaleyah Magaña-Garza received a $1,500 scholarship from the CIELO Fund and said without the money, it would be difficult to pay off tuition as a first-generation college student. She said the fund is important for students who come from low-income communities to still chase their dreams.
(Cielo Fund Scholars photo): Aunaleyah Magaña-Garza, a kinesiology student at Cal State San Marcos lines up with fellow $1,000 to $2,000 scholarship recipients from across Southern California. 
The James Irving Foundation, an organization founded to provide funding for low-income workers, was presented its award by Associate Vice President for Government, Tribal and Community Relations at California State University, San Bernardino Marisa V. Yeager.
“I feel it’ll give a lot more people of different backgrounds to say, I was able to do this on my own without the help of my parents.” Magaña said. “Despite all odds, I was able to go to school.”
For grantee organizations, the problem with funding can be that non-profits aren’t inherently connected, so they don’t always know what issues the other is facing, according to Williams. CIELO covers the basic needs and affordability concerns to get at the root of these issues, he said. He mentioned Providers Need Care, one of the grantee non-profits, will use it to help ensure safe childcare training for immigrant communities fearing immigration enforcement crackdowns.
In total, CIELO has raised $5.5M for the fund since 2022, and will set aside $1M for its endowed fund to keep the organization running long-term, according to founder and chair of CIELO Jesse Melgar. Over the last year, the funds have been used to set up IE Taco and to introduce a new civic policy fellowship through the UC Riverside School of Public Policy named the Cervantes-Gomez Reyes Civic Policy Fellowship.
“We are living through difficult times,” Melgar said. “Families are feeling it, our organizations are feeling it. There is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety in the Latino community right now. But our community, our families and our region has always been about both, about building, about standing tall in the face of diversity.”
The Cardenas family and the James Irvine Foundation were honored with an award titled in the late Ofelia Valdez-Yeager’s honor.
The logo of the event was commissioned and done by Man One, who said the committee asked him to create his own interpretation of the logo. He created the backdrop of the event using a digital program, and a physical art piece of the logo for the speaker’s podium.
Cesar Garcia, a Oaxacan printmaker, was stationed at a pop-up handing out free linocut prints to attendees, letting them ink and roll their stamps onto paper.
The 2026 grantee organizations include nonprofits such as Ives Torres Foundation, Centro Del Immigrante Inc., Huerta Del Valle, IAMGIFTED Foundation and The Microenterprise Collaborative of Inland Southern California. For the full list of awardees, click here.
