CIELO Fund Raises $3 Million, Launches $500K Endowment to Strengthen Latino Communities via Education and Opportunity

In recognition of Latino Heritage Month, the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) announced that the CIELO Fund has raised more than $3 million since launching in 2022, empowering Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations and students across the Inland Empire.

To date, the CIELO Fund has invested nearly $1.5 million into the region’s Latino community through grantmaking, scholarships, narrative change initiatives, and original research — including $1.2 million in grant awards to over 100 grassroots organizations and more than $300,000 in scholarships to students.

To ensure long-term impact, the CIELO Leadership and Grant Committee announced the creation of the CIELO Endowed Fund in 2025, seeded with an initial $500,000 investment made possible through generous donors and the visionary support of the James Irvine Foundation.

“At a time when many Inland residents are facing fear and uncertainty, the CIELO Fund is stepping in by providing support to local organizations and students,” said Jesse Melgar, IECF Board Chair and founding chair of the CIELO Fund. “We’ve raised $3 million to-date and we’re planning for long-term, sustained impact by launching a $500k endowed fund that will keep this work going for years to come.”

Melgar emphasized that the fund’s mission is to uplift the organizations at the heart of community change. “We are a grant maker — we find organizations who are already doing the work in our communities, and we always want to center them,” he said. “It’s important that no matter what happens politically or what changes are happening on the ground, we don’t lose sight of our purpose. When you stick to your values and stay the course, even during turbulent times, you keep hope and optimism alive.”

Angel Rodriguez, co-founder of the CIELO Fund and Associate Vice Chancellor of Government Relations, Strategic Communications & Grants for the San Bernardino Community College District, highlighted how the fund’s local-first model has reshaped regional philanthropy. “Since we began, thanks to our partners, donors, elected officials, and so many community members who have donated, we have raised about $3 million in the past couple of years,” Rodriguez said. “That money goes back to the community — to nonprofits and to scholarships. We’re not waiting for others to come and solve the Inland Empire’s problems. We’re investing here locally so that our people can live better.”

Rodriguez added that scholarships are key to sustaining that progress. “We believe that if we invest with our youth, they’re gonna come back to our region,” he said. “Whether they go to UCLA, Stanford, Valley College, or Crafton Hills, we want them to return as doctors, teachers, and firefighters. That’s how we lift the Latino community in the Inland Empire.”

The CIELO Fund has also expanded its reach through partnerships that amplify regional storytelling and research. It recently released a new report with the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute, Key Facts and Worker Voices: The Latino Workforce in California’s Inland Empire, and continues media collaborations with KVCR/NPR’s “IE Latino Voices,” The Desert Sun, CalMatters, and the Los Angeles Times’ Latino vertical De Los.

“The early support we’ve received has truly laid the foundation for the CIELO Fund’s success,” said Brie Griset Smith, CSPG, IECF Chief Development Officer. “Now we’re harnessing that momentum to bring in more donors to uplift Latino communities and spotlight the opportunities ahead in the Inland Empire.”

Elizabeth Romero, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Governmental and Community Relations at UC Riverside, reflected on the fund’s impact amid growing social tensions. “Inland Latino residents are experiencing fear like we haven’t seen in decades based on recent federal actions,” Romero said. “Yet, even in this moment of uncertainty, we are also seeing something powerful — a renewed sense of unity, purpose, and resilience across our community.”

She added, “The energy, passion, and support we have received remind us that we are not alone, and that when we stand together, we can turn fear into action and isolation into hope.”

For IECF Director of Marketing and Communications Charee Gillins, the fund’s success reflects the power of collaboration. “It’s amazing to see our local community foundation show up for the residents of the Inland Empire,” Gillins said. “The nonprofits feel seen, they feel heard, and our job is to help scale their work and do more, especially in the times that we’re in now.”

The CIELO Fund’s $3 million milestone was made possible through contributions from foundations including the California Endowment, Weingart Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, California Healthcare Foundation, Chavez Family Foundation, and S.L. Gimbel Foundation Fund, along with more than 100 individual donors.

Rodriguez said the fund’s creation was born from recognizing a need and taking action. “The CIELO Fund exists because a group of regional leaders saw a gap in investment in our diverse communities and decided to step up,” he said. “We didn’t wait for permission. We knew someone had to take the first step.”For more information, visit iegives.org/cielofund.