IEHP Foundation Graduates 25 Inland Empire Nonprofits with $5,000 Capacity-Building Grants
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IEHP Foundation President Greg Bradbard speaking to non-profit leaders from across the Inland Empire.
The IEHP Foundation celebrated 25 non-profits from the Inland Empire during their Small Nonprofit Capacity Building Grant Graduation held on June 23 at their offices in Rancho Cucamonga. The graduates each received a $5,000 grant after successfully completing the 10-week training program intended to strengthen their business operations and non-profit management skills.
Led by the Caravanserai Project, an organization dedicated to providing entrepreneurs in underserved communities with the resources necessary to thrive, participants gained knowledge in areas including financial management and board development. Program leaders cited the hands-on, ears-to-the ground approach with partners as key elements of the program’s success. In the words of Linzey Ledesma, CBO Representative for IEHP, initiatives such as the Small Nonprofit Capacity Building Grant program strengthen IEHP’s efforts to “bridge the gaps between the community and service providers.”
The 3rd cohort to complete this program, the selected non-profits encompass a variety of service providers from Diaper Bank of the Inland Empire to Feed My Flock Ministries to Highlanders Boxing Club, each aimed at addressing a specific need within the community. Designed to assist smaller non-profits operating with an annual budget of $500,000 or less, participants have access to both one-on-one consulting and group workshops.
By providing programs and training that may be otherwise inaccessible, the Capacity Building Grant provides the necessary resources and tools for graduating participants to expand their reach and services in the Inland Empire. As IEHP Foundation CEO Greg Bradbard said, “Most (participants) didn’t start with a Bachelor’s degree in non-profit management, but with a big heart and caring about our community.”
Ultimately, the IEHP Foundation and Caravanserai aim to improve the overall health and well-being of families in the Inland Empire by empowering graduates of the program through these endeavors. In addition to general business education, graduates acknowledged their appreciation for the unique guidance specific to non-profits, along with the personal connection. Graduate Mike Story, Executive Director of Sunrise Life Development shared that was treated like family, not just like a student in a business program.
This sentiment was echoed throughout the graduation ceremony as past Graduate Amber Royer, President & CEO of Out of the Ashes Organization, shared her inspiring story of perseverance and strength. Royer founded the non-profit Out of Ashes to increase Fentanyl awareness and prevention after losing her son, Richard, to a counterfeit pill laced with Fentanyl. Royer thanked the program for allowing her to continue her mission and grow with empathy and strategy to help others as she reminded new graduates, “You are not just building an organization, you are building a movement.”
For more information, visit iehpfoundation.org.
