Blue Shield of California Foundation

One of Blue Shield of California Foundation’s major grantmaking areas is domestic violence and the Foundation has made core support grants to every one of the nearly 200 domestic violence shelters in California. Blue Shield has offered an added benefit to all grantees through a partnership with Alliance for Justice to make their Bolder Advocacy webinars and training materials available for free. The trainings cover topics that include advocacy and voter engagement and allow grantees to access resources that help deepen the impact of their work. Blue Shield of California works with Alliance for Justice to develop the training schedule and sends a quarterly email to all grantees with the dates and reminders about this free resource. 

California Community Foundation 

In 2022, the California Community Foundation (CCF) hosted four trainings leading up to the June primary and another four training sessions leading up to the November General Election on topics including script writing for voter contact, how to conduct volunteer recruitment, how to navigate voter data and software tools, and a session about the rights of voters in partnership with the Los Angeles County Registrar. CCF partnered with other local grantmakers, including the Weingart Foundation, Liberty Hill Foundation, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, and California Wellness Foundation, to invite their grantee partners and extend the reach of the training. The training sessions were successful and CCF relaunched them in 2023. 

To deepen the impact of the trainings and inform their grantmaking strategy, CCF sent a survey to attendees asking them about their electoral plans. The majority of organizations responded that they needed $10,000 to 20,000 for their voter engagement programs. CCF collaborated with training session partners Weingart Foundation and Liberty Hill Foundation to provide $5,000 to $25,000 grants to 15 organizations to fill budget gaps.

Episcopal Health Foundation 

In collaboration with representatives from the Episcopal Church, Texas League of Women Voters, and Texas Impact, Episcopal Health Foundation, EHF hosted a training that provided information to congregations about ways to educate and engage community members to vote in the upcoming election. The session covered resources available through the Episcopal “Voting Faithfully” campaign, ways to engage vulnerable populations to vote, and recruiting election workers. In addition to the training, a workshop at their sixth annual In Common event shared ways for attendees to educate themselves and others about current elections and nonpartisan ways to encourage voting in the community.

Fairfield County’s Community Foundation

Fairfield County’s Community Foundation’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence provides education and tools to help nonprofits grow and thrive. The center provides training to more than 600 organizations on topics ranging from grant writing, data storytelling, board effectiveness, integrating an equity mindset, and nonprofit management, among other topics. The Center serves as a space to support nonprofits with ways to deepen and expand their efficacy.