The James Irvine Foundation HQ
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Leadership Awards
The James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards recognize leaders whose innovative solutions to critical state challenges improve people’s lives, create opportunity, and contribute to a better California.
The Foundation spotlights these leaders, helps share their approaches with policymakers and peers, and provides each of their organizations with a grant of $250,000 and additional resources.
Better Careers
Everyone should have the access and opportunity to earn a family-sustaining wage and advance in their career. Better Careers invests in innovative, high-impact organizations serving Californians seeking middle-skill jobs — positions that offer higher wages and career paths for high school graduates who have additional training.
Due in part to structural, racial, and systemic injustices and barriers, middle-skill jobs are inaccessible to millions, including Californians in low-wage jobs seeking more skills, talented youth who are not working or in school, formerly incarcerated individuals, and workers who lost their job due to the pandemic.
Fair Work
Workers across California who earn low incomes play a vital role in driving California’s economy. The essential work of those who grow our nation’s food, provide homecare, and pack or deliver goods, among other jobs, has been more evident since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet too few workers have a seat at the table on the economic decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods.
The Fair Work initiative seeks to ensure greater fairness and opportunity for workers earning low wages, by supporting leaders, partnerships, and innovations that connect workers to vital information and services, reduce wage theft, ensure access to rights and benefits afforded in current law, and promote civic engagement.
Priority Communities
This seven-year, $135 million initiative in Fresno, Salinas, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Stockton aims to create and protect more good jobs that offer family-sustaining wages, benefits, and advancement opportunities for workers in low-wage jobs — and support communities as they create economies that work for all residents.
The initiative builds on and replaces previous grantmaking we called Priority Regions — communities that represent the future of California but do not have the same access to public, private, and philanthropic resources as California’s coastal cities.
Just Prosperity
To ensure that our economy works for all Californians, we must strengthen the ability of low-income workers and the organizations representing their perspectives to influence the decisions and policies that impact their lives. This is especially true for workers of color, who represent more than three out of every four low-income workers in California — and who face distinct barriers to economic inclusion and advancement rooted in structural racism.
Just Prosperity supports statewide efforts to develop and implement policies that reflect the priorities of low-income Californians by investing in organizations, partnerships, and new ideas that amplify worker voices, advance racial equity, and spark dialogue and action across the state.
Housing Affordability
California’s high housing costs are a significant barrier to economic advancement for low-income workers and their families. Deeply rooted systemic discrimination and racially biased housing polices have led to the housing affordability crisis disproportionately impacting workers of color, who spend more of their paychecks on rent, have lower rates of homeownership, and are more likely to live in segregated neighborhoods with less economic opportunity and higher rates of poverty.
The Housing Affordability project seeks to address the housing challenges low-wage workers face by investing $40 million over four years to support statewide and community solutions to protect low-income renters, preserve existing affordable units, and produce new and permanently affordable homes.
Where we work
External reviews

Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our singular goal is a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically. We focus specifically on California.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The California Dream — doing better than your parents — is increasingly out of reach for millions of working people. As our state and nation rebuild our economy, we have a chance — and an imperative — to do so in ways that honor, protect, and advance all workers.
California’s future is tied to the success of the millions of workers who live on low incomes, often in poverty. We invest in leaders and organizations that can address the daunting situation our state faces (before the fallout of COVID-19 and as we work to rebuild after it).
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
The James Irvine Foundation
Board of directorsas of 05/24/2023
Tim Rios
Robert E. Denham
Tolles & Olson LLP
Tim Rios
Wells Fargo
Don Howard
The James Irvine Foundation
Maria Anguiano
Arizona State University
Kafi D. Blumenfield
Sara Recktenwald
Goodwin Liu
California Supreme Court
Paulette Brown-Hinds
Black Voice News
Eliseo Medina
Brenna Butler Garcia
AG Spanos Companies
Michael Chui
McKinsey & Company
John Frank
Oak Tree Capital Management
Teresa Matsui
Matsui Nursery, Inc.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as: