2 Funds Join in $16-Million Effort to Aid Poor Californians

The California Endowment and the Rockefeller Foundation plan to spend a total of $16-million on a new grant-making program to improve the health of impoverished Californians by increasing their access to local and regional job opportunities.

The program, California Works for Better Health, will award grants to non-profit organizations in as many as six regions of the state. Eligible groups include those that conduct job-training programs, help unemployed people find jobs, and help people advance in their careers.

“Lack of work, low wages, and lack of opportunity all affect people’s health directly, in terms of increased risk for illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and depression,” said Marion Standish, a senior program officer at the California Endowment who is one of two directors of California Works. “We believe that opportunities for better jobs and for job mobility will have some direct relationship to improved health in low-income communities.”

The partnership arose after the foundations’ trustees began meeting more than a year ago to discuss possible ways to help solve some of the underlying causes of poor health among low-income people in California.

Rockefeller has since opened an office within the California Endowment’s San Francisco offices, and the foundations have held joint board meetings.

For additional information, contact California Works for Better Health, 88 Kearny Street, Suite 1850, San Francisco 94108; (415) 343-0223.