Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation

The 2024 IVWF Mission Support Grant Committee selected 12 nonprofits providing service to those with the greatest social and health inequities in Imperial County through a focus in health and wellness, community engagement or nonprofit capacity building. The Mission Support fund this year was $80,000 and funding ranged from $5,000 to $10,000 per recipient. “We are deeply thankful to the incredible nonprofits that applied for mission support funding. Your unwavering dedication to serving the people of Imperial County shines through in every effort, stated Antonio Romayor, Jr., Chairman, Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation. “Together, we are building a healthier, more vibrant community, and your work is at the heart of this mission.” https://hubs.la/Q02Ztj_v0 #HealthEquity #Community #CapacityBuilding

The SCAN Foundation, with co-funding from the California Health Care Foundation and Metta Fund, have funded four California-based organizations to form “Equity Community Organizing Groups” (ECO Groups) after a thoughtful application process that attracted interest from more than 70 organizations statewide. From January 2024 through June 2025, Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation will leverage a community organizing approach to help address the health inequities older adults face in the Imperial Valley. Key aspects of their work will elevate and center the voices and lived experiences of older adults in an effort to shift power back to the community. This program is leading to greater connections and cooperation between the communities of Niland, Calipatria, Westmorland, and Bombay Beach. #healthequity #ecogroups Video link: https://lnkd.in/gddpw4iW

Thank you to Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties and all the sponsors for an inspiring conference last week. It was great to see some of our Imperial County organizations in the room, including Best STEP Forward and Pioneers Museum. Roque Barros, who serves as a board member of Catalyst, made some remarks at the end of the conference about grantor-grantee relationship and equitable partnerships.

Today is the last day to apply for an Imperial Valley Mission Support grant. Applications close at 6:00pm. https://lnkd.in/d7WxFAJP

Three (3) days left to apply for an Imperial Valley Mission Support core operating grant. Applications close August 15 at 5:00pm. #funding #MissionSupport #GrantFunding #HealthEquity https://lnkd.in/d7WxFAJP

Principle #2 from The Aspen Institute's Community Strategies Group: Align funding, planning, implementation, and evaluation systems across the rural health equity and rural development fields to advance common goals. https://lnkd.in/gMvf4r4p Beyond IVWF’s Learning Exchanges which aim to bridge gaps between sectors, IVWF works directly to encourage funding and proposal collaborations to avoid working in silos with parallel and/or conflicting processes. If done in collaboration, communities are better enabled to meet their goals. #CommunityBuilding #HealthEquity

How is your Imperial Valley Mission Support grant application coming along? Apply by Aug 15. #healthequity #funding https://lnkd.in/d7WxFAJP

Applications for annual core operating support for nonprofits in Imperial County are open. Apply before Aug 15. https://lnkd.in/d7WxFAJP #healthequity #funding #missionsupport

Aspen Institute's Community Strategies Group just released a report on "Collaborative Strategies for Rural Health and Economic Prosperity" that's worth sharing. Principle #1: Recognize the interconnected goals of rural health equity and rural development and work to align these fields through a common language and shared, overlapping measures of success. https://lnkd.in/gMvf4r4p One way IVWF addresses the lack of aligned understanding of rural work and concepts like “health equity,” is through our Learning Exchanges. We convene nonprofits, businesses, healthcare, government and education to learn together and find alignment and ways to work together. The Aspen Institute #HealthEquity

So much has happened in the last several months, including our selection as a Civic Hub by Trust for Civic Life, along with the Equity Community Organizing (ECO) group activities in Bombay Beach, Calipatria, Niland and Westmorland which hosted gatherings that brought together older adults for dancing, laughing, learning and great conversations. We were also a proud participant at the Imperial Valley Economic & Energy Summit which brought together experts and leaders to discuss geothermal, solar energy, Lithium Valley developments, transmission advancements, and clean transportation. For more details on these and other happenings, please see our current quarterly update. https://lnkd.in/g9dhUMdx The SCAN Foundation Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation #HealthEquity #ImperialValley #EconomicDevelopment