By Alex M. Johnson, Chief Strategy Officer
Two months into another difficult year, I find myself returning to this question: How do we respond to urgent needs while we build toward a more hopeful future?
Across California, millions of people are confronting unimaginable choices — get medical care or suffer and hide for fear of deportation. Pay for health insurance or pay for food and rent. Speak out against injustice or stay silent to avoid being targeted and attacked. We are one of the wealthiest, most diverse places in the world. This should not be happening to anyone, period, and certainly not in our state.
As a foundation committed to health and racial justice, we believe today’s realities require immediate action. They also require that we invest in the power of communities to shape a future where all people across California live well and thrive.
These two responsibilities are shaping our priorities and how we’ll direct grant funding in 2026.
First, we will be funding organizations working with communities being cut off from health care — including immigrants, low-income families, and people in under-resourced regions of California. We are supporting coalitions defending Medi-Cal and immigrant health policies, investing in community-based outreach and care, and strengthening partnerships that reduce fear and encourage enrollment in vital services.
Second, we are investing in our democracy. Wellness depends on whether people have a voice in the health policies and decisions that shape their lives. We will support efforts to encourage voting and community engagement, report truthful information, amplify community voices, and ensure that people whose rights and well-being are at risk are seen and heard.
We have identified partners who are doing work in these two areas and will be making these grants as quickly as possible.
This year also marks the conclusion of our Advancing Wellness grantmaking program, which has guided our funding for the past decade. While we focus our resources on urgent priorities and shaping the next chapter of our work, we are not accepting unsolicited requests for funding or Letters of Interest in 2026.
As we look to the future, we’re excited to be engaging partners and allies to develop strategies that will advance health and racial justice for the long term. In the coming weeks, we will introduce this new approach: Building the Power to Be Well, grounded in the belief that solidarity and collective action drive lasting change.
We’re supporting this vision with a deepening commitment of resources. From 2025 to 2027, Cal Wellness will invest $170 million in community organizations across California — an average annual payout rate of 8%, well above the 5% minimum required of foundations. We are also moving to multi-year budgeting so we can be more flexible and responsive, shifting resources as conditions change and communities’ needs evolve. And we are putting our $1 billion endowment to work as well, supporting racial and gender diversity among our money managers and working to ensure 100% of our investments align with our mission.
We know many organizations are doing vital work at this moment. Even when we cannot fund every effort, we remain deeply connected to the communities we serve. We look forward to seeing many of you at community events and conferences across California and to continuing the conversations and partnerships that move this work forward.
The future of health and democracy in California is being shaped right now — in the quiet courage of families, in the leadership of communities, and in the choices we make together. We stand with all those striving to build a California with wellness and dignity for all.
