IE Taco is funded by the CIELO Fund of the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF).
San Bernardino and Riverside counties, aka the Inland Empire, have their share of challenges. A percentage of the population across the region is particularly vulnerable for the usual reasons; job insecurity, food insecurity, housing insecurity, etc. Thankfully, the IE has a sizable share of nonprofits ready to assist vulnerable and diverse people in two counties to help them overcome any number of insecurities and help them succeed.
Here are 20 nonprofits in the region serving a combined population of nearly 5 million residents with a variety of services.
Many of the nonprofits in the region collaborate collectively and/or are funded through partner associations, such as the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) and its specific funding programs (note: as mentioned above, the IE Taco is funded by the CIELO Fund, a grants program of the IECF). Others work independently or are partners in other coalitions, such as the Inland Empire Community Collaborative.
ARTS CONNECTION
The arts are always in need of support. Artists and residents in San Bernardino can turn to Arts Connection – The Arts Council of San Bernardino for that assistance and support.
Founded in 2013 and located in the old Arts on 5th building, the nonprofit “provides financial support, services, and other programs to support over 200 arts and cultural organizations and agencies, individual artists, and the diverse communities of the county,” per their website.
This includes providing gallery space, known as Estudio Aire, at the nonprofit’s headquarters in downtown SB, curating and promoting the monthly DTSB Art Walk, distributing financial assistance via individual fellowships, and more.
BROTHERS OF THE DESERT
Founded in 2017, Brothers Of The Desert is a nonprofit that seeks to create and support community among Black gay men and allies in the Coachella Valley. The nonprofit’s purpose is to “change the dynamics that produce isolation, disconnection, and inequities among Black gay men” via “philanthropy, volunteerism, mentorship, education, advocacy, and social networking,” per their website.
BOTD hosts monthly membership meetings, a quarterly speaker series, the Brothers Got Talent bi-monthly social event, and the Drumbeat monthly newsletter.
BOTD has also provided more than $20,000 in scholarships to LGBTQ+ and Black students in the Coachella Valley, to date.
CANYON CHILDREN’S LEGAL SERVICES
Children in low-income families face unique challenges due to the precarious financial situation their families face. Nonprofits like Canyon Children’s Legal Services exist to ensure these families have a fair chance in the justice system.
The work at CCLS focuses on five priority areas: children’s rights law, educational rights, guardianship, parental responsibility, and emancipation.
“I’ve always felt that with children, if you catch them at the right time, you can address their particular needs and have an even greater impact,” said CCLS founder Jorge Alvarado, a retired court-appointed defense lawyer, in an interview with the Daily Bulletin.
CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ACTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
The rights of residents and community members are often overlooked or disregarded whenever urban sprawl occurs. Organizations such as the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) work to protect the rights of community members in a variety of ways.
The seed that led to the formation of CCAEJ was planted in 1978 when residents in Jurupa Valley worked together to shut down the Stringfellow Acid Pit toxic waste site. CCAEJ became an official nonprofit in 1993.
Currently, the CCAEJ is helping residents understand and respond to, the planned construction of a business park in the city of Bloomington, nestled near Fontana and Rialto. Over 100 homes have already been demolished to make way for 2.4 million square feet of warehouses through 2040.
CENTRO DEL INMIGRANTE
For 16 years, the Centro Del Inmigrante has assisted and supported immigrants in Riverside. The nonprofit regularly hosts workshops to inform and assist people with DACA renewals, on how to apply for citizenship, and other topics of concern for their community.
CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE OF INLAND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Headquartered in the heart of the city of Riverside, the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California officially opened its doors to the public in 2023, though its origins can be traced back 20 years. The IE is more diverse than most realize, and nonprofits such as the CRI maintain the region’s diverse history through their work.
Per their website, “Through exhibitions, educational programs, oral histories, our facilities, and community engagement, The Civil Rights Institute inspires civic participation while honoring the individuals and movements that have shaped the region’s pursuit of justice and equality.”
Current exhibits include Out In The I.E., Working Coachella: Images of the Farmworker Community of the Coachella Valley, and Building Our Region’s Korean Communities.
COACHELLA VALLEY HOUSING COALITION
Affordable housing remains a top issue in the region, as well as the state and country. One nonprofit working to assist low-income families with their housing needs is the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition.
The CVHC focuses on assisting families in the Coachella Valley region, as their name implies, and functions as a nonprofit community development corporation. To date, the organization has constructed more than 4,000 single and multi-family residences and has also constructed or acquired nearly 3,000 rental units. These units and homes are also provided to the farmworker communities in the Coachella Valley.
The CVHC also provides additional resources, such as credit counseling, homebuyer education, scholarship funds, and more, for the communities it serves in a dozen cities.
EL SOL NEIGHBORHOOD EDUCATIONAL CENTER
The motto emblazoned on El Sol’s website says that “healthier lives start with trusted voices.” That motto is at the heart of what the San Bernardino-based nonprofit does: provide community members with the education they need to promote healthy practices in their communities.
The organization’s Community Health Workers / Promotores program trains community members to become community leaders who empower their communities by providing essential healthcare information from a trusted source: themselves!
GARCIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
The Garcia Center for the Arts opened a little over a decade ago inside a still-in-renovation adobe building on 11th and E streets. The nonprofit, operated by the San Bernardino Valley Concert Association, has spent every year turning the building into a space for local artists and, more importantly, a hub for the community of San Bernardino.
The Garcia Center currently hosts numerous cultural events throughout the year, printmaking collective Gráfica Nocturna, The Dotti Gallery, and Kapoeira N'gola Preto Velho.
Part of the center’s renovations include the addition of an ADA-accessible vegetable garden, a computer lab, a recording studio for podcasting, and after-hours access to the building for members.
The Garcia Center also hosts the Mercado 536, a collaborative retail space where local artists can sell their art while learning additional entrepreneurial skills.
HERENCIA MARIACHI ACADEMY
For those who don’t habla español, herencia is the Spanish word for heritage. It was the perfect way for Maestro Rafael Palomar, a former member of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, to describe what makes mariachi special. Thus, HERENCIA Mariachi Academy was born in Corona 11 years ago to provide children with music education in mariachi.
IAMGIFTED FOUNDATION
As a native of San Bernardino, NFL running back Alexander Mattison founded the IAMGIFTED Foundation to give back to his community. And so he has!
Thus far, Mattison’s foundation has donated more than $60,000 in scholarship money to local youth, supports children’s education via back-to-school drives and other events, supports community mental health through the Carnival of Wellness initiatives, provides free football camps, hosts Youth Empowerment Saturdays (Y.E.S.), a five-week enrichment camp, and more.
INLAND COALITION FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE
The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, aka IC4IJ, is, as the name states, not one nonprofit, but a coalition of more than 35 organizations based in the Inland Empire that are dedicated to supporting immigrants in the region.
The coalition has many focus areas, including assisting immigrants who are in detention, as well as their families, supporting the rights of street vendors to work in public, providing legal resources to immigrants, and much more.
L.A. TACO has also sought the expertise of IC4IJ in the past for our coverage regarding ICE activity in the Inland Empire.
INLAND EMPIRE BLACK WORKER CENTER
A 2020 report published by The Center for Social Innovation at UC Riverside discovered that Black workers in the IE suffered higher unemployment rates, job insecurity, and limited access to high-wage industries compared to other groups. The Inland Empire Black Worker Center was founded the following year to address these disparities and support Black workers with a movement “that secures quality employment, fosters economic and social mobility, and achieves transformative policy change,” per their website.
MUSIC CHANGING LIVES
Similar to other arts organizations in the area, Music Changing Lives hopes to achieve exactly what their name suggests: to make a positive change and impact in people’s lives through music and the arts.
Josiah Bruny founded the organization in 1998 after building a recording studio in his Moreno Valley home. He invited young musicians in the area to use his studio, where he also taught them how to record and copyright their own music.
Today, the organization operates an after-school space at the Redlands Community Center, offering programs in art, vocal, and studio. It also operates the annual Changing Lives Showcase, where young performers get to showcase their talent after a 21-week program.
“I was born to create, to uplift, and to use music, art, and entrepreneurship as tools to transform lives, including my own,” said Bruny in an interview with Voyage LA. What I do today through Music Changing Lives isn’t just a career; it’s my calling.”
ONTARIO-MONTCLAIR PROMISE SCHOLARS
Achieving a four-year university education can be a daunting task for first-generation and low-income students. This is where the Ontario-Montclair Promise Scholars step in to help.
The OMPS began in 2011 as a partnership between the organization, the Ontario-Montclair School District, Chaffey Joint Union High School District, Chaffey College, and CSU San Bernardino. Today, the organization, staffed by a team of AmeriCorps members, works with 35 school sites, colleges, partner businesses and organizations, and volunteers to empower children in K-12 with “college knowledge.”
The purpose is to prepare students from an early age about building a future in mind with post-secondary education and workforce development goals.
PALM SPRINGS BLACK HISTORY COMMITTEE
Like much of the IE, Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley have a diverse history that too often goes unnoticed and misunderstood. The Palm Springs Black History Committee seeks to correct that oversight.
Since its founding in 1987 as an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, PSBHC seeks “to promote unity to diverse cultures of the Coachella Valley and build a spirit of cooperation between the diverse cultures and educate about contributions of local African-Americans in building the vibrant Coachella Valley.”
PROVIDERS NEED CARE
Who do providers turn to when they are the ones who need help? In the case of childcare providers, they can turn to Providers Need Care. PNC provides workshops, training, and events where childcare providers can learn strategies to help them unwind, to learn customer service strategies specifically about situations within the world of childcare, and more.
REACH OUT
Since 1969, Reach Out has worked with communities in the Inland Empire to educate and empower them through community health initiatives focused on community health, generational wellness, and the health workforce.
Safe Schools Desert Cities
Safe Schools Desert Cities seeks to empower youth who identify as LGTBQI+ through partnerships Gay Straight Alliance groups in more than 20 high schools and middle schools. The organization is run by an unpaid staff of volunteers.
SSDC hosts two events every year: the Pride Prom and Rainbow Youth Summit. The org also invites youth to attend other events such as the Palm Springs Pride Parade, the San Diego Pride Parade and Festival, the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast, leadership trainings, and more.
The organization also awards more than $20,000 in scholarships to area youth every year.
SAHABA INITIATIVE
In 2010, Malek Bendelhoum, Mohammed Kuko, and Arbazz Mohammed, used the prize money they won from their independent film to officially launch the Sahaba Initiative as a nonprofit. During this time, they were working with others to host and organize support groups for people who were formerly incarcerated.
Since then, the organization has distributed over 1 million pounds of free food, distributed over half a million dollars in financial assistance to people in need, and provided nearly 800 counseling sessions, free of charge.
The organization also opened a food pantry and wellness center in San Bernardino, which includes an educational space plus space for prayer and healing.
