The IECF will provide NORA (Nurture, Outreach, Resiliency, and Advocacy) with the needed financial leverage to strengthen one of its key programs.

“We are so incredibly grateful to be receiving this grant, which will be used for our T.E.A.L Healing Program,” said Adriane Lamar Snider, CEO of NORA. “We know that these are extremely difficult times for families experiencing the stressors of life and just trying to navigate some of the issues that are going on, specifically when there’s an issue of domestic violence, sexual assault or child abuse.”

The T.E.A.L Healing Program provides psychoeducation, trauma processing, and encourages self-sufficiency for women and children survivors of domestic violence through their journey of healing. The hybrid program consists of a variety of virtual sessions and in-person group sessions.

“Each letter represents a part of the program,” Lamar Snider added, noting that the T represents transformation, E empowerment, A autonomy, and L for learning.

“The grant allows us to specifically focus on assisting families in building their empowerment as a family unit,” she added. “When there are issues of domestic violence and sexual assault, we can provide the support services families need to just understand these issues and also that what happened is not their fault. Mental health services help healthy families regain their voice, focus on one another, and help strengthen one another.”

The program does that through support group activities, which cover a broad range of actions, but can include everything from creating vision boards to planning meals together.

“In that way, families and individuals are able to talk about the healing and the support they need,” Lamar Snider said. “They have a space to do that within the family unit and that is so critical.”

NORA’s philosophy centers on the belief that every individual has the right to control their own body and life, and, most importantly, to live free from violence and fear.

Crisis Intervention programs also filter into the mix of the nonprofit’s services. Associates are available 24/7 on a crisis hotline to provide survivors immediate and “culturally responsive” emotional support and access to resources. Law enforcement advocacy and court accompaniment is also offered.

That latter is of great assistance for those needing support during court proceedings related to their assault cases, such as obtaining a restraining order or prosecuting the assailant. In that way, the survivor is able to choose to have a NORA advocate at their side.

Yet another NORA standout is the Prevention Portal on its website. Noting that prevention education was often offered in just schools, NORA tweaked its model to accommodate youths and parent schedules, mainly through a virtual platform designed to empower families to explore difficult topics in a safe setting.

The portal offers a broad mix education and supporting materials, many of which are designed to provided accessible education to the whole family unit.

Lamar Snider has been with the organization for eight years.

“We’ve expanded our mission since I came on board,” she said. “We were only able to sustain those individuals who were victims and survivors of sexual assault. I knew that we had to meet the need because there was so much overlap with domestic violence and sexual assault and child abuse. We were able to get all of our team members trained in responding to domestic violence and child abuse.” The nonprofit was also able to expand its mission through strategic planning.

“When I came on board the organization had not had a strategic plan in more than 15 years,” Lamar Snider said. “I knew we had to come up with a plan on how we would be able to sustain ourselves as an organization and raise awareness about what was happening in our own communities.”

One of the things the organization started doing was collect data.

“Data is so important,” Lamar Snider added. “We wanted to know where the calls coming from? What cities were trending up in in issues of domestic violence and sexual assault? And where could we apply more resources to address those issues of child abuse and sexual assault and domestic violence? This helped us in terms of how effective we could be.”

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, April, 2026.

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A recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation helped on that front, allowing Brothers of the Desert to better facilitate a recent wellness summit.

“We put huge amounts of effort into our annual wellness summit where we invite community members and allies to discuss everything from education and financial literacy to health, wellbeing, and spirituality,” said Tony Lanier, a board member at Brothers of the Desert.

“The grant helped us build out that annual wellness summit,” he added. “Specifically with an educational piece of the work we do, like funding several organizations within the desert with scholarships.”

Brothers of the Desert has several key scholarships, in fact. Lanier says the nonprofit offers $2,000 grants, for instance, for individuals pursuing a four-year or Master’s program.

“These are for individuals from the Inland Empire, but we also provide funds to the organizations like the Negro Academic Scholarship Fund and Palm Springs Unified School District,” Lanier added. “Each year, students are chosen throughout Palm Springs to visit historic Black colleges and universities. We help fund those trips because many of them accepted otherwise wouldn’t really be able to go.”

The organization, which sprouted in 2017 as a response to Black gay men in the Coachella Valley feeling isolated and disconnected, attracted newcomers and change agents in the region. Founding members began assessing the needs and dreams of many Black gay residents and in 2019, a partnership was formed with the LGBTQ nonprofit, Better Brothers of L.A. Collectively, the groups raised money for local scholarships.

Brothers of the Desert became a nonprofit in 2020 and has since generated more than $20,000 in scholarships to LGBTQ+ and Black students in the Coachella Valley.

The nonprofit’s supportive arms stretch deep into other arenas, too, such as faith schools, the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast 2026, which it attends yearly, and OneFuture Coachella, which strives to ensure students succeed in college and career, thereby enhancing the local workforce.

“We’re big into that because one of the issues we have in our community in terms of building wealth and education is that oftentimes young people don’t know what’s available to them in terms of professions,” Lanier said. “When we think of the medical profession, two things come to mind: doctor and nurse. But there’s so many other things within the medical profession, especially research. We don’t have the right number of people of color within health research.”

That means when new research is done, it oftentimes excludes communities of color.

“We certainly need more people to be involved in health research,” Lanier added. “Our program helps connect these individuals with information while they’re still in secondary schools, because after that, sometimes it’s just more challenging.”

Introducing students to as many options as possible is vital, which is why Lanier is quick to circle back to the nonprofit’s scholarship programs.

“We’ve been using the funds in a big way to make systemic change in terms of building wealth, because of the wealth disparities here,” he said. “Many younger adults haven’t had a leg up, or the advocacy to really help them through attending a university.

“So, we like to be in touch with our grantees to let them know there are other options for them, as opposed to taking a break or pausing their schooling. It helps with making better judgment calls,” he added.

Moving forward, Lanier would like locals to learn even more about the nonprofit.

“There was a void in the Coachella Valley for Black gay men,” he said. “And we like to fill that void. Isolation is the No. 1 issue. I joined the organization during the pandemic, which was another period of isolation, and it was isolation that started the organization, and it’s the reason why it’s important going forward in 2026, because right now, things are very tough for everyone.”

One thing he wants to steer locals toward are the nonprofit’s sponsored monthly sessions with Black men called The Barbershop, a discussion group where men can bring up and discuss various topics.

“Sometimes, we don’t talk about the important things enough,” Lanier said. “We don’t express feelings and we don’t feel that there is a venue where we can do that safely. We’ve created one and it really does help people make better decisions, whether it’s health-related or about wealth or retirement. It’s important to feel empowered.”

This story originally appeared in the Desert Sun, May, 2026.

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Today, the Ives Torres Foundation, launched by Isabel and Javier Torres, has become a valuable nonprofit and reliable change agent.

A recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation through the Community Impact Fund offers the couple yet another opportunity to broaden their reach.

“The grant helps us provide technology training for Latino families and parents of people with disabilities,” said Javier Torres, Chief Operating Officer of the organization. “It’s given us the opportunity to extend beyond what was initially planned.”

One of the more helpful outcomes of the grant, Torres adds, is that it allowed the nonprofit to assist primarily Spanish-speaking families in better understanding various forms of modern technology—from phone apps to navigating through online meeting spaces.

“Sometimes in the community there is a fear of apps and such, so we help with that so they can use that benefit,” he said. “For example, these programs help students so they can attend education plans at school, especially participation in something like Zoom meetings.”

“Oftentimes, people are afraid to move from one ‘place’ to another for fear of being targeted as undocumented, even though many of them are documented,” he added. “They may not want to participate in other activities at the school or the educational plans. So, something like Zoom gives them the ability to join those important meetings.”

The duo originally launched the nonprofit under a different name, Padre con Poder, which operated as a support group. Years later, after some pandemic hurdles, the organization became a nonprofit named after their son, Ives, who has Down Syndrome.

Helping other parents and families connect with services and support has always been in the forefront.

“When we started this journey, it was very complicated,” Javier Torres said. “There was not a lot of information in Spanish. We started working on understanding about disabilities and the system. And in the system, we found a lot of gaps, especially for Spanish-speaking families. Even though there are a lot of Spanish-speaking families in California, there are not a lot of services that operate in the Spanish.”

The couple wanted to bridge that gap.

“We wanted to bring more information to the community,” Torres said. “So, they don’t suffer the same thing we were suffering because of lack of information.”

The organization now reaches about 5,000 families in the area.

“One of the unique things that we do is workshops on different topics for parents,” said Isabel Torres. “Some of these are about disabilities. We also have support groups for families because they need that, too. We also have gatherings to promote the inclusion and the awareness of the disability.”

Another standout here is how the nonprofit equips parents and their loved ones with disabilities with skills and information that stretch beyond tech and education—from health, sports, society acceptance to being an advocate for services and a kind of integration between family, communities, and the workforce.

Community events filter into the mix, too, and the couple encourages locals to stay abreast via the nonprofit’s website.

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, April, 2026.

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Pedro Rodriguez, Executive Director and CEO of the

For Rodriguez, helping serve low-income individuals and families through the nonprofit’s various housing programs has been life-altering.

“I ascribe to Mark Twain’s philosophy: find something you love to do, and you never have to work a day in your life,” he said. “That’s very true for me. I love that I can use my skills to develop affordable housing to help low-income families.”

There have been challenges doing that throughout the years, of course, and Rodriguez sees more of them to overcome in the months ahead.

“Given the current situation with immigration issues, we’re noticing a lot of uncertainty among our residents, especially the farmworker community,” Rodriguez said. “Some of them, even though they’re legal, are still afraid. They’re concerned about going to work.”

He sees a potential need for rental assistance in the months ahead, adding that residents living in fear—those who can’t ‘go to work” or have limited work—may not be able to afford rent or food. 

Recent grants from Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) through the Polly R. Reynolds Fund and the Riverside County ARPA Fund may temper those needs; however, Rodriguez is quick to praise the recent funding for helping buoy some of CVHC’s other programs.

“Grants are very critical,” he said, “The development money we receive doesn’t go directly to programs. We have to generate that funding. The IECF grants help us pay for the programs we have.”

There are many of those, in fact.

CVHC’s Community programs immediately stand out. The offerings include everything from community gardens and connections to child development and computer technology centers, to after-school centers and music and dancing classes.

Credit counseling, homebuying education, and contractor applications are also part of the mix.

“Two years ago, I started an annual giving fund,” Rodriguez said. “The idea is to promote our services to the people we do business with. We wanted to let them know that we don’t just build; that we’re not just developers. We also provide services, and we need funding for those programs. 

“The IECF grant will help a lot of people,” he added, “especially our after-school programs, because we have to finance them.”

The nonprofit’s signature mission, however, is to serve families who have a strong motivation to become homeowners yet are unable to purchase housing on the open market. To that end, CVHC’s rental housing is a valuable stepping stone to homeownership, helping individuals and families, and others with special needs who are not accommodated by the private market. 

One way families can achieve home ownership is through the nonprofit’s self-help housing component. In this way, families can form an informal association, thereby agreeing to help each other build their homes. Technical assistance would be provided by a seasoned construction supervisor.

CVHC is currently building in Brawley, Salton City, and Imperial. Rodriguez encourages individuals to visit the nonprofit’s website for detailed information. 

Meanwhile, Rodriguez remains watchful as the current political climate heats up.

“We partnered with FIND Food Bank because they have a program to provide free food to agencies,” he said. “So, we started with free food, and then the need was so great that we started paying for it. We couldn’t drop the program. Now, there’s going to be a great need for us for food distribution in our sites.”

“It’s a sad situation, to be honest,” he added. “A lot of hardworking people are being affected by these immigration issues, and it’s unfair to them because they’re here to work, and they do work that nobody wants to do. Who wants to be out there in the fields working in 100-degree temperatures?”

He also points out the substandard housing in the area.

“Overall, there is a huge need for housing in the eastern part of the Valley,” he said. “And we want to help.”

Learn more at cvhc.org.

This story originally appeared in the Desert Sun, June 2025.

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A three-year transitional housing program for former foster youth received a positive boost thanks to a recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) through the Riverside County ARPA Fund. 

The program, just one of many within Kamali’i Foster Family Agency (KFFA), revolves around a graduated share of costs for its participants. For instance, after three months of being in the program, individuals begin paying $70, which filters into a savings account. After another three months, the figure increases to $120.

“It builds to a point where they’re paying about $600 a month into that savings account,” said J. Eric Mortensen, CEO and Program Director of KFFA. 

The program was running strong. Then the pandemic hit.

“It really slowed down during the pandemic just because of the loss of jobs, and a need for money in hand versus participating in the program,” Mortensen added. “The IECF grant really helped us with our efforts there.”

Creating a savings account that grows over time became a valuable resource. Setting aside money allowed participants who graduate the program to have resources for such things as a down payment for housing, whether it’s an apartment or Section 8 housing.

“Here in Riverside County, to get an apartment, they want like three months of rent in a savings account,” Mortensen said. “That was a real problem we faced, so we asked for grant funds, which would allow a share of costs or matching. It was a way to incentivize participants to put money aside.” 

“Now, we’ve actually seen a 50 percent increase in participation, and we were able to match those funds,” he added. 

Some participants went from having nearly zero savings to graduating with enough money to secure housing or catch up unpaid bills.

The program is yet another example of KFFA’s reach. 

The nonprofit’s significant history of supporting children and empowering youth for future success stems back to 1996, when Mortensen and Lee Burton founded it. Kamali’i, the Hawaiian word for “children,” was the name given to the agency by one of its first financial backers, Moses Moke Manewa, who had been retired as a Honolulu Police Officer at the time.

From its early days, KFFA was vigilant in making a strong impact on foster families, children, and staff, oftentimes displaying “aloha”—a concept of love, compassion, peace, and mutual respect.

“We’ve grown; the transitional housing program is just one program we have,” Mortensen said. “We have a foster care and transitional housing program. There’s our transitional housing-plus program, which is for kids who are no longer in the system but need that additional assistance.”

A more recent program revolves around behavioral mental health. 

Kamali’i Haven is also noteworthy. The resource parent support group is made up of approved “Resource Parents” who can support each other, which, in turn, benefits the lives of foster youth.

This healthy mix of services enhances the nonprofit’s overall impact in the region.

“It’s something we wanted to do from the start,” Mortensen said. “It’s just taken a number of years to build, but we’re now able to provide full services—from infant all the way to the up to age of 25. 

“We’re proud that we can be so well-rounded,” he added.

Learn more at kamalii.org.

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, June 2025.

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In August 2023, Tropical Storm Hilary ripped through Coachella Valley, causing widespread flooding and damage, with the City of Palm Springs recording historic rainfall. In the aftermath, assistance came on many fronts and for many months.

To that end, a Build Coachella Fund grant via Inland Empire Community Foundation became a valuable resource for the nonprofit TODEC. Established in the early 1980s, the organization provides a lifeline for immigrants and their families in the region by offering advocacy, legal services, community organizing, civic engagement, and much more.

“With the grant, we concentrated our efforts in deploying assistance to farm workers that were impacted economically,” said Luz Gallegos, Executive Director of the organization. “During that time, there was a backlash from COVID and then Tropical Storm Hillary washed away our fields in the region. The only safety net that our farm workers have is their jobs. So, when that gets impacted, so do their families, and the economy.”

Gallegos said that the grant allowed TODEC to provide one-time financial assistance for workers who were impacted so they could purchase groceries and the like. 

“This is where the greatest impact was,” she added. “We paid it forward.”

TODEC has been doing that ever since its humble beginnings.

More than 40 years ago, Luz Maria and Antonio Ayala were new Americans hoping to build their lives in Perris, Calif. They had worked diligently to organize with the community in Michoacan, Mexico, and eventually with the United Farmworkers and Civil Rights Movement in Los Angeles before moving to the rural Inland Empire to grow their family.

It was at this time that they began seeing a wide range of injustices impacting their neighbors in the Inland Empire—from how they were improperly treated by employers and profiled by police to being ignored by politicians and watched by immigration. The duo founded TODEC to assist fellow recent immigrants with various aspects of American life, including learning English, establishing citizenship, and creating new connections in their new communities.

“We didn’t have so many protections back in the 1980 as we do now as in the state and in the country,” Gallegos said. “Some of the farmers didn’t want to pay their workers so they would just call Border Patrol and they would deport them. My parents founded the organization because they were living those realities along with our community, and it was important to organize and advocate for this farm worker community.”

Elevating their stories and voices became key when sharing information with elected officials.

“Out of that struggle, TODEC was founded,” she said. “Since then, the organization has grown to be a regional hub for immigrants in the Inland Empire, from Blythe and Eastern Riverside County, all the way to the High Desert and San Bernardino County.”

Today, TODEC’s reach is considerable. Civic engagement and voting remain significant initiatives. To that end, TODEC mobilizes locals to vote and be heard at the polls. 

Other programs and events stand out, too. TODEC’s Annual Festival Monarca y Feria Educativa, for instance, celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, empowering thousands of community members throughout the event, which featured entertainment, advocacy, and valuable connection with community members.

As the group moves deeper into 2025, Gallegos and the team are keeping their eye on shifts occurring in today’s political climate.

“Right now, more than ever, because of the political climate, fear of immigration amongst our farm workers, especially those that are undocumented, has risen,” she said. “We’ve had families report that they have not left their house since election day.”

She noted that some of those apprehensions include fears of raids and immigration patrols.

“That’s why we provide free community education, immigration legal resources, and legal support so that the community members know their constitutional rights,” Gallegos said. “With the constant changes in policies coming from the federal level, we want to make sure that our community is well-equipped and well-informed.”

Learn more at todec.org.

This article originally appeared in the Desert Sun, April 2025.

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As generous donors consider organizations they’d like to support, IECF is privileged to have gained the confidence of an esteemed group of experts, including estate planning attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, bank and trust officers, wealth managers and professional fiduciaries. These Professional Advisors play a critical role in the Foundation’s success as they counsel their clients on financial, legal, and tax considerations, including charitable giving.

A Professional Advisor Champion has either established a fund in their own name or in their family’s name or referred a client who then establishes a fund at IECF. Teresa has referred many clients to IECF over the years, and she’s served as a board member, too.

“I first became acquainted with IECF when I was a partner in a local law firm. We handled legal matters for the Foundation, so I learned a lot about their role in the community,” Teresa says.

At the 2025 IEEPS meeting, Brie Griset Smith, CSPG, (L) presented Teresa (R) a framed collage of her story in our annual report.

“Now, as an estate planning attorney, I talk to most of my clients about charitable giving because I think it’s an important part of the overall picture.”

During these conversations, Teresa’s clients often want to know how they can trust a nonprofit to remain focused on its mission over time. “I tell them, ‘You can’t know that after you’re gone, but there is an organization that can,’” Rhyne says, referring to IECF.  “If a client is interested in a cause, rather than picking one nonprofit that may not be the same organization 20 years from now, they can set up a fund through the Foundation,” Rhyne says. “The Foundation can manage the fund and work with the donor and family members if they wish to be involved.”

One of Teresa’s clients created a trust for a Donor Advised Fund, which his five children now oversee. “His interests were animals and a particular disease that affected one of his family members, so every year the children get together to select organizations that support those causes,” she recalls. “I think they’ll be inclined toward charitable giving themselves, having participated in honoring their dad’s memory this way.”

Teresa feels confident when she refers a client to IECF. “What stands out about IECF is that it’s very professionally run and has a stellar board, staff and volunteers. As a former IECF board member, I know the level of commitment and the impressive amount of detail and work that goes on behind the scenes. The Foundation has been around for 80 years, so that says a lot.”

We congratulate Teresa on being named our 2021/2022 Professional Advisors Champion, with many thanks for helping us create a more equitable, just and vibrant region for everyone we serve!

Teresa is featured in our annual report. Read more here.

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Joesanna Osbourne, BRC Community Preparedness Specialist – Sharing information on ways to be more energy efficient to combat the impacts of climate change at the Winter Wonderland Health and Safety Fair – City of Banning (12/16/23)

The late great Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Debra Williams may have taken that to heart. Today, the founding CEO of Building Resilient Communities has, along with a dynamic team, helped local communities rise in the face of extreme challenges.

Back in 2012, Williams was inspired to make a difference after listening to a pastor speak about emergency preparedness. She began speaking in churches throughout the Inland Empire about disaster preparedness only to discover there was a need to fill in some gaps in funding and outreach. Soon enough, she launched Building Resilient Communities, which has become a leading resource for faith-based organizations aptly equipped to prepare for natural and human-made disasters. 

“When we first started, we focused on providing resources, tools, and education related to disaster preparedness, response and recovery, with an emphasis on the African American community,” Williams says. “We are Black-led. We work with everybody, but we do focus on the African American community. Most communities are not really prepared for disasters—fire, flood, earthquake, a pandemic. We started working with the faith community, all faiths, to help because we knew when a disaster strikes, people are going to go to the faith community, even if they’re not people of faith.

“The fire department is going to go away, the police department’s going to go away,” she adds. “It’s going to be the trusted messengers in the community that are left to pick up the pieces. If they’re not prepared, then they become part of the problem.”

After more than a decade in operation, the organization now provides training and resources for more than 600 faith-based organizations. It also offers support during times of disaster. One of its main goals is to remove barriers that may unfairly affect people during a disaster and to recover from any disruptive experiences.

“We are the ones who have picked up that mantle since 2012,” Williams says. “When you see the disasters that have happened, it’s the same populations—the BIPOC community is hardest hit. So that’s why we’re important.”

She went on to say that the organization works with all levels of government from local to federal. As such, it can serve as a liaison to help government agencies understand how to reach previously unreachable populations.

“People may have trust issues around past experiences with groups like Public Health, for instance,” Williams points out. “We want to be an important asset in the Inland Empire.

Recently, Building Resilient Communities received a Black Equity Fund grant through the Inland Empire Community Foundation. These resources are vital, Williams assures, as they will fill in the gaps of other funding, which can be restricted in terms of its full reach and impact.

“We are working with the vulnerable and underserved, and we want to do things in a culturally responsible way,” Williams notes. “In order to do that, sometimes that means offering extra incentives.”

Ultimately, it’s all about serving the community, particularly the African American community, in a culturally responsible way.

BRC Team and Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Team at Ark of Safety Community Resiliency Summit (11/16/23 Reconvening)

“A lot of people talk about equity but if you only offer your services in a cookie-cutter way, then you’re not addressing equity,” Williams says. “It’s important to reach the areas that are most vulnerable, and in the African American community, we need to do it in a way that they will hear us. And a lot of the funding we receive doesn’t allow us to do those kinds of things.”

She points out an example. When the organization first started working with Riverside County Public Health on COVID response, Williams says her organization was asked to take the lead on COVID response for the entire African American community across Riverside County. 

“When we went to the clinics they had set up, the first thing we noticed was they were very sterile,” she says. “It was like going to a doctor’s office. Immediately we did two things. We reached out to the African American churches and said, can we set up clinics? We partnered with a trusted segment—the faith community.”

“We said to Public Health, ‘We don’t have funerals. We have homegoing celebrations,’” she adds. “’ These clinics feel like you’re going to a doctor’s office or a funeral. We want to celebrate life. Yes, we know COVID-19 can kill, but we want to celebrate life. We want to say you’re going to live because of this vaccine. We want liveliness in here. That will help us reach the African American community.’”

These nuances generate significantly positive ripple effects and create a rare if not more personalized kind of outreach. In the coming years, several initiatives are in the works. One of them is an eight-month fellowship for African American men ages 20 to 44 on all things related to health—physical health, mental health, and leadership. 

“It’s called Brother to Brother,” Williams says of the pilot program, which launches in March 2024.  

In the meantime, Williams remains forever determined to grow the organization and extend its reach. “I’m tired of being on the surface,” she says. “I say, ‘let’s go scuba diving, let’s go deep, let’s go below the iceberg and figure out the barriers causing communities to be vulnerable and underserved.’”

Learn more about Building Resilient Communities at www.brcus.org.

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise December January 2024

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