One year ago, The California Endowment decided to take our vision for a better California to the next level. As we experienced the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing racial injustices facing communities of color, and the resurgence of civic activism, TCE believed it was our duty to double down on our investments in the work of California’s good troublemakers. These are the community organizers, grassroots leaders and groups who have been doing the deep work of community engagement and power-building for decades. In service of that spirit, we announced we would issue $300 million in social bonds and establish our Social Bond framework.
This is not a time for philanthropy as usual – this moment calls for unprecedented action for systemic transformation. Over the last year, we spent time in thoughtful planning, discussion and collaboration with our partners to determine how best to target resources towards building power and agency in our communities and deepen our impact beyond what we do through our traditional grantmaking.
We have emerged from this process with a real vision to use the social bond funds both as an accelerant to the brilliant efforts already underway by our partners to advance racial justice and health equity, but also as a strategic investment in the infrastructure that will support, grow, and evolve this work long into the future. From its inception, with the support and leadership of our Board, President & CEO, and staff, we have approached the social bond framework as an opportunity to advance racial equity, beginning with our selection of diverse partners to provide underwriting and legal assistance, and continuing through our initial grantmaking, reflecting our intention to lift up communities that have long endured health disparities and racial inequities in resources, access and opportunity.
The net proceeds of the social bond will be invested in six priority areas including power-building, health, and climate resiliency, which you can read more about on our website. We expect to allocate the Bond proceeds in grants made over the next 2-3 years to nonprofit organizations aligning with the Social Bond Framework and grantmaking criteria. The grantees will go through a proposal invitation process by subject matter experts on our program team.
We are so thankful for your support and partnership with the Endowment as we strengthen the capacity of our movements and build up our health workforce and infrastructure to care for all Californians. We are excited to stay in conversation with you about these investments and share real stories of transformative change.
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