On December 22, 2008, the Foundation Coalition, a group of nine California-based foundations, pledged to collectively grant (1) in excess of $20 million – over and above ongoing commitments - to support organizations serving minority-led and other grassroots community-based organizations serving diverse and/or low-income communities; and (2) in excess of $10 million to joint community-based regranting programs to provide leadership training, technical assistance, and organizational capacity support to smaller, minority-led and other grassroots organizations.

The Foundation Coalition was formed in early 2008 by a group of California's largest foundations to oppose AB 624, legislation that would have required large foundations to collect and publicly disclose certain ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation data pertaining to its governance, operations, and grantmaking. The $30 million pledge made by the Foundation Coalition is part of the compromise reached withAssemblyman Joe Coto (D – San Jose)and other interested parties in exchange for Coto dropping sponsorship of the legislation.

Read the Foundation Coalition's report,Strengthening Nonprofit Minority Leadership and the Capacity of Minority-Led and Other Grassroots Community-Based Organizations,for background and details with respect to the pledge.

Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy article on the pledgehere.

Read an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal,The Philanthropy Shakedown,here.