Category: Human Rights

We are delighted to announce a $2 million grant in support of the Groundswell Fund, an organization that is responding to the myriad needs of disadvantaged communities in the U.S. with the belief that those closest to the problem are also best able to develop strategies to achieve solutions. This grant aligns with the mission …

Today, the Heising-Simons Foundation joined 14 other California foundations in a joint CEO statement denouncing President Trump’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We object to the President’s shameful decision in the strongest terms— and we stand in support of, and in solidarity with, the many nonprofit organizations we fund throughout the country that work to support these young people.

California Governor Jerry Brown and Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye have joined legislative leaders to support looking at reforms in California’s money bail system in 2018. In a statement, Gov. Brown said, “I believe that inequities exist in California’s bail system and I look forward to working this fall on ways to reform the system in …

Renewing Communities is a four-year initiative based in California that seeks to provide high-quality courses to students inside prisons and jails, and to help formerly incarcerated students on college campuses transform their lives.

The Heising-Simons Foundation has joined more than 190 philanthropic institutions calling for immigration policies that “reflect our nation’s founding principles, promote cohesion and inclusion, instill hope, and show compassion.” The statement was issued by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), of which the Foundation is a member. GCIR works with a growing network of member foundations, as well …

Last year, an investigation by Christie Thompson of The Marshall Project and Joseph Shapiro of National Public Radio found out that many state and federal prisons in the United States have been doubling up inmates in solitary confinement, to dire consequences.  This month, these two journalists received the 2017 George Polk Award in Justice Reporting for their …

Here is a powerful video about the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), featuring Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC), a project supported by the Foundation’s Human Human Rights program. The video, produced by the Wall Street Journal, tells the story of Jirayut “New” Latthivongskorn, an undocumented immigrant who is a medical student at University …