SAN FRANCISCO — The Board of Directors of the Rosenberg Foundation has approved grants totaling more than $1 million to 19 organizations working to improve labor and health conditions for immigrant workers, advocate for criminal justice reform, and advance civil rights in California.

Grants awarded to support immigrant workers’ rights include $55,000 to Oxfam America in Los Angeles to engage consumers and retailers in an initiative that will enhance the health and safety of farmworkers; $40,000 in general support to Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California to empower domestic workers; and $63,000 to California Rural Legal Assistance for policy advocacy and litigation on behalf of farm workers. In addition, the Foundation granted $50,000 to the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco to expand legal services for low-income gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual farmworkers in California’s rural communities.

Grants approved in the area of criminal justice reform include $100,000 to the California Budget Project in Sacramento to provide in-depth policy analysis of California’s corrections spending, and $35,000 to KALW Public Radio in San Francisco to elevate the public discourse on critical criminal justice issues in California through the Informant, an online news site. The Foundation also awarded $100,000 to the California State Conference of the NAACP to address the disproportionate arrest and incarceration rates of minority youth and adults for drug possession.

In addition, the Foundation approved $50,000 to the ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties to provide legal support for San Diego nonprofit organizations and communities of color focused on expanding civil participation, and $30,000 to Chinese for Affirmative Action in San Francisco for the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality, a statewide network of grassroots Asian Pacific Islander groups.

For a complete list of grants awarded by the Rosenberg Foundation, please visit: rosenbergfound.org/grants.

About the Rosenberg Foundation:

The Rosenberg Foundation is an independent, grantmaking foundation committed to ensuring that every person in California has an equal opportunity to participate fully in the state’s economic, social, and political life.  Created in 1935 through the bequest of California business leader Max L. Rosenberg, through 2011, the Foundation has provided nearly 2,900 grants totaling more than $81 million to regional, statewide and national organizations advocating for social and economic justice throughout California. For more information: rosenbergfound.org.