SAN FRANCISCO — The Board of Directors of the Rosenberg Foundation has approved grants totaling nearly $700,000 to 14 nonprofit organizations working to change the odds for Californians in the areas of immigrant rights, criminal justice reform and civic engagement.

The Foundation awarded $250,000 to Californians for Safety and Justice, an innovative effort to reduce prison and jail incarceration rates and corrections spending in the state. Other grants awarded to improve public safety in California include: $25,000 to the Pacific Institute for Community Organizations (PICO) to incorporate a new victims’ rights agenda in their interfaith movement for criminal justice reform; $13,500 to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice to track over-incarceration rates in California counties; and $25,000 to the Center for Youth Wellness to develop a statewide policy advocacy initiative that addresses the needs of children and youth exposed to violence and trauma.

Grants approved under the Foundation’s immigrant rights and integration portfolio include $75,000 to Farmworker Justice to expand their advocacy work on behalf of California’s farmworkers; $30,000 to Mujeres Unidas y Activas to improve the labor rights and working conditions of domestic workers; and $52,000 to the UCLA Labor Center’s 2012 Dream Summer Leadership Program to build the leadership capacity of immigrant youth leaders.

Under its civil rights and civic engagement portfolio, the Foundation approved $35,000 to Mobilize the Immigrant Vote to support grassroots organizations increasing civic engagement in immigrant communities; and $35,000 to Engage San Diego to bolster voter education among communities of color and low-income communities.

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