The California Wellness Foundation

What The California Wellness Foundation does

The California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness) is an independent private 501(c)(3) foundation established in 1992 from the nonprofit-to-for-profit conversion of Health Net, with an endowment of approximately $1 billion. Headquartered in Los Angeles with a second office in Oakland, the foundation operates exclusively within California, funding direct services, advocacy, and civic engagement for low-income individuals, people of color, youth, immigrants, and rural residents. Its mission is to protect and improve the health and wellness of Californians by expanding access to health care, quality education, good jobs, healthy environments, and safe neighborhoods.

Cal Wellness deploys capital through three core mechanisms: direct grantmaking (approximately $43-50 million annually, with a record $67 million in 2025), program-related investments (PRIs) made at below-market terms primarily to CDFIs and community enterprises (with a $40 million PRI commitment over five years), and mission-related investments (MRIs) executed at market rates through the endowment. In 2020 the board committed 100% of the endowment to mission alignment, with 92% allocated to diverse investment managers. The organization is transitioning from its Advancing Wellness framework to a new Building the Power to Be Well strategy for 2027 onward, broadening priority areas into Healthcare, Environment, and Democracy.

The foundation has approximately 50 staff members (78% people of color, 68% women) led by President & CEO Richard Tate, with an additional investment and communications team built around impact investing, learning, and public affairs. Recent strategic activity centers on the LA Wildfires Recovery & Rebuilding Investor Collaborative (a $100 million platform co-led with California Community Foundation), the Someone I Love civic mobilization campaign, and the Be Well, Lead Well Sabbatical Award Program. The board is an active governance body drawing from public health, medicine, immigrant rights, and impact investing, with a planned $170 million programmatic payout over 2025-2027 at an 8% annual rate.

Name

The California Wellness Foundation

Legal name

The California Wellness Foundation

Website

https://calwellness.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The California Wellness Foundation is a $1 billion California-focused 501(c)(3) foundation that awards grants, program-related investments, and mission-related investments to advance health equity for low-income communities, people of color, immigrants, youth, and rural residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Philanthropy and Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Health equity funding
• Mission-related investments
• Community wellness programs
• Nonprofit foundation grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Endowment Investment Returns: The foundation uses returns from its $1 billion endowment to fund grants and program-related investments. In 2020, the board approved investing 100% of the endowment in alignment with its mission through mission-related investments (MRIs) seeking market-rate returns, and program-related investments (PRIs) that may yield below-market returns or take added risk.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The California Wellness Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that provides grants, program-related investments (PRIs), and mission-related investments (MRIs) to nonprofit organizations and community-based groups across California. It deploys a roughly $1 billion endowment to advance health equity for low-income individuals, people of color, youth, immigrant communities, and rural residents through direct service funding, advocacy, civic engagement, and impact investing.

Product overview

The California Wellness Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization offering grantmaking programs and mission-aligned investment services. Its primary offerings include the Advancing Wellness Grantmaking program (with four focus areas: Community Wellbeing, Equity in Access, Economic Security & Dignity, and Leading for Power & Change), Mission-Related Investments (100% of $1 billion endowment), and Program-Related Investments ($40 million commitment). The foundation also provides a downloadable grants database, sabbatical awards for health leaders, disaster recovery investment collaboratives, and advocacy campaigns. The upcoming 'Building the Power to Be Well' strategic framework will guide work from 2027 onward, focusing on Healthcare, Environment, and Democracy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advancing Wellness Grantmaking Program Core grantmaking program that has guided funding for the past decade, awarding multi-year general operating support grants across four focus areas to California-based nonprofit organizations working on health equity.
• Mission-Related Investments (MRIs) Market-rate investments in companies owned by minorities, serving underserved communities, or advancing wellness; 100% of the $1 billion endowment is committed to mission alignment with 92% allocated to diverse managers.
• Program-Related Investments (PRIs) Below-market or risk-tolerant loans and investments for charitable purposes including affordable housing, small-business lending, and healthy food access; $40 million committed over five years; PRIs made by invitation only.
• Be Well, Lead Well Sabbatical Award Program Sabbatical award program supporting leaders improving community health in California by providing time for rest, reflection, and renewal.
• Los Angeles Wildfires Recovery & Rebuilding Investor Collaborative $100 million investment platform housed at California Community Foundation providing flexible capital for housing recovery, small business stabilization, and land banking following the January 2025 Eaton Wildfires; Cal Wellness committed $2 million.
• Building the Power to Be Well Strategic Framework Strategic framework guiding the foundation's grantmaking and advocacy from 2027 onward, focusing on race, money, and power as factors shaping health, with priority areas in Healthcare, Environment, and Democracy.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11,555 grants totaling $1.2 billion+ awarded since 1992
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• AltaMedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Co-creator of 'Someone I Love' statewide campaign to mobilize Californians to speak out on human cost of health care cuts and take civic action through voting.
• California Primary Care AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Co-creator of campaign addressing health care access and the impact of federal health funding cuts on Californians.
• Disability Voices UnitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Campaign partner advocating for health care access and representing disability community perspectives.
• The California EndowmentmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Co-funder of 'Someone I Love' campaign addressing health care cuts and mobilizing voters.
• Archstone FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Co-funder of campaign to mobilize Californians on health care access and civic action.
• California Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2025Houses the Los Angeles Wildfires Recovery & Rebuilding Investor Collaborative,pledging $30 million to the $100 million investment platform for long-term disaster recovery financing following the January 2025 Eaton Wildfires.
• Los Angeles Wildfires Recovery & Rebuilding Investor CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2025Investor collaborative formed to coordinate long-term disaster recovery financing, working to launch a $100 million investment platform for housing recovery, small business stabilization, and land banking.
• Avivar CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeads shared back office for the LA Wildfire Recovery Collaborative, streamlining due diligence and creating one application portal for community organizations.
• Coalition of California Foundations (Public Health Emergency Declaration)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of foundations including Akonadi Foundation, Bay Area Asset Funders Network, California Endowment, and others urging public health emergency declaration over violent immigration enforcement.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The California Endowment: One of California's largest health-focused private foundations with a comparable endowment size and similar mission of advancing health equity for underserved communities. Direct collaborator with Cal Wellness on the 'Someone I Love' campaign and shares overlapping grantmaking geographies and grantee networks.
• California Health Care Foundation: Oakland-based independent philanthropy focused exclusively on California's health care system, making grants and conducting policy research. Highly comparable in mission scope, California-only geographic focus, and grantee relationships with health care providers and safety-net organizations.
• California Community Foundation: Major Los Angeles-based community foundation managing multi-billion-dollar assets and channeling significant capital to LA-area health and equity causes. Partnered with Cal Wellness on the LA Wildfires Recovery & Rebuilding Investor Collaborative and shares overlap in LA-area grantees.
• The Colorado Health Foundation: Colorado-based health conversion foundation created from a nonprofit-to-for-profit HMO conversion, with similar single-state focus and health-equity grantmaking mandate. One of the closest structural analogs to Cal Wellness among other state health foundations.
• Quantum Foundation: Florida-based health conversion foundation created from a managed-care plan conversion. Closely comparable in legal/structural origin (nonprofit-to-for-profit health plan conversion), single-state focus, and health-equity grantmaking orientation.
• Blue Shield of California Foundation: California-only health foundation funded by Blue Shield of California's corporate giving, focusing on health care access, domestic violence prevention, and community health. Comparable in California-only geographic scope and health-equity grantmaking approach.

Regional players

• Sierra Health Foundation: California-based health foundation with regional (Northern California) focus on community health, equity, and capacity building. Comparable operating model and focus on health access for underserved communities, though with smaller scale and more regional than statewide mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Kresge Foundation: National private foundation with significant health, equity, and American Cities program areas and a multi-billion-dollar endowment. Comparable mission-aligned investing posture and use of MRIs/PRIs alongside grantmaking, but with national rather than California-only scope.
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation: National private foundation focused on child welfare, youth, and family well-being with multi-billion-dollar assets. Comparable in scale, mission-aligned investing posture, and emphasis on addressing root causes (race, class) of well-being outcomes for low-income communities.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The largest US philanthropy focused exclusively on health, with a multi-billion-dollar endowment and national scope. Shares Cal Wellness's health-equity orientation but operates at much greater national scale and across broader research and policy domains.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/calwellness
• Facebookfacebook.com/CalWellness
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-california-wellness-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/calwellnessfoundation
• Xx.com/calwellness

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The California Wellness Foundation