The Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz has been awarded a two-year, $700,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation to support inclusive economic development across Central California. The funding is part of the foundation’s Priority Communities initiative, launched in 2020 to strengthen local economies by empowering low-income workers, families, and community organizations to lead economic change. The program focuses on six cities: Fresno, Stockton, Salinas, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Merced, fostering collaboration through shared learning and partnership networks.
Since 2022, the institute has collaborated with the initiative, having previously received a $650,000 grant to conduct community-based research and capacity-building efforts in Salinas through the Salinas Inclusive Economic Development Initiative. This new award expands that role, positioning the institute as a learning partner to help shape future strategies.
“We’re thrilled to deepen our collaboration with the Irvine Foundation’s Priority Communities program,” said Galina Hale, Faculty Director of the Institute for Social Transformation. “We’re proud of our achievements so far and look forward to continuing this important work with our team.”
Over the past five years, the Priority Communities initiative has boosted local investment, supported innovative job-creation projects, and advanced more equitable policies aimed at dismantling systemic racism. The next phase will focus on amplifying worker voices and expanding economic opportunities through stronger engagement with Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities.
Starting this fall, Chris Benner, a faculty fellow at the institute and professor of sociology, will co-lead the development of learning communities across all six cities, alongside the University of Southern California’s Equity Research Institute. These forums will serve as platforms for building trust, sharing knowledge, and generating recommendations to guide the foundation’s future funding decisions.
The institute brings extensive experience in community-engaged research in Salinas, the Salton Sea, and Northern California counties. Its expertise in data analysis, organizational strategy, power mapping, and equity-focused policy development equips it to address deep-rooted inequities stemming from long-term disinvestment.
Through a mix of in-person and virtual sessions, the project aims to drive lasting, cross-sectoral policy and systemic change aligned with community priorities. Over the two-year period, the team will develop a comprehensive learning framework, including a needs assessment, resource library, and actionable outcomes to inform future initiatives.
Benner emphasized the importance of co-designing a responsive and sustainable learning model. “Communities need to organize to bring their concerns to economic decision-making spaces, while also understanding what’s realistically achievable,” he said. “Success requires building alliances and addressing emotional strain, fatigue, and tensions between existing and emerging partners. We call this an ‘inside-outside’ approach—balancing personal and organizational growth with broader structural transformation.”
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Institute for Social Transformation awarded $700k grant to support inclusive economic development throughout Central California
The James Irvine Foundation has awarded the institute a two-year community-level learning partner grant as part of its Priority Communities initiatives, which seeks to strengthen regional economies by empowering low-wage workers, families, and organizations to drive economic change. n nThe James Irvine Foundation has awarded the Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz a two-year, $700,000 community-level learning partner grant as part of its Priority Communities initiatives. n nPriorities Communities, established in 2020, seeks to strengthen regional economies by empowering low-wage workers, families, and organizations to drive economic change. This initiative engages six California cities—Fresno, Stockton, Salinas, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Merced—to foster inclusive economic development through sharing, learning, and partnership across a diverse network of individuals and organizations. n nThe Institute for Social Transformation has been a partner on this work since 2022, when the team won an initial $650,000 grant to conduct community-engaged research and community capacity-building work in the city of Salinas through the Salinas Inclusive Economic Development Initiative. n n“We are excited to see our partnership with the Irvine Foundation’s Priority Communities initiative grow and expand,” said institute Faculty Director Galina Hale. “We’re very proud of what we have accomplished together so far, and our faculty and staff look forward to tackling the work ahead.” n nIn the past five years, the Priority Communities program has increased community investment, supported promising new projects that create jobs and pathways to employment, and created more equitable policies and practices that break down systemic racism. The next phase of community-engaged strategy building will continue to enhance workers’ voices and power while expanding economic development through strengthened ties with Black, Indigenous, and people of color community members. n nBeginning this fall, Institute for Social Transformation faculty fellow Chris Benner, alongside co-awardee the University of Southern California’s Equity Research Institute, will oversee the development of learning communities for all six focus cities. The learning communities will serve as sites for capacity and trust-building work, facilitating the sharing of knowledge and the creation of recommendations to inform the foundation’s next steps in funding economic development. n nThe Institute for Social Transformation has longstanding community-engaged research in Salinas, the Salton Sea, and the northern counties that will serve as a foundation for this community-based work. The institute staff’s expertise in data analysis, capacity-building, organizing strategy, power mapping, and policy and pilot development for equity-centered initiatives allows the institute to help navigate the complex systems of inequity caused by generational disinvestment. n nThrough a combination of in-person and virtual learning sessions, this work will help create long-term, cross-sector policy and systems change that reflects the shared goals and principles of participants. As part of the two-year grant, the team will develop a comprehensive learning community framework with the creation of a needs assessment, resource repository, and outcomes and recommendations for future work. n nChris Benner, institute faculty fellow and professor of sociology, will lead the project. He says it will be essential to co-create a learning framework that is both sustainable and responsive to communities’ needs. n n“Communities must organize to bring their concerns to economic decision-making tables, while also understanding what is feasible and what will promote inclusive economic development,” Benner said. “The solution lies in creating bridges between new allies in this work and addressing grief, burnout, and conflict between existing and new partners. This requires what we call ‘new inside-outside’ strategies, which mean economic development practices and approaches that balance the inner work—at the scales of the deeply personal and organizational—to the external work of structural change.”