Senators Cervantes and Reyes Secure $1.5 Million for CIELO Fund
(RIVERSIDE, CA) – Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) and Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton) secured $1.5 million for the Cultivating Inland Empire Latino Opportunity (CIELO) Fund at the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF). The funds, presented Saturday at the IECF CIELO Fund celebration, will support the organization's focus on inclusiveness and community projects.
IECF describes CIELO as: “Cielo” means “sky” or “heaven” in Spanish. The name signals hope – sky’s the limit – and gives a nod to the aspirations, resilience, and dreams of the Inland Empire’s Latino community. The CIELO Fund supports IECF’s mission to uplift and invest in organizations, initiatives, and ideas that are led by – and serve – Latinos in the Inland Empire. The areas of focus are grantmaking, research, scholarships, and narrative change.
“When we strengthen the organizations serving our communities, we help ensure that families have somewhere to turn and that support reaches the people who need it. The promise of this investment extends beyond meeting immediate needs. It is also about creating opportunities for Latino residents to lead, participate in civic life, and help shape the decisions that affect their neighborhoods and their children’s futures. Our families deserve a voice in those decisions; our young people deserve to see a future for themselves here; and our region deserves sustained investment that recognizes both its needs and its contributions to California,” said Senator Cervantes. “I am so pleased that my fellow Inland Empire senator and friend, Eloise Gomez-Reyes, and I worked together to secure this funding for CIELO.”
Senator Reyes shared, “The Inland Empire is home to millions of hardworking families, innovative community organizations, and emerging leaders who understand exactly what their communities need to thrive. The CIELO Fund and Inland Empire Community Foundation have built the relationships and regional expertise to turn investment into meaningful, lasting impact. I am proud that Senator Cervantes and I secured $1.5 million in the state budget to strengthen their work supporting Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations, advance research that helps us better understand our region, and ensure the stories and experiences of Inland Empire residents help shape our future. When we invest in organizations rooted in and trusted by our communities, we are investing in the strength and success of the entire Inland Empire.”
“This investment gives the Inland Empire more power to shape its own future,” said Jesse Melgar, IECF Board Chair and Founder and Chair of the CIELO Fund. “Senators Cervantes and Gómez Reyes have always fought to bring state resources home, and this $1.5 million investment will help the CIELO Fund put more resources directly into the hands of organizations doing critical work across our region. It will also allow us to expand our research, strengthen our grantmaking, and tell a fuller story about who we are and what we are building here through partnerships with outlets like KVCR, the Los Angeles Times, and IE TACO through LA TACO. We created the CIELO Fund because we believe the Inland Empire deserves to invest in its own talent, tell its own story, and shape its own future. Senators Cervantes and Gómez Reyes are helping us do exactly that.”
Michelle Decker, CEO of the IECF, added, "We thank our state leaders for recognizing the importance of investing in community-driven change through this $1.5 million allocation to the CIELO Fund. These resources will expand support for nonprofit organizations working to meet the most pressing needs of Inland Empire Latino residents, while helping to build stronger, healthier, and more inclusive communities.”
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