A community thrives when generous people and organizations who believe in its future share their time, vision, and resources. Throughout the Coachella Valley, an area rich in culture and possibility, the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) works to strengthen the region by connecting donors like you with purpose-driven organizations intent on addressing needs related to education, healthcare, civic engagement, housing, and more.
The Power of Philanthropy
For nearly 85 years, IECF has connected people who care with organizations that make a difference. Donor support has fueled more than $213 million in grants and scholarships across the Inland Empire, creating opportunities for children, families, and communities to thrive. During the past decade in the Coachella Valley alone, charitable giving through IECF has directed more than $27.5 million to 293 local nonprofits and educational institutions.
If you want to give but don’t know where to begin, IECF can help. The foundation simplifies philanthropy by offering a variety of immediate, annual, and legacy giving options. If you feel overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of organizations seeking support, IECF provides clarity and direction, connecting your generosity to programs that align with your expressed priorities.
IECF expertise makes a difference. By fostering collaboration among nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses, IECF helps unify the community’s approach to development. Individual donors, families, and businesses can feel confident they’re matched with organizations that align with their giving goals, such as providing educational opportunities and scholarships, supporting health and human services, advancing resources for children and families, preserving the environment, promoting arts and culture, or championing another cause close to their heart.
The Build Coachella Valley Fund works to support grantees like FIND Food bank.
Photo courtesy Inland Empire Community foundation
Create Your Own Legacy
IECF offers a range of philanthropic tools to help you give, including endowed, donor-advised, field-of-interest, or scholarship funds. Scholarships in particular can help support lifelong learning, a vital condition for community health and well-being. If you want to help your local community without researching individual nonprofits, you can contribute to a range of existing funds such as the Build Coachella Valley Fund (BCVF).
After recently addressing food insecurity, this year the BCVF plans to identify innovative educational programs and initiatives for underserved communities and at-risk youth. You could also follow the lead of such local donors as Jane Lykken Hoff or Jack Fitzsimmons and Walter Gendell. Through an endowment and the FitzDell Gifting Fund, respectively, they continue to make a meaningful difference.
IECF is so intent on helping the area thrive that it recently commissioned the University of California, Riverside to compile a report providing insight into how people experience schooling, medical care, housing, and other issues that matter to donors. Collected data provides common ground to better understand the region and wisely direct efforts aimed at the common good.
Take the First Step
Partner with IECF to ensure your philanthropic efforts are meaningful and strategically aligned with causes in your own backyard. Visit iegives.org to learn more about programs and funds that can effect change and lift the lives of countless individuals and families in the Coachella Valley and beyond.
Photo courtesy Michael Hinkle
Michael Hinkle joined IECF as the new charitable giving officer for the Coachella Valley in March 2025. An Indio native, Hinkle has more than two decades of experience in donor relations and fundraising. He’ll work closely with individuals, families, and businesses to create lasting impact through permanent charitable funds.
Mark your calendars
IECF’s Women’s Giving Fund Spring Fling will take place in the Coachella Valley on March 22, 2026. All are welcome. Check the website for location and other details.
Inland Empire Community Foundation
760-836-2400 (Coachella Valley)
951-241-7777 (Riverside)
909-453-2400 (San Bernardino)
iegives.org
