Michelson 20MM Foundation

11/13/2025

Students can’t study when they’re hungry or unsure where they’ll sleep. In California, nearly 60% of community college students face housing instability, and almost half report food insecurity.

Join us on November 20th for an exclusive Michelson 20MM webinar to learn about our 2025 Student Basic Needs funding cycle. We’ll share details on how to apply, walk through focus areas including emergency aid and economic mobility, and highlight success stories from past grantees who’ve created real systems change.

If your work supports students’ basic needs, this webinar is your roadmap to partnership and funding in California.

Register: https://20mm.org/event/2025-student-basic-needs-spark-grants-informational-webinar/

11/06/2025

We’re excited to introduce the 2025 Smart Justice Spark Grantees! 🎉

🏘️ Designing Justice + Designing Spaces will redefine how housing and higher education intersect for students impacted by the justice system. They'll foster trauma-informed, community-based housing and reentry support.

🔥 Initiate Justice will ensure the fair and transparent implementation of AB 812, empowering incarcerated firefighters and their families through community-driven reform.

📚 Jobs for the Future will lead a statewide effort to strengthen higher education in prison programs and connect incarcerated learners to meaningful careers.

Together, the cohort will transform pathways from incarceration to education, employment, and opportunity.

Learn more: https://20mm.org/news/2025-smart-justice-spark-grantees/

11/06/2025

In California, nearly half of community college students experience food insecurity, and three in five struggle with housing instability. These challenges don’t only affect students’ health, they directly impact their ability to focus and graduate.

On November 20th, join the Michelson 20MM Foundation for an informational webinar introducing our 2025 Student Basic Needs cycle. During this session, we’ll share how your organization can apply for up to $25,000 in funding to support systemic, scalable approaches that make student stability possible.

We’ll cover the Spark Grant process, highlight prior grantees, and explore innovative ways to address food, housing, and financial insecurity in higher education.

Together, we can make sure every student has what they need to succeed.

Register: https://20mm.org/event/2025-student-basic-needs-spark-grants-informational-webinar/

10/24/2025

California is home to thousands of people impacted by the justice system who are seeking pathways to education, healing, and meaningful careers.

This year, we are sharpening our focus to support innovative efforts in Smart Justice. We’re immensely grateful for the 2025 Spark Community Advisors, whose lived experience and expertise ensure our grantmaking remains responsive, inclusive, and grounded in real-world impact.

👉 Learn more about our Smart Justice focus areas and meet the advisors shaping this work:

Meet the 2025 Smart Justice Spark Community Advisors advancing systems change and shaping a more equitable future for Californians

10/08/2025

🌐 In too many California neighborhoods, internet access determines who can learn, work, and connect.

That’s why UNITE-LA , supported by a Michelson , is partnering with local leaders in Antelope Valley and Pacoima to close the digital divide through community-driven broadband solutions.

These initiatives mark a shift toward community power by which residents shape their own digital futures. By building public networks and sustainable partnerships, Antelope Valley and Pacoima are proving that equity and connectivity can go hand in hand.

👉 Learn more about how these communities are leading the way toward digital equity: https://20mm.org/news/bridging-the-digital-divide-unite-la/

10/07/2025

On October 14th, Eve Lucho, Senior Program Coordinator for Student Basic Needs, is joining Swipe Out Hunger for International Students-No Borders to Hunger Solutions, a at 1 PM CT. The session will showcase how we can best serve international students with findings from a Grant.

RSVP ➡️ https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/G5vluHc8SsqvppZSdzM9qg #/registration

10/06/2025

🏘️ Across California, colleges are tackling student housing insecurity in new ways.

Through co-housing partnerships, community colleges and universities are joining forces to provide affordable housing, strengthen transfer pipelines, and build belonging for students.

Our recent webinar with the Foundation for the Los Angeles Community Colleges (Los Angeles Community College District) showed what’s possible when institutions collaborate intentionally to turn underused dorms into opportunities for stability, growth, and student success.

Learn how innovative partnerships are helping higher ed meet students’ basic needs and expand access to opportunity: https://20mm.org/news/reflections-on-co-housing-agreements-in-higher-ed/

09/25/2025

📅 RSVP for the October Swipe Session on International Student Support
Tuesday, Oct 14, 2025 | 1:00 PM CT

Join for a session, supported by a Michelson , that highlights best practices and resources to strengthen campus support for international students. 🥣

👉 Save your spot: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/G5vluHc8SsqvppZSdzM9qg #/registration

09/24/2025

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) is taking bold steps to close the digital divide in Pico-Union. With support from a Michelson , CHIRLA is launching a community-led internet service designed with and for the families who will use it.

Through retreats, door-to-door outreach, and community ambassadors, over 2,000 residents will shape a service that is affordable, reliable, and culturally inclusive. This effort goes beyond connectivity, it empowers immigrant and low-income families to share their lived experiences and inform policy change.

By anchoring this work in trust, language, and cultural context, CHIRLA is proving that digital equity is about people first. Together, we're advancing a vision where connected communities are stronger communities. Learn more: https://20mm.org/news/chirla-deepens-digital-equity-in-pico-union/

09/23/2025

With support from a Michelson , the Foundation for the Los Angeles Community Colleges is piloting cross-institutional housing partnerships that reimagine how public institutions can collaborate to house students.

On September 25, join leaders from the California Community College system to explore:
-What’s working in LA
-How partnerships with CSU campuses are evolving
-What’s needed for policy and systems change at scale

This is more than a panel, it’s a conversation to move ideas into action.

🗓 Register now: https://20mm.org/event/collaborative-solutions-addressing-community-college-student-housing-insecurity-through-university-partnerships/

09/22/2025

When wildfires swept Los Angeles this January, many residents received evacuation orders in real-time through apps like Watch Duty. Nearly 280,000 households in LA County, however lack internet access, leaving them without critical alerts, legal aid info, or ways to connect with loved ones.
This digital divide isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a matter of life and death. Whether during natural disasters or ICE raids, vulnerable communities are left in the dark while industry interests take precedence.

Internet access is no longer optional. It is an essential utility, as vital as water or electricity. California’s leaders must act to make reliable, affordable connectivity a reality for all.

Learn more from Cristal Mojica:

California’s digital divide endangers lives, leaving families vulnerable to wildfires and ICE raids without timely alerts or critical information.

09/16/2025

📊 How are California Community College students navigating food, housing, and basic needs insecurity in 2025?

We're excited for the release of the Real College California 2025 Survey Results, funded in part by a Michelson . On the 24th at 12 PT hear key findings on student needs and implications for local and state decision-makers.

🎤 Featuring:
• Dr. Tammeil Gilkerson, Chancellor, Peralta Community College District
• Dr. Katie Brohawn, Director of R&D, The RP Group
• Alyssa Nguyen, Senior Director of Research & Evaluation, The RP Group

🔗 Register here: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SITeitc-RcOMUU5f5eNc9g

✨ Plus: Students are invited to a free workshop on landing the job taking place on Friday, October 3rd (12–1:30 PM PT). Attendees will be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card!

Register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LandingTheJobOctober3