This interview with Brenda Solórzano, CEO of The California Endowment, was condensed and edited for clarity by Jeff vonKaenel, CEO and Publisher of the Chico and Sacramento News & Review.
Brenda Solórzano stepped into her role as President and CEO of The California Endowment in September 2024, taking the helm of a nearly $4 billion health foundation dedicated to improving the well-being of California’s underserved communities. She brings decades of experience in health equity and philanthropy, including previous leadership roles at the Headwaters Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation, and California Health Care Foundation. Solórzano, an immigrant from Guatemala and a cancer survivor, brings a deeply personal perspective to her leadership—one shaped by urgency, persistence, and a belief in trusting communities to drive change.
Brenda’s Background and Leadership Philosophy
Jeff vonKaenel: Brenda, you’ve spoken about how your experiences as an immigrant and cancer survivor shaped your approach to leadership. How have those life events informed your vision for the California Endowment?
Brenda Solórzano: Those experiences have taught me that nothing is guaranteed. Life is short, and if you want to create change, you have to act with urgency. Navigating this country as an immigrant, and surviving cancer, made it clear that you have to be persistent and scrappy if you want to make a difference. That urgency and resilience shape everything I do.
Too often in philanthropy, we spend too much time planning, analyzing, and discussing instead of acting. We need to trust our grantee partners, who already know what needs to be done. My goal is to make the Endowment quicker, more responsive, and more than just a grantmaker—we must be a changemaker.
That means using our voice, our platform, our convening power, and leveraging our dollars alongside others to accelerate impact. It also means trusting our grantees and giving them what they need to lead the work.
The Scale and Power of the California Endowment
Jeff vonKaenel: The Endowment started with a mission to expand health care access. How has that evolved?
Brenda Solórzano: We began as a health conversion foundation focused on access and coverage. With the ACA, California reached 94% coverage. But we realized that wasn’t enough—people still weren’t well. Access to health care doesn’t solve poverty, housing, or food insecurity.
So we looked upstream. Our Building Healthy Communities initiative helped us see how structural issues and systems affect health. We learned that power building is essential. Communities need to have a voice in shaping the systems that affect them.
We also realized our role isn’t just to give grants. With nearly $4 billion in assets, we have a unique ability to influence systems and support policy change. But it’s not just about the money. It’s about using our platform to bring people together, elevate solutions, and build the long-term infrastructure for a more just California.
Jeff vonKaenel: The California Endowment played a pivotal role in ACA implementation and criminal justice reform. That scale makes a real difference.
Brenda Solórzano: Yes, but always in partnership. Our resources let us convene, align, and amplify the work already happening on the ground. We’re not doing it alone, but we can be a catalyst.
This Unique Moment in History
Jeff vonKaenel: We’re in a time of political and social crisis. What does this moment demand from philanthropy?
Brenda Solórzano: There is no playbook for this. Democracy is under threat. Civil society, freedom of the press—these pillars are being undermined. This isn’t just about policy—it’s existential.
So the question is: what is our role in defending democracy and community well-being? Foundations aren’t political, and we’re not profit-driven. We exist to support social good. That gives us a unique ability—and responsibility—to act.
We’re seeing attacks on immigrants, on public health, on basic civil liberties. These traumas have long-term health consequences. As a health funder, we have to respond. Not with silence, but with voice, resources, and solidarity.
Jeff vonKaenel: Have you seen more nonprofits step up?
Brenda Solórzano: I have. I’ve been in this field for 25 years, and I’ve never seen this level of coordination and unity. Foundations and nonprofits are coming together to defend democracy. But we need more courage. Some are stepping back out of fear. My message is: this is not the moment to walk away.
Rethinking Philanthropy
Jeff vonKaenel: Along with increasing funding, you’ve introduced operational changes—speeding up grantmaking, giving more general support. What are you doing differently?
Brenda Solórzano: We’ve already moved $25 million out the door since last fall. We asked our team: what are grantees saying they need right now? The answers were clear—legal support, security, staff wellness. So we funded it. Quickly. No long process.
We’re giving more general operating support. And we’re streamlining. For example, board discretionary grants used to require contracts. Now they’re gifts. No contract needed. If we’ve funded an immigrant rights group for 20 years, why make them jump through hoops?
It’s common sense. If we trust them, let’s act like it. That’s how we stay nimble. And that’s how we respond to crisis.
Increased Giving and Bold Moves
Jeff vonKaenel: When you announced you’d increase the payout rate—up to 10%—that was a huge moment. How did that come about?
Brenda Solórzano: Boards have two duties: to protect the endowment for the future and to achieve the mission. Those goals can be in tension. But in moments like this, you have to ask: what matters more right now?
If we have a $5 billion foundation ten years from now, but we’ve gone ten steps backward in terms of democracy and health equity—what have we gained?
This board had the courage to say: we increase our spending now. Not every vote was unanimous, but we had the conversation. And this is the second board in my career that’s agreed to increase giving.
Again, urgency drives this. As a cancer survivor, I know we don’t always have the luxury of time. We have to act when the moment demands it.
And yes, moving from a 5% payout to up to 10% means we’ll be giving away roughly $160 million more each year. That’s a significant increase—and it’s what the moment demands.
What’s Ahead
Jeff vonKaenel: Looking ahead, what are some of your priorities for the Endowment?
Brenda Solórzano: We’ll be doing strategic planning soon, and I want that to be inclusive—not just our staff and board, but also our grantees and people with lived experience. We want to ensure our resources are stewarded effectively for the next 10 or 20 years.
We’re also exploring ways to expand our reach to communities and organizations we haven’t worked with before—especially in areas with fewer large nonprofits. That will help us build a more connected, equitable ecosystem across California.
What Others are Saying
Amidst the ongoing attacks on public health, civil liberties, and our communities, it’s more important than ever that we stand firm in our commitment to protecting and defending Californians. The California Endowment’s commitment and increased investment are a powerful reminder that we all have a role to play in shaping a better tomorrow.
– Attorney General Rob Bonta
Through this commitment to double its giving, The California Endowment is demonstrating the urgency of this moment and the power of philanthropy to respond decisively. The Irvine Foundation is proud to join this effort with an increase in our grantmaking budget for this year to help our grantees navigate escalating legal, political, and financial threats.
– Don Howard, President and CEO, The James Irvine Foundation
The California Endowment’s decision to double its grantmaking is a powerful example of the bold philanthropic leadership we need right now. Brenda’s call for urgent, unapologetic investment in the people and systems that keep our communities safe and strong could not come at a more important moment.
– Chet P. Hewitt, President & CEO, Sierra Health Foundation
The California Endowment is demonstrating how we can all support California communities to bring people together for collective action and resiliency in a time of unprecedented crisis. Standing together we can amplify community power and transform California for a better future.
– Miya Yoshitani, Co-Executive Director, Movement Innovation Collaborative
The California Endowment has helped elevate the voices of Central Valley and Coachella Valley residents fighting and winning on issues like access to quality healthcare, clean air and clean water for nearly three decades. I am pleased The California Endowment is poised to accelerate its philanthropic efforts under the leadership of Brenda Solórzano as new CEO and President.
– Pablo Rodríguez, Executive Director, Communities for a New California Education Fund
The needs of the nonprofit sector have never been greater with heightened demands for engagement in policy and systems change, direct service to people and communities losing access to vital public supports, legal advocacy, grassroots organizing, and all of that on top of legal, political, and financial threats to the sector coming from public officials and institutions. The California Endowment’s substantial increase in its grantmaking is much-needed and appreciated and we hope many in philanthropy will follow their lead and urgently deploy more resources.
– Chris Hoene, Executive Director, California Budget & Policy Center
Young people drive progress—pushing us to dream big and act courageously. The California Endowment’s bold investment is exactly what this moment demands. Funding youth-led, community-rooted change doesn’t just protect what we have—it builds the power to transform what’s possible.
– Alicia Olivarez, Executive Vice President, Power California
Under Brenda’s leadership, The California Endowment is meeting this moment with courage, clarity, and conviction. At a time when our communities and democratic values are under attack, philanthropy must act boldly and leverage our collective power. The Weingart Foundation is proud to have a long-standing partnership with The California Endowment—working together to build a more just California where every community has the resources, agency, and opportunity to thrive.
– Joanna S. Jackson, President & CEO, Weingart Foundation
California has a deep history and expansive power-building infrastructure that has made California a more inclusive and equitable state (dynamics that are now being attacked and targeted by the current federal administration). Organizations led by and/or serving Black and Indigenous people are particularly under threat, but we are confident that The California Endowment will continue to support our collective work. Moving forward, all foundations should increase their support and investment in organizations that have been on the front lines of strengthening our public health systems and multiracial democracy.
– James Woodson, Executive Director, California Black Power Network
By now, it is obvious that California is not only the primary target but also the testing ground for deeply un-American attacks on multi-racial democracy. As the racial justice movement in this state mobilizes to meet the moment, we are deeply heartened to see that The California Endowment and others in the philanthropic sector have our backs in this fight. We’ve seen that in all the biggest fights in our history, solidarity across races and across sectors is the only real path to victory.
– John Kim, President and CEO, Catalyst California
Brenda Solórzano and The California Endowment should be commended for combining courage with people power. Courage to defend the sacred dignity of families and their health, even as the tides of repression of dissent are rising. And people power as the force by which we will transform hearts, heal communities, and reimagine systems in the image of kinship and shared abundance.
– Joseph Tomás McKellar, Executive Director, PICO California
I applaud The California Endowment for stepping up and delivering this needed investment for our California community. We face enormous challenges across our health care ecosystem—but our community is strong, and we’re going to continue showing up for each other to meet this moment with compassion and clarity of purpose. This announcement is a strong message that we will always stand united to protect the most voiceless and vulnerable among us.
– Doris Matsui, California Congresswoman 7th District
Our work is grounded in the belief that safe, clean and affordable drinking water is a human right, not a privilege. The California Endowment’s leadership helps bring that vision closer to reality, especially when we know critical needs are not going away.
– Natalie Garcia-Grazier, Deputy Director, Community Water Center
Brenda Solórzano’s bold leadership is meeting the urgency of this moment, and I stand with her in accelerating investments that defend democracy, center community power, and advance the health equity our state deserves.
– State Senator María Elena Durazo
At Faith in the Valley, we believe that every person is sacred and deserves to be treated with respect and compassion. The bold leadership and investment of The California Endowment and other philanthropic partners reflects that belief and helps us all to meet both this moment and the long term fight for justice with as much fortitude as possible. Now more than ever, we’re called to stand up for our neighbors, protect what matters, and build a future that’s truly inclusive, safe and just for everyone.
– Pastor Curtis Smith, Executive Director, Faith in the Valley
This is the type of leadership required in these perilous times! Brenda Solórzano and The California Endowment Board are to be commended for stepping up and stepping out front.
– Crystal Hayling, Formerly with The Libra Foundation (Retired)
Hmong and Southeast Asian communities have long been invisible in California politics. With this kind of investment in grassroots power, The California Endowment is helping us change that.
– Nancy Xiong, Executive Director, Hmong Innovating Politics
Our youth-led movement has always believed that we must create the future we want to see. The California Endowment’s historic investment affirms that vision and gives us tools to do even more.
– Deep Singh, Executive Director, Jakara Movement
This is a moment for courage and clarity. The California Endowment is showing both by investing directly in grassroots power and community health. MOVE the Valley is ready to meet that call.
– Mai Thao, Executive Director, MOVE the Valley
A thriving democracy is fundamental to the California Community Foundation’s work to advance civic engagement and equitable investment. As the federal government pushes the limits of its authority, we stand with The California Endowment in this urgent call to defend California’s safety net and empower community leadership.
– Miguel A. Santana, President and Chief Executive Officer, California Community Foundation
Brenda and the California Endowment are modeling leadership and meeting the moment in a beautifully inspiring way. This is a moment when Philanthropy must step into its role and let go of practices and habits that have held us back, and Brenda is demonstrating that change for the field.
– Nichole June Maher, President & CEO, Inatai Foundation
As someone who’s worked inside and alongside The California Endowment, I know what it means when they say they’re stepping up. This isn’t just more money—it’s a deeper commitment to community, to power-building, and to protecting what’s just.
– Jim Keddy, Director, Youth Forward
