Nine Connecting California grants will support public programs that bring Californians together to connect through issues of difference and conversation.
OAKLAND, CA (September 30, 2026) — California Humanities has awarded $45,000 in Connecting California grants to nine organizations across the state supporting projects that create opportunities for Californians to connect over issues of difference by sharing stories, examining difficult histories and experiences, and building understanding across communities.
The newest group of grantees will engage communities through humanities-based public conversations, storytelling events, and workshops. Their projects explore issues ranging from immigration and intergenerational identity to incarceration, Indigenous relationships with California’s coast, neighborhood belonging, and the experiences of students in Mexico who attend college in California.
“This new group of Connecting California grantees is taking on challenges that take a lot of courage—from refugee parents talking to their children about the realities that brought them to the U.S. to building empathy between incarcerated people and those on the outside,” said Vanessa Whang, former Programs Strategy Advisor at California Humanities. “Having conversations that question assumptions, break silences, and build real relationships is not easy or quick, but it is so valuable and needed.”
“Storytelling through art has a way of bringing people together. At a time when spaces to connect across cultures are rare, our program, Gather In, offers a warm, accessible place to belong and build community across cultures, languages, and generations. In a moment shaped by division, these evenings remind us that immigrants and refugees aren’t separate from Oakland. We are Oakland.” – Sarah McClean, ARTogether Co-Executive Director
Connecting California supports humanities-based public programming that creates meaningful opportunities for Californians to encounter different perspectives, exchange ideas, and deepen their understanding of the people and communities that make up the state.
Through these nine projects, grantees will create spaces where Californians can listen, ask questions, share experiences, and build connections across generations, cultures, communities, and lived experiences.
2026 Connecting California Grant Recipients
Los Angeles Metro
A Place to Be (Long Beach) — Stories from the Los Angeles Black LGBT Community | $5,000
In 2026, A Place to Be will host two Intergenerational Dialogues at AIDS Project Los Angeles, launching a six-part series over the next two years. Building on the project’s 2024 launch, the dialogues will bring generations together to deepen understanding, strengthen relationships, and foster unity across diverse community experiences.
Public Corporation for the Arts of the City of Long Beach (Long Beach) — Stories Between Us: Intergenerational Conversations | $5,000
Stories Between Us will encourage story exchanges between first- and second-generation residents of Long Beach’s Khmer community in Cambodia Town. The project will create dialogues that will recognize shared values that transcend generational and cultural differences. A new mural will be created based on the dialogues and a panel coinciding with the 2027 Cambodia Town Parade and Culture Festival.
The PLUS ME Project (Los Angeles) — Highland Park is Home: Neighborhood Stories | $5,000
The PLUS ME Project will host a storytelling event designed to strengthen community ties in Highland Park. Through speakers, panel conversations, and storytelling workshops, neighbors will reflect on collective struggles, explore their shared humanity, and celebrate what makes their community unique.
Central Coast
Micah Mission INC (Lompoc) — Bridges of Humanity: Every Story Has a Face. Every Statistic Has a Name. | $5,000
Micah Mission will host a year-long series of public conversations, storytelling events, shared meals, and creative activities at the H.U.B. in Lompoc. The project will bring residents from diverse backgrounds together to build understanding, strengthen relationships, and discover shared experiences that foster empathy, belonging, and community connection.
Central Valley
Transformative Justice Center via Edward Charles Foundation (Monterey) — Empathy in Action in Prison | $5,000
Empathy in Action will bring incarcerated individuals, community volunteers, and justice partners together for weekly dialogue, storytelling, and reflection at Salinas Valley State Prison from October 2026 through May 2027. Participants will work to build empathy, challenge stereotypes, and foster relationships across one of society’s greatest divides.
Bay Area
ARTogether (Oakland) — Gather In: Bridging Community, One Story at a Time | $5,000
Gather In is ARTogether’s monthly community gathering at its Oakland Center, bringing immigrants, refugees, and longtime residents together through shared food, storytelling, and hands-on craft. Six sessions will use cultural traditions as a starting point for honest conversation and building trust and belonging across difference.
Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (Oakland) — Gereh (The Knot): Intergenerational Storytelling and Collective Healing in Diaspora | $5,000
Between April and June 2027, the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California will host four bilingual storytelling and psychology workshops for multigenerational SWANA adults. Led by a literary scholar and psychologist, the project will use text-based character creation to process collective trauma and build cross-cultural empathy across political divides.
San Diego Metro
Tribal Sacred Waters Inc. (Santa Ysabel) — California Coastal Tribes Ocean Stewardship Initiative | $5,000
A statewide coalition of California coastal tribes, councils, youth, elders, and partners will host culturally grounded ocean access workshops, shoreline explorations, and stewardship activities along the California coast. Participants will reconnect with the sea while restoring cultural practices and expanding access to communities.
UC San Diego Center for Research + Evaluation, Division of Extended Studies via The Regents of the University of California, San Diego (La Jolla) — Crossing the Border for College: Stories of Binational Students | $5,000
The UC San Diego Center for Research + Evaluation will bring attention to the experiences of students living in Mexico who attend California colleges. An August 2027 event in San Diego will feature a film co-created by the students, followed by a discussion with the student filmmakers.
About California Humanities
California Humanities, a nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, connects Californians to ideas and one another to better understand our shared heritage and the many cultures that shape our state. For 50 years, our grants and programs have fostered connection, community, and learning through storytelling, dialogue, and the arts.
To learn more, visit calhum.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
