Kern Community Foundation Awards $155,000 in Grants to Support Kern County Farmworkers

Kern Community Foundation has awarded $155,000 in grant funding to six local nonprofit organizations working to support employed and unemployed farmworkers across Kern County. This latest round brings the total granted to date to $285,000.

The competitive grant application opened in February 2025 and drew more than 20 applications. An external grant review committee scored the applications and submitted funding recommendations to the Kern Community Foundation Board of Directors. In July 2026, the Board approved six grants totaling $155,000.

The funding comes from the Bertha M. Rankin Trust, which was privately managed by trustees until 2024. When the trust’s administration ended, the Attorney General of California assigned Kern Community Foundation the estate’s remaining assets to distribute to Kern County nonprofit organizations, in keeping with Ms. Rankin’s wishes to support employed and unemployed farmworkers in Kern County. Per the terms of the assignment, the funds must be fully distributed by 2027.

“These grants let us carry out exactly what Bertha Rankin intended — direct, practical support for the farmworkers who sustain Kern County’s agricultural economy,” said Amy Travis, President & CEO of Kern Community Foundation. “We are honored to help her legacy reach the people and organizations doing this work every day.”

Grant recipients include:

• California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. ($25,000) – Protects the economic security and well-being of low-income agricultural workers across Kern County through employment and labor protection work, with wage recovery legal aid identified as the area of greatest need.
• Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) ($25,000) – Provides food and transportation assistance to employed and unemployed migrant farmworker families in Kern County enrolled in the Migrant Childcare Alternative Payment (MCAP) program, reducing food insecurity and transportation barriers that limit access to healthcare and essential services.
• Olinga ($30,000) – A workforce and educational program serving employed and unemployed farmworker families in Arvin, expanding on-farm technology education for 40 farmworker youth while creating workforce training and apprenticeship opportunities for 10 farmworker parents.
• Organización en California de Líderes Campesinas, Inc. ($25,000) – A year-round initiative providing monthly access to fresh, nutritious food and essential community resources for unemployed and employed farmworker families in Shafter, Wasco, and surrounding agricultural communities.
• Proteus, Inc. ($25,000) – Provides outreach referrals, housing assistance, food, utility aid, and limited workforce development services to low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers (employed and/or unemployed) residing in North Kern County (Wasco, Shafter, Delano, McFarland, and surrounding communities).
• Taft College Foundation ($25,000) – Launch grant-funded dental hygiene and transportation services through Taft College’s Dental Hygiene Clinic for an estimated 350–400 full-time, seasonal, and unemployed farmworkers in the West Kern/Taft area. Grant-supported vouchers will offset the clinic’s $25 patient fee, reducing financial barriers to preventative oral health care.

The next grant cycle is scheduled for Spring 2027. For more information about the Farmworkers grant or to learn how you can support local philanthropic efforts, please visit www.kernfoundation.org/farmworkers or contact Amy Travis at amy@kernfoundation.org.

About Kern Community Foundation
Kern Community Foundation is a vibrant nonprofit enterprise with a simple mission: Growing Community. Growing Philanthropy. For more than 25 years, the Foundation has served as a charitable resource for local donors, families, and businesses and as a hub for local philanthropy in Kern County. The Foundation manages more than 200 charitable funds and has awarded nearly $30 million in grants and scholarships to support nonprofits, students, and community initiatives. Through strategic partnerships and community leadership, Kern Community Foundation works to make Kern County a better place to live, work, and visit. For more information about Kern Community Foundation, visit kernfoundation.org.