Honoring the State’s Changemakers
Each year, California Assemblymembers and State Senators are invited to honor a California Nonprofit of the Year for their district. It’s a way for nonprofit honorees to strengthen their relationships with legislators, and vice versa. As policy advocates, we know that when legislators know nonprofits in their district, they listen more carefully to what nonprofits and the communities they represent need.
Since its inception, just over 1,000 California nonprofit organizations have had their moment to shine – within their communities and at the capitol, when honorees and legislators join together at a celebratory lunch. The program is sponsored by CalNonprofits in partnership with the state Assembly and Senate Select Committees on the Nonprofit Sector.
We are honored that nearly every California state legislator now participates in California Nonprofit of the Year, and a majority attend the lunch with their selected nonprofits, an afternoon that also honors California Nonprofits Day, which this year is set for May 21st.
Explore the map below to see which nonprofits have been selected so far for 2025. (The full list of honorees will be announced May 19th.) It’s always a diverse group representing communities in the state’s major metropolitan regions, in suburban neighborhoods, and rural communities.
And here’s a list of local news coverage to date of some of this year’s honorees.
2025 Honorees
Far North Honorees 2025
Senate
District 1 Senator Megan Dahle has honored Family Water Alliance
District 2 Senator Mike McGuire has honored Food for People
Assembly
District 1 Assemblymember Heather Hadwick has honored Training, Employment and Community Help, Inc.
District 2 Assemblymember Chris Rogers has honored CASA of Humboldt
Sac Metro Honorees 2025
Senate
District 3 Senator Christopher Cabaldon has honored Center for Land-Based Learning
District 6 Senator Roger Niello has honored Silver Wishes
District 8 Senator Angelique Ashby has honored Armstead Academic Project
Assembly
District 4 Assemblymember Cecilia M. Aguiar-Curry has honored Empower Yolo
District 5 Assemblymember Joe Patterson has honored Placer Justice Foundation
District 6 Assemblymember Maggy Krell has honored Saint John’s Program for Real Change
District 7 Assemblymember Josh Hoover has honored Althea Canines
District 10 Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen has honored Elk Grove Food Bank Services
Bay Area Honorees 2025
Senate
District 9 Senator Tim Grayson has honored Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area
District 7 Senator Jesse Arreguín has honored Community Kitchens
District 10 Senator Aisha Wahab has honored Friends of Children with Special Needs
District 11 Senator Scott D. Wiener has honored Folsom Street
District 13 Senator Josh Becker has honored HIP Housing
District 15 Senator Dave Cortese has honored Carry the Vision
Assembly
District 11 Assemblymember Lori Wilson has honored The Robby Poblete Foundation
District 12 Assemblymember Damon Connolly has honored Mount Tamalpais College
District 14 Assemblymember Buffy Wicks has honored Scientific Adventures for Girls
District 15 Assemblymember Anamaire Ávila Faría has honored Boys and Girls Club of Contra Costa County
District 16 Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan has honored the Alan Hu Foundation
District 17 Assemblymember Matt Haney has honored City Surf Project
District 18 Assemblymember Mia Bonta has honored The Unity Council
District 19 Assemblymember Catherine Stefani has honored Wah Mei
District 20 Assemblymember Liz Ortega has honored Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay
District 21 Assemblymember Diane Papan has honored San Mateo County Parks Foundation
District 23 Assemblymember Marc Berman has honored Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County
District 24 Assemblymember Alex Lee has honored Arunay Foundation
District 25 Assemblymember Ash Kalra has honored Sacred Heart Community Service
District 26 Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens has honored Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute
Sierra Honorees 2025
Senate
District 4 Senator Marie Alvardo-Gil has honored Mariposa County Sheriff’s Foundation
Assembly
San Joaquin Honorees 2025
Senate
District 5 Senator Jerry McNerney has honored Tracy Community Connections Center
District 14 Senator Anna M. Caballero has honored Project Run Madera
District 16 Senator Melissa Hurtado has honored African American Farmers of California
Assembly
District 8 Assemblymember David J. Tangipa has honored The Maddy Institute
District 13 Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom has honored Brighter Christmas
District 22 Assemblymember Juan Alanis has honored South Modesto Business United
District 27 Assemblymember Esmerelda Soria has honored Central California Food Bank
District 31 Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula has honored Downtown Fresno Partnership
District 32 Assemblymember Stan Ellis has honored CityServe
District 33 Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo has honored California Farmworker Foundation
District 35 Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains has honored Stay Focused / Reach for Greatness
Central Coast Honorees 2025
Senate
District 12 Senator Shannon Grove has honored Anand Legacy Foundation
District 17 Senator John Laird has honored El Teatro Campesino
District 21 Senator Monique Limón has honored Westminster Free Clinic & Community Care Center
Assembly
District 28 Assemblymember Gail Pellerin has honored Homeless Garden Project
District 29 Assemblymember Robert Rivas has honored Martha’s Kitchen
District 30 Assemblymember Dawn Addis has honored SLO Noor Foundation
District 37 Assemblymember Gregg Hart has honored Immigrant Legal Defense Center
District 38 Assemblymember Steve Bennett has honored Community Action Ventura County
Los Angeles Honorees 2025
Senate
District 20 Senator Caroline Menjivar has honored Chicas Mom, Inc.
District 22 Senator Susan Rubio has honored Azusa Connects
District 24 Senator Ben Allen has honored Resilient Palisades
District 25 Senator Sasha Renée Pérez has honored Altadena Girls
District 26 Senator Maria Elena Durazo has honored Jovenes, Inc.
District 27 Senator Henry Stern has honored The Animal Rescue Alliance
District 28 Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas has honored Latino Theatre Company
District 30 Senator Bob Archuleta has honored Door of Hope
District 33 Senator Lena Gonzalez has honored Long Beach Symphony
District 35 Senator Laura Richardson has honored Heads Up Foundation Inc.
Assembly
District 39 Assemblymember Juan Carillo has honored Antelope Valley Boots on the Ground Alliance
District 40 Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo has honored SCV Senior Center at Bella Vida
District 41 Assemblymember John Harabedian has honored Rotary Club of Altadena
District 42 Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin has honored Katie’s Save
District 43 Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez has honored Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural
District 44 Assemblymember Nick Schultz has honored Burbank Arts & Education Foundation
District 46 Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel has honored Project Rise – A Dawoodi Bohra Initiative
District 48 Assemblymember Blanca E. Rubio has honored Maryvale
District 49 Assemblymember Mike Fong has honored Crowell Family YMCA
District 51 Assemblymember Rick Zbur has honored JQ International
District 52 Assemblymember Jessica M. Caloza has honored North East Trees
District 54 Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez has honored Chinatown Service Center
District 55 Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan has honored It’s Bigger Than Us
District 56 Assemblymember Lisa Calderon has honored La Habra Heights Improvement Association
District 57 Assemblymember Sade Elhawary has honored Advocates for Peace and Urban Unity
District 61 Assemblymember Tina McKinnor has honored Inner Spark Learning Lab
District 62 Assemblymember José Luis Solache Jr. has honored Kiwanis of Huntington Park
District 64 Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco has honored Meals On Wheels – La Mirada
District 65 Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson has honored YWCA of the Harbor Area
District 66 Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi has honored Friendship Foundation
Inland Empire Honorees 2025
Senate
District 19 Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh has honored Orenda Veterans Project
District 23 Senator Suzette Martinez Valladares has honored A Greater Hope
District 29 Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes has honored Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County
District 31 Senator Sabrina Cervantes has honored Power Speaks Louder
District 32 Senator Kelly Seyarto has honored Backcountry Communities Thriving
Assembly
District 34 Assemblymember Tom Lackey has honored The River’s Edge Ranch
District 36 Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez has honored Imperial Valley Food Bank
District 45 Assemblymember James C. Ramos has honored Partners Against Violence
District 47 Assemblymember Greg Wallis has honored Do the Right Thing
District 50 Assemblymember Robert Garcia has honored Children’s Fund
District 53 Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez has honored Foothill Family Shelter
District 58 Assemblymember Leticia Castillo has honored Riverside Life Services
District 60 Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson has honored Healthy Valley Foundation
District 71 Assemblymember Kate Sanchez has honored Hanaeleh
Orange County Honorees 2025
Senate
District 34 Senator Thomas J. Umberg has honored United Across Borders Foundation
District 36 Senator Tony Strickland has honored Pacific Marine Mammal Center
District 37 Senator Steven Choi has honored REACH Foundation
Assembly
District 59 Assemblymember Phillip Chen has honored Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs
District 67 Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva has honored All The Arts For All the Kids Foundation, Fullerton
District 68 Assemblymember Avelino Valencia has honored Catholic Charities Orange County
District 69 Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal has honored Long Beach Camerata Singers
District 70 Assemblymember Tri Ta has honored Vietnamese American Philharmonic
District 72 Assemblymember Diane Dixon has honored The Foundation of Laguna Woods Village
District 73 Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris has honored Pretend City Children’s Museum
San Diego County Honorees 2025
Senate
District 18 Senator Steve Padilla has honored Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty of San Diego County, Inc.
District 38 Senator Catherine Blakespear has honored The Ecology Center
District 39 Senator Akilah Weber Pierson has honored San Diego Foundation
District 40 Senator Brian W. Jones has honored Friends Of Generations, Inc./Archie’s Pantry
Assembly
District 74 Assemblymember Laurie Davies has honored Ivey Ranch
District 75 Assemblymember Carl DeMaio has honored Friends of Poway Seniors
District 76 Assemblymember Dr. Darshana R. Patel has honored Interfaith Community Services
District 77 Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath has honored San Diego Botanic Garden
District 78 Assemblymember Christopher Ward has honored Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation
District 79 Assemblymember Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins has honored The Harvey Family Foundation
District 80 Assemblymember David Alvarez has honored Bomberos de San Diego
