Los Angeles CA, March 19, 2024 – Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced Bienestar Human Services (BIENESTAR) as one of the Yield Giving
Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. BIENESTAR received $2 million.

BIENESTAR is a community-based social services organization serving Greater Los Angeles. Our focus is on identifying and addressing emerging health issues faced by Latinx and LGBTQ+ populations. BIENESTAR advocates to remove disparities in health and wellness in vulnerable communities by addressing the structural barriers, inequalities, and social justice issues that have a direct impact on health outcomes. BIENESTAR reaches these unique populations through innovative and compassionate peer-to-peer modeling that is 100% culturally relevant to the communities we serve.

In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.

BIENESTAR’s President & CEO, Robert Contreras, shared how grateful they are for these funds. “The gift will strengthen BIENESTAR’s capital campaign and infrastructure enhancements needed to expand the agency’s outpatient medical facilities and become a Federally Qualified Health Center” stated Contreras. “Yield Giving is helping us build a community that is empowered and most importantly in control of its own health.”

The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.

“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”

More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.

Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.

Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to
economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other
tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps
secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.