The James Irvine Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit organization established to benefit the people of California. It seeks to promote social equity and enrich the cultural and civic life of America’s most populous state through its grants in three areas: the arts, youth and education, and state governance and civic engagement. The foundation was created in 1937 by James Irvine, an agricultural pioneer, largely in response to the Great Depression. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded over $1 billion in grants to more than 3,000 nonprofit organizations. Today it is the largest multi-purpose foundation focused exclusively on California.