Art Garcia (far right) listens to community members tell their stories alongside other judges from the community.
A speaker from xx welcomes the cohort for their last day.
The IEHP Foundation launched a Storytelling for Advocacy & Fundraising Cohort at in early 2026 to strengthen the nonprofit voices in the Inland Empire, an inland metropolitan region in Southern California close to Los Angeles. The program was made up of an eight-class training program. It supported nonprofit leaders representing 20 organizations with practical storytelling frameworks, tools and peer support. The IEHP Foundation invited Art Garcia to be a guest judge on the last day of the program.
On April 22nd, alongside other guest judges from local foundations, nonprofits, government, and media, Art listened to local organizations share their passionate and heartfelt stories about the why behind their work, and offered constructive feedback and encouragement.
“It’s important to give back and support the nonprofits in my community. The Inland Empire doesn’t get the recognition and funding it deserves. I’m delighted to have worked alongside the IEHP Foundation and Kairos Impact Strategies. I’ve learned a lot from listening to the nonprofits and more about the people—my neighbors—they’re helping. I look forward to seeing how they use this storytelling to grow their impact,” Art said.