Recent Grants

Making Progress in Local Governance

Recent grants from the Haynes Foundation are actively supporting innovative
research and impactful projects that help deepen public understanding of local
government, inform policy, and address local government challenges with practical
solutions.

2026 Governance & Democracy Grants

Planning Grants

Participatory Governance Landscapes in the Unincorporated Los Angeles Region
Cristina Gomez-Vidal, Ph.D., Department of Society, Environment, and Health Equity at the University of California, Riverside
Award Amount: $100,000

Research-to-Action Grants

Advancing Local Governance through a Homelessness Cost Analysis
Becks Heyhoe-Khalil, Orange County United Way, in partnership with Rachel E. Goldberg, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
Award Amount: $498,926

Governance, Democratic Accountability, and Community Benefits in Land-Use Policymaking
Qingfang Wang, Ph.D., with co-investigator Justine Ross, Ph.D., Center for Community Solutions, School of Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside
Award Amount: $266,653

2025 Governance & Democracy Grants

Planning Grants

Democracy and Governance in Action: Amplifying Diverse Voices Through AI in Los Angeles
Michàlle E. Mor Barak, Ph.D., with co-investigators Shinyi Wu, Ph.D, and Eric Rice, Ph.D., School of Social Work at University of Southern California
Award Amount: $100,000

Elevating Eastern LA County’s Voice in Measure G Implementation
Kenneth P. Miller and co-investigator Abhi Nemani, Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College
Award Amount: $100,000

Research-to-Action Grants

The UCI-OC Poll
Jon Gould, Ph.D., School of Social Ecology at University of California, Irvine
Award Amount: $300,000

Faith Under Fire
Richard Flory, Ph.D., and co-investigator Manuel Pastor, Ph.D., Center for Religion and Civic Culture at University of Southern California
Award Amount: $349,785

LA County Reform Research
Fernando Guerra, Ph.D., Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University
Award Amount: $314,863

Developing Performance Metrics for Los Angeles County’s Homelessness Response
Till von Wachter and co-investigator Janey Rountree, California Policy Lab at UCLA
Award Amount: $300,000

2024 Governance & Democracy Grants

Research-to-Action Grants

Preventing Election Misinformation and Election Crises in Southern California
R. Michael Alvarez, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
Award Amount: $277,280

Examining the City of Los Angeles’s Matching Funds Program: A Comparative Analysis of the Matching Funds Program
Mindy Romero, Ph.D., University of Southern California
Award Amount: $175,000