The Durfee Foundation has announced the 2026 recipients of the Lark Awards.
Durfee’s Lark Awards support the collective care and well-being of staff at small Los Angeles-based nonprofit organizations with deep ties to the community. Each organization will receive a $30,000 grant, coaching support and opportunities to come together to learn from each other about what wellness and collective care looks like for the nonprofit sector.
There are 18 organizations in the 2026 cohort. They are:
- After Life Initiative
- Amazing Grace Conservatory
- Carousel Ranch
- College Match
- Creative Acts
- FEAST
- Inner Spark Learning Lab
- Justice for My Sister
- Kid City Hope Place
- Korean Resource Center
- Little Tokyo Community Council
- Pathway to Kinship
- Seen&Heard
- So’oh Shinálí Sister Project
- Street Company
- Unearth and Empower Communities
- Teens Exploring Technology (Urban TXT)
- Watts of Power Foundation
“We are honored to partner with these organizations, which represent diverse geographic regions and issue areas across LA County. We are inspired by the hope and enthusiasm their teams have expressed about receiving a resource dedicated to staff and their well-being,” said Doug Newkirk, Trustee.
“Today’s nonprofit workforce is under unprecedented strain. It is welcome news that more funders are holding conversations about threats to the sector, including sustainability and burnout, but there remain insufficient resources to support worker well-being. The Lark program positions us to learn directly from nonprofit workers what support is needed to thrive,” said Maria G. Cabildo, CEO of The Durfee Foundation.
We’d like to thank our Lark alumni Raúl Flores, Ron Collins, and Billy Taing, and our current Durfee trustees, Saundra Bryant and Doug Newkirk, for their participation on this year’s Lark panel.
The awards are named in honor of the late Lark Galloway-Gilliam, founder and Executive Director of Community Health Councils. More information is available at https://durfee.org/our-programs/the-lark-awards/.