The California Endowment (TCE) is a private health conversion foundation dedicated to expanding access to affordable, quality health care to underserved communities and improving the overall health of populations in California, USA. TCE was established in 1996 using proceeds that resulted from the conversion of the nonprofit Blue Cross of California to a for-profit health corporation. TCE is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices throughout California.
TCE makes both mission-related investments (MRIs) and program-related investments (PRIs) to improve health outcomes in 14 underserved, geographically and ethnically diverse communities throughout California. The foundation�s first MRI was a USD 30 million debt investment in the USD 270 million California FreshWorks Fund, which provides capital to finance grocery stores and other forms of healthy food retailers in underserved communities that lack access to fresh and healthy foods. The foundation allocates USD 7.5 million to PRIs each year, and, as of November 2012, TCE has committed USD 15 million to 11 PRIs, which include low-interest loans to both intermediaries and nonprofits.