Care is fundamental to the human experience. All of us care for other people or are cared for by others at some point in our lives. However, our care infrastructure is fragmented and does not reflect this reality. Nonprofits, government, academia, and funders have divided themselves into sectors and siloes, and our care-related public policies reflect this.

To respond to this challenge, five foundations — Blue Shield of California Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, Metta Fund, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation — hired Sāmya Strategies to conduct a field-informed study to examine the landscape and feasibility of cross-sector care economy collaboration in California and identify how philanthropy can best support this collaboration. The findings aim to illuminate the complex landscape of the care economy and inspire investment in cross-sector collaboration that can address challenges and improve care for all Californians.