LOS ANGELES, CA – Plaza Comunitaria Sinaloa is proud to announce it has been selected as a 2023 California Nonprofit of the Year by Senator Caroline Menjivar. 

Plaza Comunitaria Sinaloa is one of more than one hundred nonprofits that will be honored by their state senators and assemblymembers for their outstanding contributions to the communities they serve. 

Plaza Comunitaria Sinaloa provides educational and workforce development programs to low-income nontraditional immigrant learners who experience challenges with obtaining employment and accessing higher paying jobs. Each year, more than 200 people receive access to basic education and job training that aims to help them transition out of poverty. More than 70% of participants are able to continue their education and gain the occupational skills needed to pass the GED test and enter the workforce. 

“Leadership, staff, and volunteers at Plaza Comunitaria Sinaloa transform the lives of immigrant learners every day, and we are deeply humbled to be recognized by Senator Caroline Menjivar as a 2023 Nonprofit of the Year,” said Executive Director, Julieta Garcia.

When anyone talks about delivering meals to seniors, inspiring with music, protecting fresh water, educating children, championing the disadvantaged, speaking out for human rights, caring for animals . . . they are talking about work that nonprofits do, ” noted Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), which serves as a partner for this awards program. “California Nonprofit of the Year gives elected leaders the opportunity to shine a light on what nonprofits are accomplishing for the people in their districts and for everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits across our state.”

Now in its eighth year, the Nonprofit of the Year initiative provides the opportunity for each California state legislator to choose a nonprofit organization doing outstanding work in their district. The program culminates with a celebratory luncheon at Capitol on California Nonprofits Day, which this year is June 7. 

According to “Causes Count,” a 2019 report commissioned by CalNonprofits, the nonprofit sector is the 4th largest industry in the state, employing more than 1.2 million people. Each year, California nonprofits generate more than $273 billion in revenue and bring in $40 billion in revenue from outside of California. The unpaid labor contributed by volunteers at nonprofits is equivalent to 330,000 full-time jobs every year.