Highlights - San Manuel Cares

For more than two decades, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has made generous contributions to nonprofits and government agencies to make a difference in their surrounding communities and Indian Country. Below are some highlights of our charitable giving efforts.

Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival

Indigenous languages are on the verge of extinction, and the remaining few surviving speakers are elderly.

The goal of the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival is to foster the restoration and revival of indigenous California languages so that they may again become a permanent part of living cultures in the state.

In February 2020, San Manuel granted funds that will support The Breath of Life Conference, which addresses specific language revitalization efforts for those tribes that have minimum or no fluent speakers.

The Breath of Life Program pairs linguists with California Indian language learners for a seven-day immersion at the University of California, Berkeley. The Advocates partner with the UC Berkeley Linguistics Department to coordinate archive tours and provide the majority of the instruction.

This has become a popular program for tribes that do not have the resources for language revitalization efforts.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians gifted $9 million to the William S. Boyd School of Law and the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in February 2020.

This gift – the largest out-of-state philanthropic gift – will position the university as the nation’s leading source of education and innovation related to Tribal gaming operations and law. The historic agreement will – for the first time – infuse the unique elements of Tribal gaming into the world’s leading hospitality and gaming program, and add a Tribal gaming emphasis to the nation’s only master’s degree program in gaming law.

For more information read the press release

2019 Breast Cancer Awareness

In October 2019, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and San Manuel Casino donated more than $500,000 to several nonprofit organizations in the Inland Empire and greater Los Angeles area to continue the fight against breast cancer.

San Manuel also hosted the very first Celebrating Courage Fashion Show at the Fox Event Center in Redlands. The fashion show featured breast cancer survivors and was followed by a live auction.

San Manuel then joined Stater Bros. Charities for the 12th Annual Believe Walk in downtown Redlands as a Hope Sponsor. More than 200 San Manuel team members, Tribal members and their families represented San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and San Manuel Casino at the event by walking in unity with thousands of people from across the Inland Empire.

And following a donation to the American Cancer Society, San Manuel Casino was the presenting sponsor for the 2019 Making Strides Walk in Los Angeles.

Loma Linda University Children's Hospital

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians granted its largest donation ever – $25 million – in February 2019 to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.

The funds will go to support the fifth floor of Loma Linda University Health’s new Adult Acute Care and Children’s Hospital, and will allow the Children’s Hospital to continue as the leader in high risk birth care in the region, with approximately 50 percent of births at the hospital falling in this category.

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians have had a partnership and evolving relationship with Loma Linda University Health for more than 100 years, and this donation will forge an even stronger partnership with the Loma Linda University Health system to move the community forward in health and wellness.

Mary's Mercy Center

In January 2019, The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians donated $7.3 million to Mary’s Mercy Center in San Bernardino to aid in building Mary’s Village, an 11-acre facility which will provide transitional, supportive housing to 115 homeless men.

Program participants will receive housing with education and vocational-based training, mental health and substance abuse counseling, parenting classes, financial literacy, and courses on life skills. A combination of short-term (transitional housing) and long-term (permanent supportive) housing strategies will assist each participant in moving through stages of residential stability.

Read more about building Mary’s Village.