Economic Vitality Grant recipients are recognized at PCV’s Annual Luncheon on May 4th, 2015 for their commitment to creating economic opportunity in low-income communities. Pictured from left to right: Daniel Brett (PCV InSight), Joshua Townsend (PG&E), Gwyneth Galbraith (Opportunity Fund), Chris Benjamin (PG&E), Galen Silvestri (United Roots), Gino Pastori-Ng (Youth Impact Hub), Juana Flores (Mujeres Unidas y Activas), Kira Cummins (Mujeres Unidas y Activas), aManda Greene (Youth Impact Hub), Lois Marshall-Ward (JobTrain).
In 2013, PG&E recognized that even as California’s economy was emerging from the Great Recession, many of the communities where it operates continued to face serious economic challenges. While the state’s economy was growing at two percent annually, and unemployment was down to below nine percent from over 12 percent in 2010, these encouraging trends masked the reality that pockets of economic hardship persisted in many of the communities that PG&E serves. To help tackle these issues, PG&E launched the Economic Vitality Grant program to catalyze economic development and job creation in Northern and Central California.
PG&E partnered with us at Pacific Community Ventures to support the launch and management of the program, for a few reasons. PG&E sought to tap the expertise of our in-house research and consulting practice, PCV InSight, to assess the social impact that PG&E’s funding would support. PG&E also saw value in working with an independent third-party to collect and review their applications in a way that would promote a data-driven discussion for the selection of grantees. PG&E also saw our mission to create economic opportunity in low-income communities as strongly aligned with the objectives of their Economic Vitality Grant program, and our presence in the Bay Area enabled close collaboration between our teams.
The Grant Program
PCV InSight collaborated closely with PG&E to design the grant program in such a way that would encourage grantees to assess the quantitative and qualitative impacts of PG&E’s grant funding, and that would enable PG&E to measure grantees’ progress towards the social objectives they outlined in their grant applications. The program was structured as follows:
Individual grants up to $20,000 made from a pool of $200,000 annually
Opportunities for grant funding that fall into one of the following categories:
- Business Attraction, Retention and/or Expansion
- Workforce Training
- Business Development, Incubation, and/or Acceleration
- Other (Innovative Projects/Programs Supporting Job Creation
- Eligible applicants include local government organizations, educational institutions and 501(c)(3) nonprofits
Funding criteria:
- The extent to which a project has direct links to job creation
- The extent to which an organization can demonstrate job creation and other impacts
- Community need
PCV’s Advisory Support for the Program
Since the program’s launch in 2013, PCV InSight has worked closely with PG&E on all aspects of this grant program, ranging from program design to providing recommendations for grant awards. PCV Insight was tasked with developing the grant application and the impact metrics that potential grantees would report on, deploying and administering the application online, reviewing grant applications, analyzing projected impacts, and advising PG&E on which potential grants would have significant social impact on underserved communities in California. PG&E staff ultimately selects which projects and programs to fund.
Results
In 2013 and 2014, PG&E awarded 20 economic vitality grants totaling $450,000 to a wide range of nonprofits, educational institutions, and local government agencies. Their grants have been highly competitive — over 320 applications were received over the first two years of the program, speaking to the real need that persists in our state’s underserved communities as well as the quality of grant applications. We’ve included the profiles of some awardees below, which highlights the diversity of the organizations that PG&E funded in terms of geography, what programs they offer, and what populations they serve.
- The City of Monterey, Monterey, received a $20,000 grant to fund efforts to establish a fisheries business improvement district to establish sustainable fishing practices.
- Mujeres Unidas y Activas, San Francisco, received a $20,000 grant to support the Caring Hands workforce development program which includes job skills training, job placement and retention services for Latina women pursuing careers as professional nannies or healthcare providers.
- United Roots, Oakland, received a $20,000 grant for the Youth HUB Fellowship Program, a social entrepreneurship training program for 20 emerging young leaders.
- Bakersfield ARC, Bakersfield, received a $25,000 grant to expand the facilities of its Industrial Training Facility, which provides job training, employment and support services for the intellectually and developmentally disabled and their families.
- UC Merced SBDC Regional Network, Fresno, received a $20,000 grant to support making business consultants available to local entrepreneurs and small businesses.
This year’s Economic Vitality Grant Program
Applications are open! Click here to apply for this year’s grant program.
In its third year, the Economic Vitality Grant Program began accepting applications on June 1, 2015. If you know of any outstanding organizations committed to strengthening local economies and creating quality jobs in Northern or Central California, please share this link to PG&E’s Economic Vitality Grant program. Additional information about the program and a link to the grant application is available on this site.