Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles Awards Nearly A Half-Million Dollars To Help People Overcome Barriers To Employment

Thursday, December 6, 2018

LOS ANGELES —The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles (The Foundation) today announced a record-high $490,000 in General Community Grants to seven organizations that help low-income individuals surmount barriers to employment find jobs and even start and expand their own businesses. These grantees provide opportunities for Angelenos on the economic margins of society to re-enter the workforce, transform their lives, and build a pathway to self-sufficiency.

General Community Grants provide multiyear awards to support programs that concentrate on high-priority social issues throughout Los Angeles. In recent years, these grants have focused on human trafficking, sexual and domestic violence, and homelessness.

“We are very proud to support this year’s General Community Grant recipients and the transformative work they are doing to provide opportunities to low-income Angelenos,” said Foundation President and CEO Marvin I. Schotland. “By supporting social enterprise, entrepreneurship, and job training, these organizations will provide many people with pathways out of poverty and into stable employment and self-sufficiency. Through these vital investments in our community, we anticipate that more Angelenos will lift themselves out of difficult economic circumstances and thrive in the coming years.”

The 2018 General Community Grant recipients—each awarded $70,000 over two years—include:

The grant to Chrysalis will support Direct Hire, a program that will place hard-to-hire individuals from its social enterprise with partnering employers. Chrysalis creates a pathway to self-sufficiency for homeless and low-income individuals by providing job training, case management, transitional employment and job placement facilitated through its street maintenance social enterprise. Over the past 34 years, it has helped over 60,000 men and women regain their dignity and become self-sufficient.

Mark Loranger, Chrysalis’s president and CEO stated: “This grant from the Jewish Community Foundation will support the Direct Hire component of Chrysalis’ successful Employment Program, in which staff members prepare eligible clients to compete for jobs with our employer partners, and provide continued support to ensure a successful employment relationship. This investment by The Foundation furthers our key organizational goals to improve our clients’ ability to enter the job market and empower them with the knowledge, skills and, most importantly, self-confidence necessary for long-term employment and self-sufficiency.”

Other General Community Grants recipients include:

  • Coalition for Responsible Community Development for CRCD Enterprises. To increase the self-sufficiency and employability of low-income young adults in South Los Angeles through job training, transitional employment, and industry-recognized certification.
  • Downtown Women’s Center (DWC) for MADE by DWC. To help women experiencing homelessness break the cycle of chronic unemployment. Working at DWC’s social enterprise will help empower them to develop their vocational skills and talents.
  • Grameen America, Inc. for Grameen in Los Angeles. To invest in and improve the economic mobility of low-income entrepreneurial women in Pico Union and Boyle Heights through financial education and group-based microloans.
  • Homeboy Industries for Therapeutic Community and Social Enterprise Re-Entry Program (Core Program). To provide paid on-the-job training and comprehensive wraparound services to former gang members, with the goal of breaking the cycle of unemployment, incarceration, and violence.
  • Opportunity Fund for Los Angeles Small Business Impact Fund. To provide access to affordable, responsible credit through microloans to help low-income entrepreneurs grow their businesses, increase their incomes, and generate economic activity in their communities.
  • Valley Economic Development Center for VEDC Women’s Entrepreneur Center. To provide aspiring and current women entrepreneurs with a solid foundation to build and sustain successful businesses, through one-on-one consulting, specialized business workshops, and entrepreneurial training.

About The Jewish Community Foundation

Established in 1954, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles manages charitable assets of $1.25 billion entrusted to it by over 1,300 families and ranks among the 10 largest Los Angeles foundations. It partners with donors to shape meaningful philanthropic strategies, magnify the impact of their giving, and build enduring charitable legacies. In 2017, The Foundation and its donors distributed $100 million in grants to more than 2,600 nonprofits with programs that span the range of philanthropic giving. Over the past 25 years, it has distributed more than $1 billion in grants to thousands of nonprofits across a diverse spectrum. www.jewishfoundationla.org