Home
About Us
According to a 2019 point-in-time count, there are more than 612 unsheltered homeless individuals in the Coachella Valley. A Southern California company, Renova Energy, has handed out a few dozen cell phone solar chargers to homeless individuals living in Sunrise Park in downtown Palm Springs to power their phones while living unsheltered so they can reach public safety, caseworkers, family members, doctors and friends.
Renova Energy CEO Vincent Battaglia believes that any business no matter how large or small has the responsibility to give back. And he's not alone.
Companies around the country are doing more to tackle homelessness. Some companies, like Microsoft, are providing loans for affordable housing in Seattle. Others are small start-ups like The Giving Keys, an L.A. jewelry company that hires homeless individuals, or Detroit's Empowerment Plan, which hires homeless women to sew jackets for people on the streets.
According to experts, there are several ways businesses can work toward being socially responsible: philanthropy, volunteering, using company skills to create human-centered products or services, or providing innovative opportunities for community members.
For any business wanting to be sustainable and mission-based, it needs to be innovative. Abby Fifer Mandell, a University of Southern California business professor and the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab director, requires the need for business models that are "financially sustainable, which means they have to be clever, creative and innovative, and are also digging deep on pressing problems by addressing long-term solutions." Read the Entire Article
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
"Our small, locally owned businesses are the backbone of our communities.... These assistance programs will help ensure our small business continue to thrive and keep our communities...more
A hospital in San Diego is using artificial intelligence to help doctors more quickly identify patients at risk of sepsis, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Dr. Christopher Longhurst,...more
The Old Medical School in Leeds, England, was once one of the country's first provincial medical schools. Now, it's being turned into a "hub for health-tech innovation," per a press release from...more
The Great Lakes region is home to one-fifth of the world's fresh water, but that could soon change. The National Science Foundation has announced a $160 million, 10-year investment in a coalition...more
Foundation: MacArthur Foundation
This year's MacArthur Foundation 100&Change grant competition has a new requirement: applicants must include diversity, equity, and inclusion in their proposals, the Chicago Tribune...more
Foundation: MacArthur Foundation
This year's MacArthur Foundation 100&Change grant competition has a new requirement: applicants must include diversity, equity, and inclusion in their proposals, the Chicago Tribune...more
"Experiential learning is the best way to get at the nuance and complexity of fields like philanthropy or business," Brian Goebel, managing director of Emory University's Business & Society...more
When Balazs Bognar moved to Tokyo from Urbana, Ill., at age 17, he had no idea he'd end up living there for the rest of his life. "He would take me and my mom and my brothers to cities around the...more
Alber Elbaz's fashion brand, AZ Factory, is shutting down, but not in a bad way. Instead, it's launching a new educational program called AZ Academy: Business for Designers, reports Women's Wear...more
Foundation: Central Valley Community Foundation
California's Central Valley is home to 25% of the US' fruits and nuts, and the state's agriculture-heavy San Joaquin Valley alone accounts for 19% of revenue and 14% of gross domestic product, per a...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Gates Foundation Pledges $50 Million to Fight Ebola Epidemic
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $50 million to support emergency efforts to contain the threat caused by Ebola in West Africa.
