Wescom Foundation Awards More Than $100,000 to Nonprofits Advancing Economic and Workforce Development
The Wescom Foundation awarded nine grants through their Economic and Workforce Development Fund, totaling $112,500 to nonprofit partners providing career education, job training, and employment opportunities in Southern California and the Central Coast. Each organization received $12,500, and many awards provide unrestricted funding support guided by the foundation’s trust-based philanthropy practices.
About the Economic and Workforce Development Fund
The Foundation’s Economic and Workforce Development Fund focuses on advancing economic and workforce development to ensure youth and adults have career training and employment opportunities that help them succeed and lead to upward mobility and equitable outcomes. It was created as part of a $1 million endowment gift from Wescom Credit Union to celebrate the Foundation’s 25th anniversary.
Meet the Nine Grantees
- Los Angeles Conservation Corps – provides paid work experience and education programs to build resilience in the youth of Los Angeles through environmentally focused projects.
- EXP – a nonprofit helping young people gain experience, confidence, and success in school and career through innovative programs for nearly 8,400 high school students.
- CIELO (Community for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Opportunity) –supports under-resourced communities, immigrants, and people of color in Orange County. They have impacted over 4,000 lives, assisting 450 individuals in launching businesses or becoming launch-ready through personalized entrepreneurial training, coaching, and connections.
- Black and Brown Opportunities for Profit Center(Time for Change Foundation)– addresses racial and gender inequity by supporting women entrepreneurs to build, grow, and scale profitable businesses, aiming to improve diversity among future business leaders and overcome economic and societal barriers for women of color.
- DRAGG (Drag Racing Against Gangs and Graffiti) – provides an alternative to gangs, graffiti, and other misconduct through a positive workforce training opportunity in the unique automotive and trade industry environment. Since 2011, the program has been active in Ventura County high schools, assisting at-risk students associated with criminal involvement, gang participation, dropout rates, substance abuse, and other negative life choices.
- Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) – provides on-farm skills development to help farmworkers pursue the dream of farm ownership or advance their careers in organic agriculture on a 100-acre organic farm in the Salinas Valley. ALBA lowers the barriers to starting a farm business by providing low-cost access to land, equipment, and training over five years, giving family farms the time to take root and grow.
- Orange County Conservation Corps – helps young adults aged 18-26 transition to adult employability through hands-on training and environmental work projects, benefiting the community with conservation-driven projects.
- Urban Conservation Corps of the Inland Empire (Southern California Mountains Foundation) – the largest community-based conservation corps in the Inland Empire, providing young adults aged 18-25 from San Bernardino and Riverside counties with paid work experience, the opportunity to earn a high school diploma, and valuable workforce skills through environmental conservation projects in the Southern California Mountains.
- Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator – collaborates with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies, transform markets through zero-emission transportation, clean energy, and sustainable cities, and enhance communities through workforce development programs, providing underrepresented groups with technical training, certifications, and career coaching to succeed in the green economy.
