October Newsletter
10 Communities — One Goal
September marked the six-month anniversary of Los Angeles' first "Safer at Home" order. We responded to the economic hardship caused by the pandemic by creating the Angeleno Card Initiative, which distributed more than $36M in direct financial assistance to help more than 100,000 L.A. residents. I reflected on this milestone and our work in a recent Medium post you can read here.
I also want to continue updating you on our national expansion of the Angeleno Card initiative into two states and eight cities:
Spotlight: Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Foundation and the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island — together with the office of Governor Gina Raimondo — launched the WeR1 Rhode Island Fund to provide direct cash assistance to Rhode Islanders who are unable to benefit from most public programs and emergency relief efforts due to their immigration status. To date, they've raised more than $3.1M and have distributed more than 5,000 Mastercard prepaid debit cards to families in need. Learn more about this initiative here, and you can donate by texting WeR1 to 27126 or by clicking here.
#InvestMI
With our partners at the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan Urban Core Mayors, we are thrilled to host our first-of-its-kind 2020 Michigan Investor Summit this October 27 and 28! The summit was originally going to occur in Detroit back in April, but — 2020. This virtual summit will bring together civic and business leaders and a diverse group of investors and developers from across the country to explore potential Opportunity Zone investments in Michigan’s 13 urban core cities. Our work in this space is about steering capital toward investments that also provide the best possible return for communities.
Learn more here, and register below to join us on October 27 and 28.
Building a Stronger and More Equitable California
The first meeting of our California Working Group brought together a coalition of experts in infrastructure, education and training to identify and develop ways to create pathways to infrastructure careers within disadvantaged communities in California and nationwide. Read more from our friend Don Howard, President and CEO of the Irvine Foundation, here. Along with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Irvine Foundation is a key partner in bringing this group together, which includes the Open Society Foundations, the Schmidt Family Foundation, WSP USA, HNTB, L.A. Metro, Metrolink, and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.
Congratulations To:
Our Advisory Council member Mayor David Holt on the historic groundbreaking of a new Homeland grocery store in northeast Oklahoma City! It had been more than a year since the last grocery store closed its doors in this area of the city, leaving many residents in a food desert — Thursday's groundbreaking changed that. Read more here.
Save the Date
Michigan Investor Summit — October 27 & 28 | 10:30AM - 2PM PT Daily
Register here
InvestAcadiana’s OZ Pitchfest 2020 — October 28 | 6PM CT
Join our friends at InvestAcadiana for their live, virtual “Shark Tank Style” pitch competition focused on funding projects within Opportunity Zones in the Acadiana region of Louisiana. The competition is designed to connect local OZ projects with local and national investors — Register here.
In the News
The Brookings Institute: America’s infrastructure solutions begin at the ground level
Black Enterprise: Mastercard Pledges $500 Million to Help Close the Racial Wealth Gap
Route Fifty: ‘All Kinds of Opportunity Here’: Will the Pandemic Help Improve the Way Cities Operate
Yahoo Finance: Mastercard Partners With Usio to Boost City Possible Network
KUTV: Struggling to pay rent or your mortgage? Salt Lake City set aside $1.1 million to help
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
And keep following us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram as we create national change from the ground up, from coast to coast.
Rick Jacobs
Co-Founder and CEO, Accelerator for America