SCAG announces grants totaling $425,000 to promote affordable housing and equitable growth strategies in the Inland Empire

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) announced grant awards totaling $425,000 to five nonprofits and community-based organizations in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to promote equitable growth strategies.

The grant awards ranged from $75,000 to $100,000 and will cover a range of activities related to housing policy and land use. In all, SCAG announced $1.25 million in grants to eligible organizations throughout Southern California under its Call for Collaboration program. SCAG is dedicating $1 million of Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) grant funds toward the program, with additional funding from the California Community Foundation (CCF), the Chan Zuckerberg Institute and the Irvine Foundation.

Call for Collaboration is part of SCAG’s ongoing commitment to combat racism, social injustice and an equity gap that has reached historic levels. Last July, SCAG declared racism a public health crisis and in the months since has led regionwide discussions on ways to eliminate barriers that reduce opportunity for millions of Southern Californians. SCAG staff is working with a newly formed Special Committee on Equity and Social Justice to create an action plan to promote racial and social equity and an inclusive recovery strategy.

“The grant program is a significant step toward ensuring that as we promote accelerated housing production, we have the framework in place to close the growing racial equity gap and maximize the opportunities that are in front of us as a region. For Southern California to fully recover from the economic devastation of the pandemic, we need to make sure we’re promoting equitable growth strategies and create an environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed,” said Rex Richardson, President of SCAG and Vice Mayor of Long Beach.

Clint Lorimore, First Vice President of SCAG and Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Eastvale, praised the San Bernardino and Riverside County organizations that received funding for bringing positive change to the communities they serve.

“Addressing the ongoing housing crisis in the Inland Empire and all throughout California is critically important. Providing tools and collaborating with community partners is vital to this effort and would not be possible without coalition building at the grassroots level,” Lorimore said.

The five IE grant recipients are:

Lift to Rise. Scope: Fund planning activities to advance the production of affordable housing units in the Coachella Valley.

Inland Equity Community Land Trust. Scope: Collaboration with the City of Jurupa Valley to champion affordable housing and elevate the voices of coalition partners in housing policy development.

Neighborhood Housing Services of the Inland Empire Inc. Scope: Expand upon current work with the Pueblo Unido Community Development Corp. to create an accessory dwelling unit initiative.

Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services/Inland SoCal Housing Collective. Scope: Create solutions to improve housing outcomes for renters, homebuyers, homeowners and those experiencing homelessness through education, advocacy and access to resources.

Just San Bernardino Collaborative. Scope: The collaboration of nine community-based organizations working together in the City of San Bernardino to engage residents and draft the People’s Plan for Economic Inclusion.

 “Each of these projects provides an incredible opportunity to address economic and social disparity at the community level, and bring new voices to policy discussions while also promoting the power of collaboration,” said Kome Ajise, SCAG Executive Director. “We look forward to monitoring their progress, and encouraging similar efforts across the region.”