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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."
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
Foundation: Community Foundation of Abilene
Big Country's CASA program seeks volunteers to support local foster children.Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) organization has expressed a dire need for volunteers in the Big Country.CASA...more
English has spent her career working at the intersection of farming and public health.Before joining the Walton Personal Philanthropy Group as a senior program officer, she was director of the...more
In South Africa, the hard-won progress of a youth-led HIV education program is threatened by international funding cuts."It provides a safe environment for us," says one youth volunteer of the...more
Galina Trush was born in 1990 in central Ukraine.The outbreak of war in Eastern Ukraine, combined with professional and financial limitations, forced Trush to make another life-changing decision:...more
EAA has created the Youth Program Coordinator role to recognize and support volunteers leading these youth programs beyond Young Eagles flights and rallies.As more chapters expand their youth...more
Nonprofit board fellows programs (NBFPs) enable graduate students to serve as board members and consultants for local nonprofits.NBFPs match local nonprofits with MBA "fellows" who serve as...more
The I Madonnari Street Painting Festival is a beloved tradition in Santa Barbara.The festival will take place at the Old Mission Santa Barbara Saturday-Monday, May 24-26, from 10 a.m.to noon.Proceeds...more
Biodiversity genomics unlocks new ways to monitor species, protect pollinators, control invasive species and manage species of societal value.Despite these breakthroughs, Europe has not fully...more
The UN's Science, Technology and Innovation Forum marks 10 years of bridging frontier knowledge and policy for sustainable development.World leaders will join pioneering scientists, innovators,...more
The DNC and DCCC kicked off the "Fight to Save Medicaid" month of action, as part of a new DNC distributed organizing program.The initiative will target four vulnerable House Republicans: Tom Barrett...more
Civic Engagement News from...
Community Foundation of Abilene
MacArthur Foundation
Knight Foundation
McKnight Foundation
Broomfield Community Foundation
Madison Community Foundation
Kansas Health Foundation
Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation
Lapeer County Community Foundation
Nebraska Community Foundation
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
When it Comes to Social Enterprises, Failure is the Best Platform for Innovation
In the world of social enterprises, failure is a cringe-worthy moment nobody wants to talk about. But, social entrepreneurs can benefit from their failures.
