GRANT PARTNER IMPACT STORY
Ella Baker Center For Human Rights BUILDING A GREEN PATH OUT OF POVERTY CIRCLE: ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
THE ISSUE As long as poverty and unemployment remain barriers to self-empowerment, there is a need for new living-wage jobs and workforce training. The U.S., particularly the Bay Area, has been experiencing economic growth based on the development of sustainable and environmental products, services, and technologies.
SNAPSHOT GRANT TERM:
2007-09
THE OAKLAND GREEN JOBS
CORPS
2008 AND WAS CALIFORNIA’S GREEN
LAUNCHED IN
THE MODEL FOR
CORPS, WHICH RECEIVED $10 Green-collar jobs provide employment as a way out of poverty and bring positive environmental change. Yet, businesses focused on energy efficiency and solar projects are often constrained by the lack of eligible, trained workers for manual labor jobs.
MILLION
IN FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS
SINCE ITS APRIL
2010 DEBUT, THE
MAKING GREEN WORK WAS DOWNLOADED
TOOLKIT
100+ TIMES
THROUGHOUT THE USA, CANADA, THE UK AND THE NETHERLANDS
THE MISSION Ella Baker Center for Human Rights offers smart solutions and uplifting alternatives to violence and incarceration for low-income and people of color through organizing, leadership development and advocacy. The Center has been at the forefront of the green-collar jobs movement, working to make Oakland a model for programs throughout the nation. Its Green Collar Jobs Campaign advocates for the creation of quality, career-track, skilled jobs in industries like renewable energy, water and energy efficiency, green building, habitat restoration, and sustainable agriculture.
THE PROJECT The Center sought Full Circle Fund’s assistance to develop and launch the Oakland Green Jobs Corps city-wide job training and paid internship program that prepares lowincome and at-risk youth for careers in the green and cleantech industries. They also desired a training toolkit that could be used as a model and adapted by other cities looking to develop and scale green jobs programs.
“What we're trying to do at the Ella Baker Center and so proud to be doing in partnership with Full Circle Fund, is to birth a new green economy and create green pathways out of poverty for young people.”
NEW YORK’S OSBORNE ASSOCIATION LAUNCHED THE GREEN CAREER CENTER IN
2010, USING MAKING GREEN WORK AS A GUIDE. IN 2011, OSBORNE WILL GRADUATE MORE THAN
STUDENTS
- Van Jones Co-Founder Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
200
FROM ITS GREEN
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
THE WORK Full Circle Fund was instrumental in the Green Jobs Corps’ earliest stages to define, develop, and launch the program. The team provided guidance to cultivate and incentivize business participation, examined earned income strategies to build a sustainable financial model, and developed a public policy plan to generate demand and financing for projects that created employment opportunities. This work culminated in the Making Green Work toolkit, researched and authored by Full Circle Fund’s team. The toolkit includes a roadmap, policy recommendations, best practices, and a series of seven case studies. It is now being used to replicate comprehensive green jobs programs worldwide.
Full Circle Fund is an engaged philanthropy organization cultivating the next generation of community leaders and driving lasting social change in the Bay Area. We recruit top leaders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and empower them to leverage their experience, connections, and financial resources to benefit innovative social entrepreneurs and organizations. www.fullcirclefund.org