Palacio Podcast
LBCEI: Working Towards Economic Inclusion for All
LBCEI, The Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, is a community development corporation that has taken on the challenge of expanding inclusive economic opportunities for all communities in Long Beach. It’s mission and values include:
- Bringing Everyone In
- An Economy for All
- Access to Capital
- Inclusive Opportunity
Then, COVID-19 hit and the priorities changed. LBCEI rose to a new challenge by partnering with institutions and organizations to focus on food security (Organic Harvest Gardens: Feeding People. Building Community), digital inclusion (Connecting Our Children to The Future: The Laptop Giveaway), housing counseling, and small business support.
Leading that response and the overall mission of LBCEI are a Board of Directors that include Board President Bob Cabeza, Darick J. Simpson as Treasurer, Sharon Diggs-Jackson as Secretary, Juan Benitez, Wayne Chaney, and Vivian Shimoyama.
PalacioMagazine.com spoke with two of the Board members and Councilperson Rex Richardson, a moving force behind the birth of LBCEI, about the mission and the challenges of the COVID-19 emergency response.
On Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion
From LBCEI history:
“Establishing a Community Development Corporation (CDC) was an objective of the ‘Everyone In’ Economic Inclusion Initiative and an undertaking of a core group of community partners: Long Beach City Councilmember Rex Richardson, the ‘Everyone In’ Implementation Committee, Long Beach Community Action Partnership, Wells Fargo, and the City of Long Beach. In June 2019, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved the ‘Everyone In’ Implementation Plan, a comprehensive outline of five key recommendations that would help expand access to economic opportunity in the areas of Small Business and Diverse Entrepreneurship, Procurement, Workforce and Youth Development, Connectedness (Economic Resiliency), Housing and Homeownership. The recommendation to support the establishment of a CDC that facilitates economic development at the neighborhood-level was included in this package of economic inclusion recommendations. Following its approval, Wells Fargo awarded Long Beach Community Action Partnership, our fiscal sponsor, $115,000 in grant funding to support the CDC’s startup process.
In June 2019, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved the ‘Everyone In’ Implementation Plan, a comprehensive outline of five key recommendations that would help expand access to economic opportunity in the areas of Small Business and Diverse Entrepreneurship, Procurement, Workforce and Youth Development, Connectedness (Economic Resiliency), and Housing and Homeownership. Supporting the establishment of a community development corporation was included in this Plan, as various community partners have joined together to begin this process. Both the City of Long Beach and Wells Fargo have supported this effort to form a citywide CDC that facilitates economic development at the neighborhood-level.”
You can find out more HERE.
