For Immediate Release
- The San Francisco Foundation renews its commitment with a $50,000 Equity Grant to support Bay Area Latina entrepreneurs.
- Prospera is the only nonprofit in the U.S. that focuses solely on advancing Latina economic empowerment through cooperative business ownership.
Oakland (March, 11th 2019) – Prospera and The San Francisco Foundation renew their partnership to advance racial and economic equity for Latina immigrant women.
Prospera Community Development (Prospera) is honored to announce that it has been awarded, for the second year in a row, a People, Place and Power Equity Grant from The San Francisco Foundation in the amount of $50,000. The grant will make it possible for Prospera to continue to offer leadership and entrepreneurship opportunities to more than 150 Latina immigrant women in the Bay Area. This grant supports Prospera in extending its proven track record in delivering culturally-based training and technical assistance programs to support the launch and growth of Latina owned cooperative businesses primarily in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
The long-term commitment of private foundations, like the San Francisco Foundation, is essential to shift the economic reality and narrative of immigrant women. For immigrant women, entrepreneurship is often the only viable path to economic security and the bar to becoming a successful business owner is exponentially higher. To increase the chances of success, Prospera offers a multi-year program designed to respond to the unique challenges and the immense resourcefulness that Latina immigrant women bring. We use a popular education approach because we believe Latina women own powerful experiences that make them strong entrepreneurs and natural promoters of social change.
About Prospera Community Development
Prospera is an Oakland-based nonprofit organization founded in 1994 and is the only nonprofit in the U.S. that focuses exclusively on developing and launching cooperative businesses owned by Latina immigrant women. Prospera has a long-term proven track record of partnering with low-income, immigrant Latinas to create worker-owned cooperative businesses, which build wealth and leadership capacity in communities of color. The organization has been nationally recognized as a leader in the field of co-op development in low-income immigrant communities. Prospera believes that when women access their economic power, entire communities thrive. We envision a vibrant ecosystem of Latina-owned businesses working together to transform local economies and build prosperity for the benefit of all.
About The San Francisco Foundation
The San Francisco Foundation (TSFF) leverages resources, expertise, and relationships to expand opportunity and achieve equity in the Bay Area. For 66 years, thanks to the generosity and vision of our individual and institutional donor partners, TSFF has grown its endowment and overall assets to $1.3 billion and grants $86 million each year. TSFF serves the San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Mateo Counties. Together, we can harness the power of community to expand opportunity.The Equity Grants Program was created to advance our agenda of greater racial and economic equity. The program offers one door to a suite of grant opportunities centered on our People, Place, and Power pathways.