Top Companies Support OneOC
Top companies in Orange County have pledged their support to OneOC’s Center for Business and Community Partnerships. The Allergan Foundation, Pimco Foundation, Wells Fargo, Pacific Life Foundation and OneOC board of directors are among the new center’s startup investors.
A reception celebrating their commitment was held at the Center Club in Costa Mesa on Feb. 3.
The new center provides volunteer opportunities for employees of OC companies while generating more resources to help nonprofit groups address unmet needs in the communities they serve.
“There are nearly 4,500 midsize businesses with 50 to 999 employees that represent a largely untapped resource for charitable dollars, assets, and manpower to address our community’s pressing needs,” said OneOC President and Chief Executive Daniel McQuaid. “There’s enormous potential to enlist these companies to do good and maximize the impact of their investments of money, talent and time.”
He said that through the center, OneOC plans to generate volunteer services valued at another $2.6 million and to raise $3.5 million in new giving in the next three years.
Irvine Company Donates
A representative of the Irvine Company presented the Irvine Unified School District with a check for nearly $2.2 million, the latest installment of a 10-year, $20 million Excellence in Education Enrichment Fund pledge.
The funds are used to enhance music education, art and science across the district. The check presentation took place at the Jan. 13 board of education meeting.
Irvine Co.’s “goal has always been to create sustainable communities that help our children learn and flourish and achieve their dreams, and the Excellence in Education Enrichment Fund is playing an important role in realizing that goal,” said Robin Leftwich, vice president of community affairs for Irvine Co.
Closing in on the Goal
Oak View Renewal Partnership and Golden West College, both in Huntington Beach, are collaborating to develop the Center for Entrepreneurship & Leadership based at Golden West.
The center is designed to be a comprehensive resource for people who want to gain entrepreneurship skills, whether through community education classes, a certificate, or business degree, while making a special effort to reach out to potential entrepreneurs in the Oak View community in Huntington Beach.
The fundraising campaign began in September, and the effort has raised $342,000 of the $500,000 needed to launch.
The main contributors to date include the Linda & Tod White Charitable Fund, which donated $100,000, and Wells Fargo, which gave $100,000. Other backers include Union Bank, Pacific Life Foundation, Southern California Edison, Opus Community Foundation and U.S. Bank.
Orange County economist Wallace Walrod completed the center’s economic impact report, which was also supported by graduate students at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
The center is projected to generate more than $55 million in economic activity in its first three years, according to the report.
10,000 Ways to Meet Needs
Newport Beach-based nonprofit Project Access received a $10,000 grant from Bank of America.
The funds will be used to support health and senior programs conducted at affordable housing communities in OC; the organization’s after school program; and Capacity Building for Adults.
“When the people of Orange County have access to affordable housing, jobs, and basic nutrition, Orange County succeeds,” said Allen Staff, Orange County market president for Bank of America.
He added that basic human services, along with community and workforce development, are top priorities for the bank because there’s significant need in those areas across the nation and in the county.
Bits & Pieces
John L. Ginger, chief executive of J. Ginger Masonry Inc., was elected chairman of the board of directors of Segerstrom Center for the Arts for a three-year term. … The Goldwin Foundation gave $32,750 to Moms Orange County, a nonprofit organization serving low-income pregnant women, to support its mission of helping mothers have healthy babies. … Project Hope Alliance partnered with the Social Costa Mesa restaurant to feed homeless children, serving 255 meals in January alone.
