New fund aims to address urgent needs in the Coachella Valley
We are an extremely generous community. We know how to share both our time and our assets. Few know that reality — and live it — better than Jeremy Hobbs. He is a very magnanimous member of our community and has been involved with numerous local nonprofits.
And now he is putting his efforts behind the recently formed Build Coachella Valley Fund (BCVF).
The Build Coachella Valley Fund was established in 2023 through the Inland Empire Community Foundation. It was created to support the critically urgent social, environmental and economic resilience of our desert.
The fund's goal is to reinvigorate local philanthropy by investing collectively in effective, mission-driven organizations that uplift wellbeing and build prosperity for residents in the Coachella Valley
"We are known internationally as a desert resort destination," says Hobbs, the BCVF founding chairperson. "The Coachella Valley has a reputation of glamour, golf courses, tennis tournaments, music festivals, bountiful sunshine and a warm dry climate. But there is so much more that others may not see. We need to address those urgent needs."
Approximately 3.5 million visitors come to the Coachella Valley annually — some for a weekend, some for a month and some for an entire season. Hospitality and agriculture are the primary economic drivers of the region.
But behind the appearance of abundance, our valley faces significant challenges, including income disparities, food insecurity, affordable housing, homelessness and other issues.
While half of Coachella Valley households have a net worth of $1.2 million, data from census.gov says that one quarter of our local children live below the federal poverty line.
This statistic illustrates the great need we have to provide crucial outreach to those in need. And this was the reason behind forming the BCVF.
"We can all pitch in and help our neighbors," Hobbs says, "not just individuals but corporations as well."
One of the benefits of the Build Coachella Valley Fund include joining with other local donors to make a greater collective impact and enhance support of high-performing nonprofit organizations. Leadership contributions have been made to the fund by Western Wind Foundation, Amazon, Grace Helen Spearman Charitable Foundation and IECF’s generous individual donors.
Other benefits include learning from experts about current local and regional issues along with promising evidence-based solutions, networking with others who are philanthropically minded and living their passion to improve the region and receiving regular updates about our collaborative model of grantmaking to address the needs of our most vulnerable populations.
The BCVF committee recently met to initiate 14 grant proposals. They awarded $161,000, which were distributed to the following eight organizations: Cathedral City Senior Center: $25,000, FIND Food Bank: $25,000, TODEC: $25,000, LGBTQ Center of the Desert: $25,000, Mizell Center: $20,000, Martha’s Village & Kitchen: $20,000, Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine: $11,000, Riverside County Foundation on Aging: $10,000.
The Inland Empire Community Foundation is proud of BCVF and believes that conditions are right for real, sustainable progress in our valley.
It's for this impressive and generous outreach that we award the Build Coachella Valley Fund this week's Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Power of Community $1,000 grant to help the fund in its mission to help our community.
"Our choice is really simple: We can either sit on our hands, say the issues are too big or too complex, and leave the growing crisis to our children and grandchildren," Hobbs says, "or we can come together now, organizing small groups of people to begin to make real and lasting change that will benefit future generations. The mission and purpose of the BCVF is to be a catalyst for that change."
It's a powerful statement from one of the great champions for change — for the better — here in our community.
Sandie Newton is an award-winning broadcast journalist who began her career in Los Angeles as cohost of the nationally syndicated show "PM Magazine." She went on to host many local and national shows like "Hollywood Insider" before becoming one of the original anchors for E! and a regular on Hallmark Channel's "Home & Family." In 2017, she moved to the desert, creating and hosting NBCares for six years. She is currently the host of "Desert Chat," a half-hour lifestyle show spotlighting all the good people, events and news in the Coachella Valley. Watch it Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on KESQ, at 10:30 p.m. on FOX 11 and noon Mondays on CW5.