FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Daniel Cozad, Executive Director, Green Valley Initiative, 909-747-5240
Ali Sahabi, Founding Chairman, GIVE, 951-667-6200
Sarah Mundy, Riverside County EDA, 951-955-6696
Mark Dowling, San Bernardino EDA, 909-387-9801
Carol Olson, Morgan Family Foundation, 650-941-8818
Nov. 3, 2008
FUNDING POURS IN FOR GREEN VALLEY INITIATIVE
Various agencies and nonprofits contribute $200,000 to the mission’s next steps: forming an independent entity and action plan to be implemented in January, 2009.
CORONA, Calif. – The Green Valley Initiative (GVI) has received grants and pledges totaling nearly $200,000 to help fund future efforts to bring clean and green technologies to the Inland Empire, representatives announced Friday.
The economic development agencies of both Riverside and San Bernardino counties have committed $25,000 each to the process of identifying and promoting clean and green technology opportunities and projects for the region – efforts that will bring jobs and grow business the Inland Empire. The Morgan Family Foundation, non-profit benefitting youth, education, environment and stewardship, has pledged a $50,000 matching grant to help fund a detailed action plan developed by Silicon Valley mastermind and economist Doug Henton of Collaborative Economics, Inc. The study will pinpoint strategies and approaches to take when GVI is formally launched as an independent entity in January.
These funding sources come on the heels of a $100,000 grant awarded to GVI last month by Southern California Edison.
GVI is a regional economic development plan launched in 2007 to promote renewable energy sources, alternative fuels, biotech, nanotech and other sustainable industries in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a Southern California region referred to as the Inland Empire. To date, the boards of supervisors of both counties, the Western Riverside Council of Governments and more than 25 cities and public agencies have adopted resolutions in support of the initiative.
“Riverside County’s Economic Development Agency has been a key partner in the Green Valley Initiative since its inception,” said Sarah Mundy, assistant director. “These next steps are vital to identifying future projects for the region and seeing them through.”
San Bernardino County Economic Development Agency Director Mark Dowling had similar views.
“GVI has been successful at making this a regional initiative that will identify the strengths and opportunities for each geographical area,” he said. “In the end, all of the Inland Empire will benefit from what we are doing now.”
In collaboration with the GVI Economic Development Committee, Henton and his Collaborative Economics team will develop action plans to:
- Build the base of green product and service providers in the Inland Empire
- Promote adoption of green innovations in one of the region’s leading industry clusters
- Organize and fund GVI implementation.
Henton has extensive experience in successful economic development programs, and is considered by many to be one of the key people behind the Silicon Valley transformation of the 1990s. In a preliminary study commissioned earlier this year by GVI, Henton identified clusters of opportunity to be developed and folded into a strategic plan to be implemented in the months ahead. He recommended a focus on transport, warehousing and packaging – strong industries already established in the region that can easily transition into a green technology economy.
Other clusters – including manufacturing, retail, health and social services, construction and professional services – may also be included in the initiative in the future, a regional effort that now includes more than 500 stakeholders representing government, education, business, community and local Native American tribes.
GVI is a project of the Green Institute for Village Empowerment, (GIVE), a nonprofit organization established in 2005 to promote balance in the way people live, how their choices impact the environment and others in their community.
“Thanks to the generosity of the county EDAs and the Morgan Family Foundation, the Green Valley Initiative will continue to gain the momentum required to accomplish our goals,” said Ali Sahabi, who helped launch GVI in 2007 through his nonprofit, GIVE. Sahabi is president of SE Corporation, a land-planning and entitlement company specializing in sustainable communities.
GIVE is a nonprofit organization established in 2006 to promote balance in the way people live, how their choices impact the environment and others in their community. GIVE hosts events and initiatives, and sponsors college campus chapters to educate the public on issues related to sustainability, a term used to describe this social, economic and environmental balance. For more information visit www.giveforthefuture.org
The Morgan Family Foundation is a private, family foundation established in 1993 to benefit youth, education, the environment and stewardship. For information, visit www.morganfamilyfoundation.org.
##
