The Town of Erie is proud to announce that we have been awarded $55,000 from the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) to support our project, Racial Equity Advancement through Community Partnerships & Economic Development (Erie Racial Equity Pilot). The Town is among six other major municipalities such as New York City and Chicago as an awardee this year.

This funding is part of the Innovation and Implementation Fund from GARE which includes contributions from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the California Endowment. Projects selected for this cycle of funding involve partnerships with community driven efforts to support employee-owned business models.

GARE notes that employee ownership models for business can address many of the factors that contribute to racial wealth gaps, including lower levels of retirement savings, lower levels of business and financial assets, and lower job quality (as reflected in pay, benefits levels, and worker's voice).

The Town’s application for this funding included the following:

The Town of Erie recognizes the importance of nurturing a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem that focuses on eliminating structural racism and advancing economic opportunity for its BIPOC communities. The strength of the Erie Racial Equity Pilot is based upon building and sustaining relationships with regional and state governments, community champions, cultural brokers, organizations, and communities across BIPOC groups. The Town has made connections with the Latino Chamber of Boulder County, whose ideas are melded with those of partners from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, such as Pagoda Lab, an inspirational collaborative incubator, and the Asian Corporate & Entrepreneur Leaders Denver, who helped brainstorm ideas brought by the Town and the Latino Chamber.

The Town plans to create and develop a business incubator program that will be housed at Erie Coworking, a space located in downtown Erie. Having leveraged concepts from neighboring municipalities and from business incubator model frameworks, the Town will use GARE grant funds to establish this “one-stop shop” for in-person business amenities, meeting space and technology, combined with educational tools, and services provided by peers, Erie Racial Equity Pilot partners, and Town staff. Throughout the planning, development, and implementation of this grant, the Town will center on bringing BIPOC voices to guide the scope and purpose of the Erie Racial Equity Pilot and the long-term vision for a Business Incubator Model in Erie.

The list of all other awardees is below.

In Erie, the Town of Erie was awarded $55,000 for the Racial Equity Advancement through Community Partnerships & Economic Development (Erie Racial Equity Pilot) project.

In New York City, the New York Commission on Human Rights was awarded $55,000 for the Economic Justice and Human Rights Framework for Coop Development (EJCD) project in partnership with the Center for Family Life.

In Western Massachusetts, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission was awarded $55,000 for the Worker Ownership Access Convening: Participatory Evidence-Based Planning to Influence Access to Worker Ownership Agenda Setting & Ecosystem project in partnership with with the Center for Economic Democracy.

In Chicago, the City of Chicago was awarded $55,000 for the Chicago Worker Cooperative Community Engagement Process project in partnership with the Co-op Ed Center. 

In Saint Paul, the City's Office of Financial Empowerment was awarded $55,000 for the Locally Owned Cooperative Assistance Loan Fund project in partnership with Nexus Community Partners. 

In San Jose, the City of San Jose was awarded $75,000 for the Rapid Response Cooperative (RRC) Model project in partnership with the Democracy at Work Institute. 

To learn more about GARE, visit www.racialequityalliance.org/. To learn more about the Town’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, visit www.erieco.gov/DEI or email DEI Manager Alberto De Los Rios.