Strong, Prosperous, & Resilient Communities Challenge (SPARCC)
Client: SPARCC National Partners (Enterprise Community Partners, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Low-Income Investment Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council) and Funders (The California Endowment, JPB Foundation, Ford Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
Project: Strong, Prosperous, & Resilient Communities Challenge (SPARCC)
Service Area: Grantmaking Initiatives, Learning Communities, Cross-Sector Partnerships
Content Area: Climate Equity, Community Development, Health
SPARCC supports local efforts in six regions – Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Memphis, and the San Francisco Bay Area – to ensure that new investments in the built environment reduce racial disparities, build a culture of health, and prepare for a changing climate.
The initiative’s long-term goal is to change the way metropolitan regions grow, invest, and build through integrated, cross-sector approaches that are informed by and designed to benefit low-income people and communities of color.
In 2015, Cassandra started working with the Ford, Kresge, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations and their intermediary partners, Enterprise Community Partners, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Low-Income Investment Fund, and Natural Resources Defense Council, to design and select site partners for the SPARCC initiative. Cassandra has remained with the project since its launch, designing and facilitating bi-annual large and small learning convenings, facilitating the National Advisory Committee, and assisting with initiative planning, development, and evaluation.