Kaiser Permanente initiative will put $100 million toward fighting systemic racism in U.S.
Kaiser Permanente is leading a $100 million effort to expand economic opportunities, combat systemic and structural racism, and break the cycle of trauma for African Americans and people in other underrepresented communities.
“The tragic murder of George Floyd and so many others has reverberated around the world, pushing us to demand overdue change to a status quo that keeps communities of color in the margins and holds us all back as a society,” said Greg A. Adams, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, in a news release.
The health care company is significantly deepening its relationship with the New York-based Local Initiatives Support Corp., a community development organization created by executives from the Ford Foundation in 1979.
Kaiser has invested roughly $3.5 million with LISC in the past, but now the health care giant and LISC are jointly committing to offer $60 million in loans to strengthen businesses owned by African Americans or members of other underserved communities. The loan amounts will range from $100,000 to $4 million, Kaiser noted.
A designated $15 million of the Kaiser commitment will go toward increasing access to formal training, business networks, and recovery and growth capital. Kaiser plans to continue partnering with Pacific Community Ventures and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City on these efforts but remains open to enlisting other partners, the release said.
Since 2016, when Kaiser began working with ICIC, the group has reported that KP-supported trainees increased their revenues an average of 45 percent, created 1,361 jobs and raised $66.95 million in capital. That has supported programs in six cities, including Sacramento and Oakland, and they plan to expand to Fresno, the Inland Empire and four other cities with this funding.
LISC Chief Executive Officer Maurice A. Jones said: “All across the country, we can see that health and wealth are inextricably linked. Creating pathways for people to get back to work in quality jobs, and for small businesses to get on solid ground and grow, is so important for the well-being of the nation at large.”
As for the remaining $25 million, Kaiser said it will use it to support grassroots efforts to stem systemic racism by seeking proposals from community-based organizations for initiatives aimed at “dismantling discriminatory institutional practices and structures and/or ... promoting healing from chronic stress, trauma and grief that stems from systemic racism and social injustice.”
“As a country, this is a moment to define who we are and what we stand for,” Kaiser’s Adams said. “We must take strong action to stop the physical, psychological, economic and social impacts of inequity and systemic racism so that we can create healthier communities where everybody, regardless of their skin color, can feel safe and thrive.”
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 2:39 PM.
