The Ford, Kresge, and Rockefeller foundations have announced their participation in the Biden-Harris administration’s Economic Opportunity Coalition (EOC), which aims to catalyze and align public and private investments to address economic disparities and accelerate economic opportunities in underserved communities across the country. 

The three foundations will join 21 corporations in coordinating across the public, private, and social sectors to develop and deploy products that direct resources where they are most needed and drive outcomes for meaningful action. To that end, the coalition is designed to uplift and support underserved communities in four focus areas: investing in community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs), supporting minority- and women-owned business enterprises, expanding equitable access to credit and other financial services, and making infrastructure investments that create more community wealth and economic opportunity.  

The coalition has pledged more than $3 billion in investments, including $250 million in long-term, low-interest debt and more than $70 million in grants to CDFIs and MDIs. The groups also will support entrepreneurship and minority-owned businesses, with EOC committed to purchasing more than $6 billion in products and services from diverse suppliers and investing more than $500 million in funding to Black- and Hispanic-owned and -led equity funds.

“The strength of American cities—and the nation as a whole—depends on generating inclusive growth for people of all races, ethnicities, and incomes,” said Kresge Foundation president and CEO Rip Rapson. 

“At the Rockefeller Foundation, we believe every working person in the United States should be able to meet their family’s financial needs and have a path to a better future,” said Rockefeller Foundation president Rajiv J. Shah.

“From the urban communities that were hit hardest by COVID-19, to the heartland of rural America that has experienced disinvestment for decades,” said Ford Foundation president Darren Walker. “It takes cooperation, collaboration, and innovation across sectors to remove barriers to equal opportunity and pave the way for a fairer, more prosperous future for all.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Trigger Photo)