City’s Office of Community Wealth Building to Receive $1.9 Million Grant

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The Office of Community Wealth Building (OCWB) recently received news it will be awarded a grant of $1.9 million from the Virginia Department of Social Services. The purpose of the grant is to support the efforts of the City of Richmond to expand workforce development efforts and the capacity of the Center for Workforce Innovation.

“This grant recognizes the hard work and dedication of our city’s Office of Community Wealth Building,” said Mayor Levar M. Stoney. “It will help further our efforts and advance our goals of bringing about change and building One Richmond."

The Commonwealth of Virginia’s FY 2018 budget established a new initiative intended to support efforts of localities engaged in community wealth building and related approaches to moving citizens and families from poverty to economic self-sufficiency.

“Receiving this grant from the Commonwealth is a major milestone. We are grateful for the acknowledgement of our work and excited about the tremendous impact this grant will make on our efforts to help individuals and families reach a new level of financial well-being and economic stability,” said Reggie Gordon, Director of the OCWB.

Many partners helped the OCWB prepare for the grant and supported the community wealth building initiatives, including Mayor Levar Stoney, CAO Selena Cuffee-Glenn, members of the Richmond City Council and Citizens Advisory Board, Virginia First Cities, intragovernmental partners, community partners, and most importantly, the people who have attended OCWB’s listening sessions and/or shared stories about their life struggles. Those stories formulated the strategy and approach used to make the grant application successful. OCWB is committed to being responsive to the needs of the people and helping to create pathways towards hope for thousands of Richmond households.

For more information about the Office of Community Wealth Building, contact Reggie Gordon at Reginald.Gordon@Richmondgov.com or call 646-6374.