Philanthropic Roundtable in Jacksonville to strengthen workforce development

HUD, City of Jacksonville and philanthropic organizations gathered to strengthen partnerships that will transform housing, community development, economic development, health, safety, education, and workforce development.

The HUD Jacksonville Field Office hosted a Strategic Philanthropic Roundtable on September 27, 2018 in partnership with the City of Jacksonville to strategically plan to maximize resources with key stakeholders in the community.

Philanthropic organizations such as the Jesse Ball DuPont Fund, the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the United Way, LISC, and Bank of America gathered to strengthen partnerships that will transform housing, community development, economic development, health, safety, education, and workforce development.

HUD Field Office Director Alesia Scott-Ford started the meeting by sharing data on the millions of dollars that HUD put into the local community for housing, economic and community development, and highlighted the importance of Section 3, the program that program requires that recipients of HUD financial assistance, to the greatest extent possible, provide training, employment, contracting and other economic opportunities to low- and very low-income persons.

A survey was given at the beginning of the meeting to assess each agency's priorities, and it was determined that Economic Development, Housing, Youth, and Neighborhood Revitalization were the primary areas of interests for the attendees. As the result of this inaugural roundtable, various organizations have agreed to work in partnership with HUD and the City of Jacksonville and to pool resources to make a positive difference with housing and youth in the local community.

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