Bay Area Biz Buzz:

Philanthropy

Citing the region's need for better economic health, the East Bay Community Foundation is granting $500,000 to programs helping people learn new job skills, acquire jobs, protect and build their financial assets and create their own small businesses. The grants will go to 26 nonprofit organizations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, some of which provide services aimed at the chronically underemployed: those re-entering communities after incarceration, those with limited skills and work histories, those emerging from the foster care system, and those from other disadvantaged communities who face multiple barriers to employment.