ANNUAL REPORT FY14

The fruits of our labor of love are evident across Los Angeles’ Eastside. Residents have unlocked their power, exercised agency, and brought the legalization of street vending further than it has been in 20 years. Our buildings standout as the best and most lovingly maintained structures in the community. Neighbor-hood businesses on 1st Street are working together to grow their market and flourish even in the face of mounting gentrification pressures.

Thank you for standing with us over the last 19 years as we preserved, celebrated, and invested in our community. Our work is more critical than ever. Growing inequality and the rising cost of housing and transportation create incredible pressures on the residents of the Eastside. The families that we work with were struggling before the recession, and as many people have seen their property values rise and their 401K’s regain their value, there has been no economic recovery for the hardest hit Angelenos. When those hardest hit exercise agency and take to the streets selling tamales, raspados, and fresh fruit, they have been met with harassment and even been jailed for trying to make a living. Organized poor, working class people exercising agency are a threat to the entrenched power elite in Los Angeles.

At a recent Zocalo Public Square event about Los Angeles as a global city, Aaron Paley, founder of CicLAvia, cautioned of the danger of creating another upper class city. The downtown business interests that came out to speak against the legalization of street vending, an economic development solution for the lowest income Los Angelenos, clearly covet that kind of future for Los Angeles.

Our work for 2015 must focus on maintaining the socio-economic diversity of our city by building the power of community residents to protect and grow their stake as Angelenos. As one of the street vendors shared in her public testimony at City Council, “the sun doesn’t just rise for the rich, it rises for everyone.” Help us make Los Angeles a better and more equitable city for our constituents, the people who have tradi-tionally been left behind and harassed at the request of the powerful elites.

Maria CabildoPresident and Co-Founder

At East LA Community Corporation, we believe that Eastside residents will thrive when they have healthy, safe, accessible places to live, work, and play, regardless of their income. It is that very belief that compelled our founders--four Latino activists from East Los Angeles--to act on the critical need for accountable development in our neighborhoods. Their vision was to create a community-based non-profit development corporation that combined community organiz-ing with housing development to create financial stability and build wealth opportunities for this community. Now, nearly two decades later, ELACC has finished another year fighting for social and economic justice for the most vulnerable families in Los Angeles.

A COMMUNITY PLANNED B Y U S A N D W I T H U S

• COMPLETED 53 UNITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN BOYLE HEIGHTS AND BEGAN CONSTRUCTION ON 25 MORE IN UNICOR-PORATED EAST LOS ANGELES

• INCREASED FOOD SECURITY FOR 200 FAMILIES MONTHLY THROUGH OUR MO-BILE FOOD BANK, A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK

• ORGANIZED NEARLY 3,000 RESIDENTS THROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD-LEVEL AND COUNTY-WIDE CAMPAIGNS

• ENGAGED MORE THAN 100 VOLUNTEERS IN OUR EVENTS AND DIRECT SERVICES

• BUILT THE FIRST HOUSING DEVELOP-MENT FOR SENIOR VETERANS IN BOYLE HEIGHTS

• STRENGTHENED THE LOS ANGELES STREET VENDOR CAMPAIGN TO INCLUDE 53 ORGANIZATIONS AND 400 LOCAL BUSI-NESSES ACROSS THE CITY

OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS

A COMMUNITY PLANNED B Y U S A N D W I T H U S

M A K I N G A M O R E EQUITABLE EASTSIDE

BEATRICE BARAJASYEYA’S RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE

“Thanks to the First Street Community Business-es, my business has benefited substantially. I sell more, I have seen an increase in sales, and there are more people that have noticed my business. And also thanks to my colleagues that, since they know me now, they send me clients, which is recipro-cal because when a customer asks me where to eat or where to buy certain things I already know my neighbors and I send customers their way.” - Raul Mora, Owner, Pepe’s Thrifty Shop

Equity Matters. You don’t need to look very hard to find evidence of what happens when a commu-nity lacks voice. All you have to do is walk a few steps and look through the windows on the South and East sides of the ELACC office to see what inequity looks like. We have an unobstructed view of the eight lane freeway that replaced our backyard and half of Hollenbeck Park. There is no com-munity in LA County that has paid a higher price for the region’s growth. That is why the ELACC model is so critical to the Eastside’s future. Through community organizing, we build the capacity of Eastside residents to direct the future of development in their community. Through real estate development, we must build and retain community assets that will keep the Eastside an affordable place for families to raise the next generation of Angelenos. And through Wealth Building and Com-munity services, we must build financial and intellectual resiliency to weather and triumph over economic adversity.

THE 1ST STREET COMMMUNITY BUSINESSES IS ELACC’S NEWEST ECONOMIC DEVELOP-MENT PROJECT. SINCE 2013, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH 18 SMALL BUSINESSES ON THE EAST END OF THE 1ST STREET CORRIDOR TO MAINTAIN THE CULTURAL AND HIS-TORIC INTERGRITY OF THE AREA BY MAKING SURE IT REMAINS A PLACE WHERE LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS REMAIN VIABLE.

TO SUPPORT THE BUSINESSES, WE HELD TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BARRIO PLANNERS AND THE LEGAL AID FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGE-LES. AND UNDER THE BUSINESSES’ LEADERSHIP, HOSTED TRADITIONAL POSADAS FOR 600 COMMUNITY RESIDENTS. 10 BUSINESSES PARTICIPATED IN OUR FIRST “IRON EAGLE” MARKETING CAMPAIGN, WITH A DIFFERENT BUSINESS OFFERING A WEEKLY SALES PRO-MOTION. AS A RESULT, 60% SAW AN INCREASE IN SALES .

Community Wealth supports participants as they travel through a wealth building spectrum; from learning how to build concrete wealth, maintaining their financial security, to understanding how to preserve im-portant assets like their home. Through different points of entry, our program helps empower residents with the tools, information, and resources needed to make well informed financial decisions, transition from costly al-ternative financial services to mainstream products and services, and increase their assets and wealth.

FY14 Wealth Building Accomplishents:• Enrolled 40 residents in ¡Lanzate! matched savings ac-counts, collectively saving over $17,000 • Prepared free tax returns for 718 households, saving the residents over $200,000 in fees and returning over $600,000 to the community• Provided First-Time Homebuyer education and counseling to more than 200 participants and Foreclo-sure Prevention education and counseling to 77 partici-pants• Provided financial education and counseling to nearly 200 residents

Building More Than affordaBle housing

“A dollar spent in our community businesses stays within the com-munity at least four times. A dollar spent in corporate businessses leave the community immediately.”- Carlos Ortez, Owner, Un Solo Sol Restaurant.

IN THE FALL OF 2013, ELACC BROKE GROUND ON THE FIRST AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOP-MENT FOR SENIOR VETERANS IN BOYLE HEIGHTS. GUY GABALDON APARTMENTS, HOUSING FOR SENIOR VETERANS, IS A 33 UNIT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FOR HOME-LESS SENIOR VETERANS. SUPPORTIVE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED BY NEW DIRECTIONS FOR VET-ERANS, THE CO-DEVELOPER AND PARTNER. THE DEVELOPMENT WAS 100% LEASED IN THE FALL OF 2014.

Our Real Estate Development and Asset Management departments are guided by the principle that to preserve a community you must first create stability, and our multi-family apart-ment buildings and single family homes keep the Eastside a place where families can thrive. In FY14, our team leveraged over $77 million for our projects and is in the process of bringing 208 new units of affordable housing to Boyle Heights and Unincorporated East Los Angeles.

FY14 Accomplishments:• Continued construction on Sol y Luna Apartments, a 53 unit mixed-use transit oriented development for low-income families. The development was 100% leased in the fall of 2014• Started construction on Whittier Place Apartments, a 25 unit permanent supportive housing development, with 18 units devoted to homeless fami-lies with children under the age of 5• Continued construction on Linda Vista Apartments Phase II, a joint devel-opment with AMCAL that will have 97 units for low-income seniors• Continued pre-development activities, including getting into the City of Los Angeles’ Managed Pipeline for Cielito Lindo Apartments, a 49 unit mixed-use transit oriented development for low-income families

Building More Than affordaBle housing

Since 2004, Tenant Services programs have connect-ed our low-income tenants to services where they live, eat, and play, increasing access to opportunities that enhance their qual-ity of life. By providing programming on-site, tenants learn to use their surroundings to foster a healthier life for their families and become more active members of their community while building a social network of support. Activities respond directly to day-to-day struggles reported by tenants; from accessing healthy foods, finding affordable childcare and tutoring, to learning English.

FY14 Accomplishments:• 89% of participating residents reporting having saved on grocery costs by using our free monthly mobile food pantry • Served nearly 100 students in our STARS (Sustainable Tutor-ing and Academic Resources for Students) Program•Raised over $2,500 for field trips and tutoring supplies through tenant and staff fundraising efforts• Partnered with The NXT Step to provide college preparation and mentorship to high school students living in our family housing sites

UNLOCKING RESIDENT POWER TO TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES

Our Community Organizing department raises awareness of community issues and increases neigh-borhood unity by assisting low-income residents to access decision-making structures with the goal of creating policy changes that benefit Eastside residents. Organizers facilitate civic engagement and leadership building with residents who then become advocates for responsible urban and economic development in their community.

FY14 Accomplishments: • Passed motion in Los Angeles City Hall to legalize

street vending • Successful in securing resources for the City of Los An-

geles’ Planning Department to continue with New Boyle Heights Community Plan

• Launched ELACC’s Plan del Pueblo 2.0 (People’s Plan 2.0), the community driven and developed community plan alternative to the City’s proposal

• Completed Annual Sembradores Leadership Academy with 20 graduates

“My daughter has been in several different tu-toring programs, but none of them helped her improve her grades. Then I found out that ELACC had their own program called STARS. Since she joined, not only has she gotten better grades, but she has also improved her behavior at school .”- ELACC Tenant

UNLOCKING RESIDENT POWER TO TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES

ELACC IS PART OF A LARGER MOVEMENT WHERE OUR STAFF AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN BOTH LOCAL AND NATIONAL COALITIONS. IN LOS ANGELES, WE ARE PART OF RENTERS’ DAY, AND TOGETHER WE WON A RESOLUTION FOR RENTERS’ DAY LA ON APRIL 23RD, MAKING LOS ANGELES THE FIRST CITY TO PASS A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE IMPOR-TANCE OF RENTERS. ON A NATIONAL LEVEL, AS A CORE PARTNER WITH RIGHT TO THE CITY, WE HELPED LEAD THE “HOMES FOR ALL” CAMPAIGN AND THE PUBLICATION OF “RISE OF THE RENTER NATION. LOCALLY, WE ARE PART OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THE ALLIANCE FOR COMMU-NITY TRANSIT-LA (ACT-LA). IN FY14 WE KICKED-OFF A CITYWIDE EQUITABLE TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT CAMPAIGN TO HOLD METRO ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY EXPAND.

IN SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF OUR FINANCING PARTNERS WHO HELP US REALIZE OUR DREAM OF AN EASTSIDE BUILT

FOR ALL FAMILIES, REGARDLESS OF THEIR INCOME:

Bank of America Merill Lynch• California Community Foundation • Califor-nia Community Reinvestment Corporation • California Tax Credit Allocation Committee • Community Foundation Land Trust • Corporation for Support-ive Housing • Enterprise Community Partners • Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco • Home Depot Foundation • Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles • Housing and Community Investment Department for the City of Los Angeles • JP Morgan Chase • Los Angeles County Community De-

velopment Commission • Wells Fargo Bank, NA

FY14 FINANCIAL REVIEW

TOTAL INCOME: $3,950,182

WITHOUT YOU, THERE IS NO US THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS

45% Grants

30% Developer Fees

17% Rental Income

4% Contributions3% Earned Income

1% Other

East La Community Corporation • 530 s. BoyLE avE. • Los angELEs • Ca • 90033

W.M. Keck FoundationLA2050LISC Los AngelesNational Council of La RazaThree Sisters FoundationUnion Bank of CaliforniaUnited Way of Greater Los AngelesWells Fargo Bank, NA

WITHOUT YOU, THERE IS NO US THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS

Bank of America Merrill LynchCalifornia Community FoundationThe California EndowmentCiti FoundationCity National BankEnterprise Community ParntersJames Irvine FoundationJP Morgan Chase

32% Housing & Asset Development

26% Social & Financial Services

20% Community Engagement

13% Fundraising & Development

9% Management/General

TOTAL EXPENSES: $3,329,215

eastlacommunitycorporation@elaccorgelaccorg

STAY CONNECTED

THE MISSION OF EAST LA COMMUNITY CORPORATION IS TO ADVOCATE FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN BOYLE HEIGHTS AND EAST LOS ANGELES BY BUILDING GRASSROOTS

LEADERSHIP, DEVELOPING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS, AND PROVIDING ACCESS TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOW AND

MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES.

www.elacc.org