The Rebuild Collaborative: Transforming Access to Opportunity in Philadelphia

by PIDC
August 23, 2022

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The Rebuild Collaborative (the Collaborative) was developed through an intentional commitment from JPMorgan Chase to advance racial equity, address key drivers of the racial wealth divide, and provide economic opportunity to underserved communities. Despite the residual economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, the Collaborative, in its first year, has made progress by creating pathways to family-sustaining careers for women and people of color, and creating opportunities for growth and job creation for small business contractors run by women and/or people of color. 

This progress promotes equity in neighborhood revitalization through economic inclusion of diverse jobseekers and small business contractors who will participate in public space improvements in historically-marginalized sections of the city.

The Partners

JPMorgan Chase invests millions of dollars each year to enable more people to contribute to and share in the rewards of a growing economy. Thanks to JPMorgan Chase’s AdvancingCities funding, the Collaborative (PIDC, Philadelphia Works, and Rebuild) have been given the opportunity to align small business and workforce development growth strategies across the three entities. The Collaborative is leveraging public investment in Philadelphia’s parks, libraries, and recreation centers to advance equity. It is connecting women and people of color with union apprenticeships and construction jobs, and creating a fund of flexible capital for diverse contractors to build their capacity to compete for public works contracts. The Collaborative is also working to diversify the city’s and unions’ hiring and contracting pipelines. The three entities’ individual contributions to the Collaborative are as follows: 

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Lead Coordination & Lender

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Training & Placement

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Recruitment & Talent Pipeline Development

Rebuild Your Business 

One major hurdle for small but growing contractors is maintaining a positive cash flow to fund costs and payroll especially as they look to take on bigger projects and grow. Larger contracts can have payment terms up to 60 to 90 days, which often does not work for smaller businesses.  PIDC’s Rebuild Contract Line of Credit (Rebuild CLOC)– which provides support to small, minority-, women-, and disabled-owned businesses in need of a line of credit to fund contract-related working capital – helps businesses to meet this challenge. Funds starting at $50,000 are available for contract-related expenses, including labor, equipment, and materials costs directly associated with the Rebuild contract being financed.  

Submit and inquiry now to find out how PIDC can help your business grow.

Accomplishments

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Luis E. Torrado of Torrado Construction

The Collaborative is committed to helping Philadelphia businesses, regardless of size or location, get the resources they need to thrive. Here’s what we’ve accomplished for local businesses so far (from October 2020-December 2021): 

  • PIDC launched the Rebuild CLOC program in 2021 and provided $500,000 and a mobilization grant for $5,000 to a Latino-owned small business contractor (Luis E. Torrado of Torrado Construction) in the first year of the program.
  • In partnership with Surety Bond Associates and The Enterprise Center, Rebuild has graduated 89 businesses through the Rebuild Ready business support program, which provides participating Philadelphia businesses with knowledge, skills, and resources to prepare for Rebuild and other capital projects.*
  • The Emerging Vendors Program helped 19 businesses get certified as minority- or woman-owned business enterprises.*

* These numbers represent programs that were operating before the grant and during the grant reporting period, covering April 1, 2019 through December 31, 2021.

By the Numbers

96
Small businesses assisted Rebuild Ready & Rebuild CLOC

98%
Low-mod income or vulnerable populations

35
Underrepresented founders

Rebuild Your Career 

Careers in the building trades unions are harder to access for women and people of color. Get the skills you need to begin a rewarding career in the building trades unions.

Accomplishments

Rebuild and Philadelphia Works offered information sessions to career seekers interested in entering the trades industry. Information sessions provided participants with an in-depth understanding of what it’s like to work in this sector and how they can start on a career pathway in the workforce by utilizing workforce development programs. 

  • By working with local partners such as PA CareerLink® Philadelphia, the Collaborative has increased jobseeker awareness about the trades industry and has helped people get jobs through Rebuild’s partnerships with contractors and workforce development entities.
  • Rebuild and Philadelphia Works facilitated multiple information sessions to solicit interest from potential candidates.
  • Rebuild and Philadelphia Works provided services to 54 workers across four cohorts.  

By the numbers:

54
Jobseekers supported

41
Completing program

21
Placed in full-time employment

21
Qualified for benefits through trade union

$18.61
Average wage

16
Employees engaged

Rebuild Your Community 

To get involved and strengthen your community, stay updated through the Rebuild email list, find and learn about Rebuild projects in your neighborhood, and/or visit a Rebuild site and share your experience on Facebook and Instagram

Accomplishments

During year one of the Rebuild Collaborative, three Rebuild sites have been finalized and one is under construction. The Collaborative is proud of the 8th and Diamond Playground, a cornerstone playground for the North Philadelphia community; F.J. Myers Recreation Center, a brand new, state-of-the-art mini pitch in Southwest Philadelphia, boasting a mural by Calo Rosa entitled “Unity Chant” in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia; and East Poplar Playground in North Philadelphia, a home to brand new elements for a place to play and cool off in the hot summer months. We also  look forward to the completion of Frank Glavin Playground.

The Collaborative has made notable progress toward its goal of making sure that Philadelphia is a place for everyone! We are proud of all that we have accomplished, but we know there is still much work to be done. The next few years will be exciting as we continue to grow and expand our outreach efforts so that more people can benefit from this exciting opportunity.


Source:  MAI Year 1 White Paper (report period: October 2020 to December 2021) by Dr. Kelly Piccinino, Dr. Wendy McClanahan, and Sara Greenfield, completed January 2022
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