San Diego Promise Zone

Visit the new San Diego Promise Zone website

In 2016, the San Diego Promise Zone became one of 22 federally designated Promise Zones in the United States and one of only four in California. The San Diego Promise Zone covers a 6.4-square-mile targeted area that spans East Village and Barrio Logan east to Encanto and is home to the City’s most culturally rich and ethnically diverse neighborhoods, but also some of the most disadvantaged and underserved communities. More than 80,000 San Diegans live in the Promise Zone, an area where unemployment is high (15.61 percent, pre-pandemic), and poverty is concentrated (39.06 percent). 

Through the  Promise Zone initiative, federal government partners work with local government agencies, community-based organizations, direct service providers, residents, and business owners to streamline resources and deliver comprehensive support. Leading the effort, the City has partnered with numerous local organizations and agencies to develop programs and initiatives in six Working Group goal areas to improve quality of life among Promise Zone residents by:

• Increasing Economic Activity 
• Increasing Access to Quality Affordable Housing 
• Promoting Access to Healthcare and Healthy Communities 
• Improve Educational Opportunities
• Creating Jobs 
• Creating a Priority of Safety 

Our promise is to co-create an ecosystem of opportunity and investment through collaboration that addresses systemic racism and inequities to improve the quality of life of Promise Zone residents. We will do this by fostering partnerships with community-serving organizations, government agencies, philanthropic, corporate, and educational institutions with shared goals. The goals can be reviewed in the SDPZ Ten Year Strategic Plan. 

Promise Zone staff provided an informational update to the Economic Development & Intergovernmental Relations City Council Committee on Nov. 17, 2021. Access the presentation slides here.  

San Diego Promise Zone Partner Financial Assistance

As part of a multiyear partnership with California Coast Credit Union, the San Diego Promise Zone is administering one-time capacity building, community outreach, and workforce development microgrants of up to $20,000 to support efforts of Promise Zone partners advancing the goals of the designation. The application window closes Jan. 4, 2022. While the FY2023 application has closed, Promise Zone staff can also support its partners by:

• Providing a letter of support for grant applications; 
• Regularly distributing funding opportunities that are relevant to our partners and the goals of the Promise Zone through our monthly newsletters; 
• Providing a Promise Zone Preference Point Certification for federal funding opportunities that offer a Promise Zone bonus point; 
• Facilitating grant alignment meetings with Promise Zone staff and other partners with shared goals and scope of work to complete a grant application collaboratively; and 
• Supporting application narrative with Promise Zone-relevant data.

LEARN MORE SDPZ Partner Financial Assistance

Digital Inclusion in the Promise Zone Workshop Series

Series 1 -  Getting to a Common Agenda - 12/15/20

• Agenda
• Recording

Series 2 - Access to Connectivity - 5/18/21

• Agenda
• Recording

Series 3 - Assessing Access and Device Needs - 12/08/21

• Agenda
• Recording

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