The mission of the Ocotillo Wind Imperial Valley Fund is to improve the quality of life for residents and communities in Imperial Valley. This includes leveraging community resources and building partnerships to achieve sustainable, meaningful, and measurable outcomes.
The Ocotillo Wind Community Benefits Program, established at the Imperial Valley Community Foundation by Ocotillo Express LLC, aims to significantly improve the quality of life in Imperial Valley by addressing its most pressing challenges, needs, and opportunities. With a $3M commitment from Ocotillo Express LLC, the program focuses on supporting local organizations and causes across three key areas – the broader community, education, and specific initiatives in Imperial Valley – through three endowed funds. Each fund starts with an initial $500,000 contribution and is designed to ensure sustained grant opportunities to enhance education, support early child development, increase high school graduation rates, improve out-of-school programs, and more. The Ocotillo Wind Education Fund specifically supports educational initiatives and programs benefiting the Imperial Valley with a competitive application process. Funding priorities include a broad spectrum of educational goals, from increasing student achievement in core subjects to expanding higher learning opportunities and strengthening teacher preparation. Desirable project characteristics encompass relevance, measurable results within a year, potential for scalability and replication, collaborative efforts, sector knowledge, targeted population impact, and clear benchmarks for success.