Priority Communities Evaluation Summary Report

In 2020, The James Irvine Foundation launched the seven-year, $135 million Priority Communities initiative to support five California communities—Fresno, Salinas, San Bernardino, Stockton, and Riverside—to create good jobs and foster inclusive economic development that benefits all workers. The initiative builds on nearly two decades of Irvine investments in the Central Valley and Inland Empire. The Foundation seeks to strengthen local leadership in cities that have experienced historic under-investment and help communities develop the capabilities and capacity (e.g. power, time, space, people, and data) to envision and inform choices about their local economies.

This evaluation report highlights noteworthy progress across several impact goals as well as challenges and tensions inherent to initiatives that involve diverse stakeholders, sectors, and other complexities. It explores what it takes to transform local economies with includes examples from each community to provide more nuance.