San Jose has received another infusion of cash from Google, adding to the community benefits pot.
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $5 million payment from the tech company as part of its community benefits agreement in the Downtown West project. About $4.25 million will be put into the Community Stabilization and Opportunity Pathways Fund and distributed through a grant program.
“The Community Stabilization and Opportunity Pathways Funds aim to support under-resourced communities in San Jose due to rising costs and increase job opportunities for youth and adults,” Nanci Klein, director of San Jose’s economic development department, told San José Spotlight.
While further details have to be worked out, Klein said there will likely be an application process for the grants. City employees suggested $4.25 million will be disbursed through three grant cycles over the next five years.
Based on the city’s agreements with Google, community benefit funding could receive $155 million in the future if the development proceeds as initially planned. However, with construction paused, Google has renegotiated with the city to make the $5 million advanced community benefit payment. Google spokesperson Ryan Lamont said the company is committed to honoring its community benefit obligations.
The fund is overseen by a 13-member commission of residents who have either experienced homelessness or have a background in community advocacy, education or workforce development. There are four non-voting members of the commission as well: three from the city and one from Google. This commission is the only governing body deciding grant awardees, with the city council reviewing the fund’s disbursements annually.
San Jose has already received $7.5 million in community benefit funding from Google, which has gone toward job training and education scholarships, community stabilization, rental relief and other programs to support under-resourced communities in the city. Klein said the latest round of funding will go toward similar programs.
According to a city memo, there are four vacancies on the commission which need to be filled before it can begin dispersing funds, and more staff needs to be hired to support the commission. The city expects the vacancies to be filled by summer 2025.
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.