Archives: Announcements

The CVA Program team would like to send our best wishes to everyone impacted by the evolving health and economic crisis.  The CVA Program is open and will continue accepting applications during this crisis. However, due to ongoing disruptions caused by the evolving health and economic crisis, the CVA Program has made several programmatic changes to protect our team’s health and safety, while also accommodating program participants who are impacted by the evolving health and economic crisis.  

Given the scope of disruption, we realize it might not be possible to redeem a grant within the normal 35-day timeline. As a result, we have extended the deadline to redeem a grant by an additional 90 days for any approved grant applications until April 30, 2020. In total, approved applicants will have 125 days to redeem their funds once the grant application has been approved.  For individuals that have already received a grant approval, an additional 90 days will be added to their time to redeem a grant. Current grantees will receive an email with this information.

To protect our team’s health and safety, we are moving to a fully remote team.  During this time, we anticipate some delays in processing applications and in responding to participant questions. By ensuring our team’s health and safety, we will be able to better serve you moving forward. Participant data and personal information will remain protected because we will continue using the same security features while working remotely. We apologize for any delays and appreciate your patience.  

We will continue monitoring the impacts of the evolving health and economic crisis and will consider additional changes beyond April 30, 2020 if needed.  Please continue visiting our website to access the most up-to-date information. Again, the CVA Program team is with you, your family and our community during this difficult time.

 

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
September 14, 2018

Benefits of Driving Plug-In Electric Vehicles Celebrated at Tulare County’s National Drive Electric Week Event
Tulare County residents test drive electric vehicles at the Lindsay Farmer’s Market

Lindsay, CA: –Tonight at the Lindsay Farmer’s Market Tulare County residents will experience electric vehicles through test drives and ride-alongs. The 2018 Tulare County Ride & Drive Event is one of more than 280 happening across the country as part of the annual National Drive Electric Week. The event will highlight the clean-air benefits, cost-savings and fun provided by electric cars.
The Clean Vehicle Assistance Program (CVA Program), a program that helps low- to moderate-income California residents with up to $5,000 to purchase a clean air vehicle, has partnered with national organizers, Plug In America, the Sierra Club, and the Electric Auto Association to bring National Drive Electric Week to Lindsay, CA.
The 2018 Tulare County Ride & Drive Event is for lower-income and agricultural communities who generally have less access to clean vehicles. The event will provide information on the incentive programs available to those interested in purchasing electric vehicles as well as the benefits of going electric. Plug-in vehicles by Chevrolet and Ford will be available for test rides and test drives for the roughly 300 local residents who will be attending the Lindsay Farmer’s Market.
“The benefits of electric vehicle ownership should be accessible to everyone, such as lower fueling costs and cleaner air,” said Jhana Valentine, Program Director at Beneficial State Foundation. “We launched the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program to make it easy and affordable for people to own clean vehicles. The Tulare County Ride & Drive Event will bring people together to explore how clean vehicles can fit every lifestyle.”

 

For more information about the Tulare County Ride & Drive Event, visit:
https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=1469

For a complete list of National Drive Electric Week events, visit: driveelectricweek.org

About Beneficial State Foundation: Beneficial State Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 whose mission is to change the banking system for good. Beneficial State Foundation is also the majority owner of the economic interest of Beneficial State Bank, and this unique ownership model ensures that the bank has no shareholders seeking to maximize profit at the expense of communities and the planet. The foundation’s headquarters are located in Oakland, CA with additional offices in Fresno, CA and Portland, OR.                

About Plug In America: Plug In America is the nation’s leading independent consumer voice for accelerating the use of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States. Formed as a non-profit in 2008, Plug In America provides practical, objective information collected from our coalition of plug-in vehicle drivers, through public outreach and education, policy work and a range of technical advisory services. Our expertise represents the world’s deepest pool of experience of driving and living with plug-in vehicles. The organization conceived National Drive Electric Week and has advanced workplace charging by pioneering ride-and-drive events at such leading corporations as Google, Mattel and Paramount Pictures. We drive electric. You can too. pluginamerica.org

About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization with more than 2.4 million members and supporters and chapters in all 50 states.  The Sierra Club’s national Electric Vehicles Initiative advocates for a switch to EVs as one important way to reduce emissions and cut oil consumption. Sierra Club is proud to have been one of the three national groups organizing National Drive Electric Week since its inception in 2011. www.sierraclub.org/EVGuide.

About the Electric Auto Association: The Electric Auto Association, formed in 1967, is a nonprofit educational organization with 75 chapters worldwide that promotes the advancement and widespread adoption of electric vehicles. www.electricauto.org.

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

New state program helps make clean cars affordable for lower-income Californians

Clean Vehicle Assistance Program to use initial $5 million to provide grants and loans for new and used clean cars

OAKLAND — The California Air Resources Board today announced a new statewide grant and loan program to help lower-income consumers across California get into the cleanest new and used cars on the market.

The Clean Vehicle Assistance Program, run by the Oakland-based nonprofit Beneficial State Foundation, was launched with a $5 million CARB grant. The funding is from California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment — particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities. The Cap-and-Trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution.

“This program makes the cleanest cars more affordable for families and individuals with limited means and helps fulfill the promise that all Californians will benefit from the state’s efforts to fight climate change,” CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols said.

The program has been up and running since June. At a press event this morning in Oakland, key partners, including CARB Board Member John Balmes, M.D., Beneficial State Bank and Foundation Co-Founders Kat Taylor and Tom Steyer, Senator Kevin de León of Los Angeles, and Assemblymember Rob Bonta of Alameda, celebrated the program’s early success. To date, Beneficial State Foundation has already received more than 900 applications and awarded 24 grants for cars ranging from a 2018 Nissan Leaf to a 2014 Kia Optima Hybrid.

The statewide Clean Vehicle Assistance Program provides personal grants of up to $5,000, and financial education services, to help lower-income Californians purchase a used or new conventional hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery-electric car. Qualified applicants also can receive low-interest-rate loans (at an interest rate of 8 percent or less) through the program’s preferred lending partner, Beneficial State Bank. Designed for California’s low-income and disadvantaged communities, the program is open to all California residents who meet the income eligibility requirements.

“Low-income people of color are hit hardest by poverty and pollution. Efforts like the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program ensure our neediest communities won’t be left behind in the EV revolution and can have cleaner, healthier air,” said Orson Aguilar, President of the Greenlining Institute.

This innovative pilot project complements other California Climate Investment-funded low-carbon transportation projects, including programs that help Californians scrap their older, more polluting vehicle and replace it with a clean-technology car.

As a nonprofit dedicated to supporting economic and community development in low-income communities, Beneficial State Foundation has a decade of experience innovating within the financial industry to promote fair and transparent banking services to low-income and historically underserved individuals and communities.

“Everyone needs access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation. We are investing in people and clean air by helping all Californians access reliable and clean transportation today,” says Kat Taylor, CEO and founder of Beneficial State Bank and Foundation.

 

Beneficial State Foundation

Beneficial State Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 whose mission is to change the banking system for good. Beneficial State Foundation is also the majority owner of the economic interest of Beneficial State Bank, and this unique ownership model ensures that the bank has no shareholders seeking to maximize profit at the expense of communities and the planet. The foundation’s headquarters are located in Oakland, CA with additional offices in Fresno, CA and Portland, OR.

Media Contacts:

 

Jhana Valentine

Beneficial State Foundation

1-510-463-6562

Cell: 510-421-7989

jvalentine@beneficialstate.org

 

Melanie Turner

California Air Resources Board

916-322-2990

Cell: 916-291-4792

Melanie.turner@arb.ca.gov