Women’s Empowerment has received a two-year grant of $50,000 in 2025 and 2026 from the Kelly Foundation to empower Sacramento women experiencing homelessness to find affordable housing as they look for jobs with upward mobility so they can eventually afford a permanent home for their families.
“We are proud that our extensive program provides a long-term solution to homelessness while also meeting immediate needs as women navigate the high cost and low availability of housing in Sacramento,” said Lisa Culp, executive director, Women’s Empowerment. “We are grateful to the Kelly Foundation for recognizing that this program is the critical steppingstone that Sacramento women need to transform their lives and rise from homelessness.”
Grant funds will support Women’s Empowerment’s quarterly two-month program where each woman works one-on-one with a social worker, housing specialist and employment specialist. She attends classes and support groups and receives free transportation assistance, onsite childcare, meals and more. Funding also will assist the nonprofit’s lifetime services for graduates, including counseling, job search and retention support, financial assistance, paid job training and more. Program graduates can receive paid training in a variety of industries including property management, healthcare, solar energy, mobility, manufacturing and more.
Grant funds also will support the group’s Trellis Gardens transitional workforce housing program where graduates who have secured employment, but still cannot afford market-rate housing for their families, can live in cottages for 12-18 months as they work to increase income, savings and credit scores and prepare to move into permanent housing.
“Offering support to organizations like Women’s Empowerment reflects our ongoing commitment to strengthening the communities we serve,” said Shawn Kelly Devlin, chairman of the Kelly Foundation. “We are proud to invest in their mission in creating pathways for women out of homelessness and into economic stability.”
Women’s Empowerment offers the most comprehensive job-readiness program in the Sacramento area designed specifically to help women break the generational cycle of homelessness for themselves and their children. In 2024, 155 graduates secured employment or enrolled in advanced training or school, and 89% of graduates maintained or improved their housing. Since 2001, 1,969 women have graduated from the program with more than 4,000 children. Women’s Empowerment is funded through private donations from the community and grants. To make a donation: www.womens-empowerment.org.
The Kelly Foundation envisions a Greater Sacramento region where everyone has a chance to live in a safe and affordable home; access to meaningful work, a sustainable environment, healthy food, and quality education; and where each person’s ability to thrive is connected to the well-being of the community. The Kelly Foundation was founded in 1988. In 2009, the River City Bank Foundation merged with the Kelly Foundation. For more information: www.kellyfoundationsacramento.org.