Intuit last week picked Inglewood to announce a new program to support L.A.’s Black and Latino small businesses. And that prompted Inglewood Mayor James Butts to point out how far his city has progressed.
When he was first elected in 2011, Butts said Inglewood was nearly bankrupt, and he was picketed on Christmas after he cut positions and benefits for city workers. But now Inglewood is prospering; it is the home of SoFi Stadium and next year will be the home of the Intuit Dome, where the Los Angeles Clippers will play.
“Now when we get a grant, we don’t just get some local VP,” Butts mused. “We get a global vice president! A guy with a British accent!”
Butts was referring to David Graham, vice president of Intuit Expert Network. Intuit, which makes TurboTax, Credit Karma and QuickBooks, among others, will provide support through the program for 30 local minority-owned entrepreneurs partly by connecting them to Intuit experts, professional coaches and counselors. Those who successfully complete the 12-month program will receive a $10,000 grant. The program, launched in partnership with the Los Angeles Urban League, is called Intuit Ideas, which stands for invest, develop, empower, accelerate and scale.
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Glorya Kaufman, a stalwart L.A. philanthropist, recently attended the topping off ceremony for one of her latest projects: the Glorya Kaufman Creative Community Center in Culver City.
The center, which is to open early next year, will be a 7,000-square-foot mixed-use space that will be used by local nonprofits. It will have a theater for live performances, a demonstration garden, art space for veterans, housing for artists and a dedicated place for students at the Culver City Unified School District. All programs will be provided to the community free of charge because of support from the Glorya Kaufman Foundation.
The community center is at the Wende Museum, which is an art museum, cultural center and archive of the Cold War.
Kaufman or her foundation has made multimillion dollar donations over the years to such recipients as the Los Angeles Public Library in Brentwood; UCLA, which named the Glorya Kaufman Hall in her honor and USC, which established the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. More recently, Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services added a theater named the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center.
She is the widow of Donald Kaufman, who decades ago teamed up with Eli Broad to found Kaufman & Broad, now KB Home. Broad’s widow, Edythe Broad, is Kaufman’s first cousin.
The Insider is compiled by Editor-in-Chief Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
