It's our 50th anniversary. Celebrate with us!

ABOUT PACE

We drive economic opportunity in Los Angeles’ underserved communities.

Everyone deserves a chance to thrive, yet too many face barriers to building a secure economic future for themselves and their families.

At PACE, we bridge this gap by providing comprehensive community development services that promote sustainable economic mobility in Los Angeles’ low-income and underserved communities. By combating poverty and inequality, we empower resilient communities for generations to come.

Since 1975, PACE has helped over 1.4 million individuals and families achieve economic mobility and a better life for themselves and their community.

PACE is a recognized leader in combating poverty and economic inequality within the underserved and low-income communities of Los Angeles.

Since our founding, PACE has been dedicated to creating innovative economic solutions to meet our community’s evolving needs. While PACE was originally founded to support the employment needs of AAPI refugees, our programs have continued to expand and adapt in response to the changing political, social, and economic landscape of Los Angeles.

OUR STORY

50 Years in the Making

PACE was originally formed in 1975 to serve the employment needs of Los Angeles’ growing AAPI refugee community. With an initial grant from the City of Los Angeles, PACE offered job training and placement services, eventually broadening our job creation programs into the San Gabriel Valley and South Bay area.

Overtime, we realized that the most fundamental needs of our communities couldn’t be adequately addressed through job training and employment services alone. We decided to expand our services to better address the issues of poverty and inequality faced by Angelenos across all ethnic and racial groups.

In 1980, we broadened our programming to include our early childhood education program, followed by our Energy & Environmental Services and Affordable Housing programs in 1981 and 1984. In the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, we became inspired by the needs of minority small business owners and opened our Business Development Center the same year.

At PACE, we are continually innovating to meet the evolving needs of our community while fostering a team that reflects the rich ethnic and cultural diversity of the populations we serve. Today, our staff provides linguistically and culturally competent services in over 40 languages and dialects, while our community development work spans across five core programs: Employment, Education, Business, Energy, and Housing.