The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development Awards Valley Clean Air Now and VELOZ $5 Million in Grant Funding to Improve Zero-Emission Vehicle Consumer Awareness

Feb 11, 2022 | Press Release

Sacramento, CA – The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is pleased to announce the awardees of the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Consumer Awareness Grants.

The purpose of the grant program is to improve consumer awareness of ZEV technologies and their benefits and to increase access to ZEVs in priority communities by helping convert this awareness into decisions to drive or ride in ZEVs.

“The ZEV Consumer Awareness Grants will help California reach new audiences,” said the Governor’s Chief Economic and Business Advisor and Director of GO-Biz Dee Dee Myers. “These awardees will take two different approaches—one broad scale and one focused at the community-level—but both aimed at improving knowledge and providing tools for individuals to be able to switch to a ZEV in communities where these opportunities have been more limited.”

Valley Clean Air Now will receive $2.5 million to scale up community-based solutions that help low-income and minority community members learn about, purchase, and fuel zero-emission vehicles and connect to ZEV-related workforce opportunities. According to Executive Director Tom Knox, “The GO-Biz award creates an opportunity to directly address some of the barriers to zero-emission vehicle adoption in the communities where they are most needed. Our partners have developed a slate of innovative projects, and we expect to create quantifiable progress toward making zero-emission vehicles more accessible to low-income residents of priority communities, making EV charging more convenient for residents of all types of housing, and helping to create ‘green collar’ jobs for tomorrow’s transportation innovators.”

Veloz will receive $2.5 million to expand the Electric For All campaign, making key investments to raise zero-emission vehicle awareness in hard-to-reach communities through strategic partnerships and community outreach efforts that complement targeted, multilingual media messaging.

“We are thrilled to be a recipient of the GO-Biz ZEV Consumer Awareness Grant,” said Veloz Executive Director Josh D. Boone. “Our Electric For All public awareness campaigns are designed to bridge the gap between the perception and reality of driving ZEVs. Consumers are often surprised by how affordable and accessible ZEVs have become over the years and we’re excited to leverage this funding, alongside our community-focused partners, to reach our Electric For All goal.”

With $5 million in available funding, more than $23 million was requested with nearly $35 million in match funding proposed by applicants.

“The interest in this grant program demonstrates the untapped potential and rich opportunities that remain to advance ZEV consumer awareness in California,” the Governor’s Chief Economic and Business Advisor and Director of GO-Biz Dee Dee Myers said. “There is much to do to reach our 100% ZEV targets and we are proud of these projects we were able to fund to help get us there.”

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit the GO-Biz website.

Heather Purcell
Deputy Director of Communications
Email Heather, HERE