Services Offered

• DEVELOPER AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGER INTERFACE

• MBE/WBE/DBE IDENTIFICATION, QUALIFICATION AND CONTRACT AWARDS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

• MONITORING EMPLOYMENT OF COMMUNITY RESIDENTS AS TRADES PEOPLE ON PROJECT SITES

• TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO MBE/WBE/DBE FIRMS

• CONSTRUCTION ORINTATION TRAINING PROGRAMS

About the Company

Our vision is to partner with all segments of our community to ensure that every person has the opportunity for educational and economic success, and a secure and healthy life.

This vision comes from GPUAC’s rich history, one that is connected to the city’s civil rights movement and the desire to make a difference in Philadelphia’s poorest communities. It is kept alive through the organization’s strongly held core values:

We care deeply about what we do, and how we do it.

We believe in the potential of all individuals and in the self-empowerment of grassroots groups.

We are committed to excellence in service delivery.

We hold ourselves accountable for our actions; our goal is a consistent one: operational, fiscal and personal integrity.

We are innovative, entrepreneurial, and responsive to emerging needs.

We strive to be cost effective and results oriented.

We believe in the ‘power of diversity’ – and proudly put this into practice.

We believe that change comes about when all voices can be heard.

Our mission at GPUAC is to bring together business and community leaders to solve urban problems. It is carried out in three ways:

1. As an intermediary, we build the capacity of grassroots organizations to serve their own communities. This is accomplished through the provision of financial management services, loans and grants, technical assistance to a range of public and private organizations, and leadership development.

2. Through the operation of effective programs, we impact communities in greatest need throughout the Metropolitan Philadelphia region. GPUAC manages more than 30 programs and services, in the areas of workforce development, health services, neighborhood and community services, economic and business development, and education services.

3. As an agent for change, we build partnerships and launch initiatives that ring about reform. This work is carried out through Public Policy Committees on homelessness, workforce development, community and economic development, and education of children and youth.ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS UNIT
"Building People, Building Communities"

For 20 years, the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition’s Economic Development Projects Unit (EDP) has worked in partnership with project developers, owners, construction firms, and universities (University of Pennsylvania and Temple University) to help these clients award contracts to Minority, Women, and Disabled Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (MBE/WBE/DBE), and to successfully employ females and minorities.
EDP focuses on Economic Inclusion. EDP works with area universities to:

• Design, implement, and monitor project specific non-discrimination plans

• Prepare community residents for construction jobs in their own neighborhoods, and throughout the region
Since 1983, EDP has worked with developers and construction firms throughout the Philadelphia region. The result of EDP’s partnerships is over $550 million in contracts awarded to MBE/WBE/DBE, and $52 million in wages paid to minority and female construction site employees.

EDP’s clients are repeat customers. We are frequently asked to help the same developers with numerous projects. Many of our clients have been working with us for more than ten years. The University of Pennsylvania has been a client for 18 years and Temple University for 20 years.