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Become a Volunteer

Search our list of upcoming volunteer events and sign up to help out.

Make a Donation

Make a secure, tax deductible donation to any of our community partners listed below.

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Apply for a Grant

Grants up to $10,000 are available to a range of organizations.

Our Story

Unical Roots is a giving project of Unical Aviation. We’re an Aviation company based in the City of Industry and San Bernardino, CA interested in strengthening the communities where we live and work, particularly for those most marginalized.

We are not a foundation. We are the corporate philanthropy arm of the Unical company looking to give and develop relationships with community organizations or groups who are led by those who are most directly impacted by the issues they are trying to address.

We have a particular focus on supporting and mainstreaming place-based strategies and generative economy work, both in general and in our communities.

Our Vision

  • Thriving, local communities in the areas where Unical and its employees live and work and beyond. Communities where everyone, particularly those who have traditionally been marginalized, can benefit.
  • Employees and community members seeing and experiencing Unical as a business that prioritizes their workers and communities.
  • Self-sufficient workers and communities in the areas surrounding Unical and beyond.

Our Plan

  • Serving as backbone and support for local communities of which we’re a part, focusing most on those with least access to meet their basic needs
  • Strengthening existing work in which community leaders are already engaging
  • Engaging employees in practicing philanthropy and volunteer work
  • Serving as a philanthropic leader in the Aviation Industry and private sector overall
  • Investing in initiatives that promote generative economies whose work could influence and support the community leaders in the southern California region
  • Supporting the development of future workers for the Unical family and local economy through workforce development and education

Our Guiding Principles

  • Trust-based relationships
  • Multi-year, general operating grants
  • Simple, accessible grant reporting
  • Opportunity to provide anonymous feedback about the grant-making experience
  • Listen to the people who are most impacted by the issues they are trying to solve
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FAQs:

Taking Root:
• Organizations who prioritize workforce development, as well as support our neighbors and community leaders in their work to advance economic justice, equity, and educational access through organizing, policy and/or budget campaigns.

Planting Seeds:
• Organizations that are increasing entrepreneurship through new economy and just transition work as a means to self-sufficiency, including organizations establishing their own Impact Investment Funds. Note that support for Impact Investment Funds will be in the form of grants. We do not make investments.

Taking Root:
• An organization or group whose work aims to advance economic justice, educational justice, and/or equity, more broadly through systemic change efforts such as campaigns or policy changes.

Planting Seeds:
• An organization or group increasing entrepreneurship as a means to self-sufficiency, including new economy and just transition work
• An organization or group that is excited to bring to their experience and success in this regard to our Southern California communities in ways that are appropriate and supportive of the unique local experience.
• An organization or group using creative and innovative ways to develop local leadership/network to drive place-based generative economic development in general and/or in Pomona and San Bernardino.

Taking Root:
Pomona, San Bernardino, and the surrounding underserved community

Planting Seeds:
Local and international --No geographic restrictions

Planting Seeds:
• Grant Requests Evaluated: 12/7/2018 - 12/21/2018
• Grants deployed: 1/4/2019 - 4/12/2019

Taking Root:
• Accepting applications: 1/8/2019 - 3/29/2019
• Application Reviewed: 4/1/2019- 4/16/2019
• Grants deployed: 5/3/2019- 6/28/2019

Planting Seeds & Taking Root:
• New grantees may request between $5,000-$10,000
• Renewing grantees may request $10,000-$25,000

• We are not a foundation. We are the corporate philanthropy arm of the Unical company looking to give and develop relationships with community organizations or groups who are led by those who are most directly impacted by the issues they are trying to address.

Current News

New Headquarters Announcement

New Headquarters Announcement Dear Business Partners:As part of our continued efforts to be your supplier of choice - Unical Aviation is excited to share that we are moving our Global ...
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