Lowe’s Foundation Grants $500,000 to LACCD Programs

MOORESVILLE, N.C., July 18, 2025 – The Lowe’s Foundation today announced 12 new Gable Grants for community and technical colleges to help solve America’s critical skilled trades worker shortage. The funding expands the foundation’s nationwide network of Gable Grants recipients to 60 organizations, each delivering scalable pathways into high-demand trades careers.

Through expanded training, grants to this cohort will help build the next generation of skilled tradespeople at a time when the industry needs it the most. According to the National Association of Homebuilders, the skilled labor gap drives a $10 billion annual economic loss in the housing industry.

“Collectively, we are writing a comeback story for the skilled trades industry,” said Janice Dupré, Lowe's executive vice president of human resources and chair of the Lowe’s Foundation. “Through our Gable Grants network, these schools join a community of innovators helping one another effectively recruit, train and employ the people America needs to revitalize our infrastructure.”

Since launching the Gable Grants program in 2023, the foundation has invested $43 million across 28 states. The grants are part of a five-year, $50 million commitment to help community and technical colleges and nonprofits recruit, train and prepare 50,000 trades professionals across carpentry and construction, HVAC, electrical, plumbing and property maintenance.

The new Lowe’s Foundation Gable Grants will support the Los Angeles Community College District by enhancing its skilled trades curriculum while expanding the capacity of its Construction, Maintenance and Utilities programs. In the aftermath of the 2025 Palisades and Eaton wildfires, the program will focus on fire recovery with disaster-specific training to prepare a workforce for major infrastructure projects.

“Los Angeles needs local talent in the skilled trades now more than ever. With major events coming soon, like the LA28 Olympics, and thousands of homes destroyed in fires earlier this year, our colleges are rising to meet the training demand and provide pathways to good jobs for thousands of Angelenos,” said Dr. Jim Lancaster, Vice Chancellor of Workforce and Economic Development at the Los Angeles Community College District. “This generous gift from the Lowe’s Foundation will ensure that our faculty can teach the latest techniques and that our students have the support they need to reach their career goals.”