The Coachella Valley Spotlight is a partnership between Gulf California Broadcast Company (owners of KESQ News Channel 3 and five other broadcast properties) and the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. Each month we recognize an organization making a difference in our community.

Nonprofit organizations are selected from a pool of applicants each year by the News Channel 3 Advisory Board, which includes members of the community and representatives from Gulf California Broadcast Company and the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. Each 501(c)3 organization selected receives media coverage during a designated month about its mission and goals across a variety of News Channel 3’s platforms including “Eye on the Desert,” in public service announcements and on the station’s website. Each featured organization also receives a $25,000 grant from the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. More than $3 million has been presented in Coachella Valley Spotlight grants since the partnership began in December 2008.

The Coachella Valley Spotlight has benefited children, seniors, military troops, the homeless, animals, people in drug and alcohol recovery, people with special needs and many other social services in the area. A call for applications typically goes out each summer with applications due in early September. All applicants are notified about the selection in December, and the first honoree is announced in January.

The H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation is a private foundation that generously supports educational and other charitable projects. Since 1988, the Berger Foundation has expended more than $800 million for charitable endeavors throughout the United States. For more information about the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation visit www.hnberger.org.

Gulf California Broadcast Company owns and operates five TV stations, including the local ABC affiliate (KESQ) and CBS affiliate (KPSP), which area all committed to providing the community with local news and information along with the connectivity that brings people and organizations together.

Eye on the Desert

By Justin Tarpening