With a revenue stream stemming from its many for-profit businesses, government grants, and private donations, TELACU has recently expanded its services to the Latino community outside of East Los Angeles, in some cases outside the state of California.
[2] Initially created to combat the high levels of poverty and unemployment faced by local residents, TELACU currently owns and operates several companies all of which are driven by a self-proclaimed double-bottom line that is composed of both profitability and social service.
[3] As far as social services, TELACU believes that "providing tools to others in the form of jobs, affordable housing, loans, new community assets and scholarships is the most effective means to empowering people to build a legacy for themselves and for their families.
Along with a high school dropout rate of 51%, these problems led many to worry about social unrest in light of the fact that residents had so little economic and political power to address their issues.
[3][7] TELACU initially came into existence after the creation of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) in 1965 prompted UAW member Glenn O’Loanne to advocate for a similar organization in East Los Angeles.
Esteban Torres, TELACU's first executive director believed East L.A. was treated like an internal colony by the greater L.A political and economic structure.
[1] In line with ideals of cultural assertion, TELACU's headquarters contains a large mural referred to as The Pride of Our Heritage, or El Orgullo de Nuestra Herencia in Spanish, that commemorates Mexican-American history.
Suggesting that no one was really dealing with the underlying economic problems East L.A. faced, current executive director David Lizarraga began embarking on a quest to create what he called “an independent economy that will make the community self-sufficient.
[2] The overall shift towards financial and economic development eventually led executive director David Lizarraga to create the double-bottom line which it currently utilizes as its main operating philosophy.
In his words, "we formed the "nonprofit organization TELACU as an umbrella for the for-profit holding companies that have the assets, income and employees, which give us economic clout.
[3] The restaurant employs local residents and includes many displays of Mexican pride and culture in the form of paintings from Rufino Tamayo along with others, serving as a landmark for East Los Angeles.
[2][11] In 1982 TELACU faced several charges ranging from corruption to financial mismanagement from both the United States Department of Labor, the Los Angeles Times, and other government agencies.
[3] Before the audit was completed the L.A. Times published a series of articles with dozens of allegations that ultimately challenged the very existence of TELACU, referring to it incorrectly as an “anti-poverty agency”.