Several years before he died, Prince anonymously donated close to $1 million to Powerhouse, a for-profit solar incubator in Oakland, Calif.
The pop icon’s support came after a suggestion from the wife of CNN commentator Van Jones.
“He asked, ‘If I have a quarter-million dollars, what can I do with it?’ My wife said he should put solar panels all over Oakland,” Jones told Bloomberg.
Since then, Powerhouse has supported 43 early-stage solar companies with business support and investor introductions. Half of those businesses are women- and minority-run.
