Economic Resources Corporation (ERC) is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation whose mission is to promote economic development and job creation, attract needed services and employers, and remove blight in underserved neighborhoods through targeted real estate investments. The organization was founded in 1968, in response to the Watts uprising, by a group of Los Angeles business and civic leaders at the invitation of the Economic Development Administration which is organized under the U. S. Department of Commerce. Since its formation in 1968, ERC's activities have been directed towards the development of real estate to attract manufacturing and commercial businesses and job opportunities to economically underprivileged communities. These projects have included the development of the ERC Business Park and the Martin Luther King Jr. Shopping Center in Watts.