From help with office rent to technology support, Long Beach nonprofits experiencing financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic or those wanting to expand existing mental health services can now apply to two new grants, the city announced this week.
The application period for the grants will run until Nov. 6 at 11:59 p.m., according to the city website.
The first grant, the CARES Act Nonprofit Relief Grant would support financially burdened nonprofits with grants of $5,000 for nonprofit organizations with an annual operating revenue less than $500,000, and grants of $10,000 for those with an annual operating revenue more than $500,000, according to the city. A total of $200,000 will be given out.
The relief grant can cover costs of commercial rent, inventory, payroll, personal protective equipment, furniture, fixtures and equipment that help nonprofits safely operate during COVID-19, and technology that would help digital services. In order to qualify for this grant, the nonprofit must have experienced financial hardship due the pandemic, according to the eligibility criteria.
The second grant, the CARES Act Telehealth License Grant, would fund nonprofit mental health agencies to subscribe to a telehealth license to administer mental health services online—with the goal of safely increasing access to virtual mental health services for Long Beach residents who are uninsured or underinsured, according to the city. The city has only $30,000 in grants available to give out and funding will be given out on a first-come, first served basis, with each organization eligible for $2,000. Applying nonprofits must already have mental health services for Long Beach residents, according to the eligibility criteria.
In order to qualify for both grants, the nonprofits must have a valid 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and be located in the city of Long Beach. For more information on the application requirements, click here.
Marcelle Epley, president and CEO of the Long Beach Community Foundation, whose foundation in partnership with the city already helped distribute over $1 million to around 80 nonprofits and churches earlier this year, is glad to hear that more help from the government is on its way as challenges that nonprofits faced this year “were just amplified” with the pandemic, she said.
One of her foundation’s recipients, Our Own, a nonprofit that’s focusing on delivering food to families in need during the pandemic, received $10,000 earlier this year, and the nonprofit’s founder, Dustin Young, said they’re still in need more.
Young said that his organization acknowledges that Black and Latinx communities have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, so, in response, he and his team of volunteers launched a program that had them traveled all across the city to deliver fresh produce, toiletries, and educate residents about healthy eating for over 16 weeks since March before stimulus checks kicked in. They also provide mental health services to older adults, low-income families, special needs and pet owners impacted by COVID-19.
Epley hopes these new grant opportunities can help more nonprofits, from those in arts to mental health to youth programming.
“Long Beach is a very charitable city,” she said.