Doing Good in the LBC is a weekly newsletter about the nonprofits, causes and people who do good in our city
A Long Beach family foundation is offering a $50,000 grant this spring to fund an idea among at least two nonprofits in the city.
Longtime local residents Mike and Tracy Murchison are calling it the Long Beach Non-Profit Creative Challenge. The single pitch from a minimum of two local 501(c)(3)s should benefit the city as a whole.
The topic or service area is anything you want: disaster preparedness, seniors, technology access, youth, the environment, wellness — literally, anything.
When they asked my thoughts about it last fall, I told the Murchison’s they should narrow that down a bit and specify, you know, more things. (I did this on behalf of you, my friends, who have spent many hours rereading grant offerings to ensure you get it right.)
They essentially said, no — it’s wide open, emphasizing that’s part of the challenge.
They want nonprofits to think big, which requires you put the worrying-about-everything side of your brain on standby for a moment. It’s actually kind of nice.
The Murchisons only emphasized one thing: Creativity and collaboration should be key to the pitch.
Nonprofits must apply together between Feb.1 (today) and May 15, 2026. All that’s required is a one-page summary of the idea, and no more than five pages describing it.
Read the full grant description here.
Emailed submissions (only) at [email protected].
This just in
I’m keeping this edition short (it’s been a long week), but our newsroom passed along a press release from Local Girl Scout Troop 403, and it’s exactly what we all need on a Sunday in 2026.
The troop of eighth graders from a range of local schools recently won the Silver Award — the highest honor a Cadette Girl Scout can earn — by sprucing up the Seal Beach Animal Care Center.
“We repainted and fixed the structures making everything new, fresh, and beautiful,” the Troop said in a statement. “It allows the dogs to have a happy place where they can meet families and hopefully find forever homes.”
Can you all please send more press releases like this? It makes me very happy.