Doing Good in the LBC is a weekly newsletter about the nonprofits, causes and people who do good in our city. Subscribe at LBPost.com/newsletters to stay in the know on ways you can help, too.
As the Post and Business Journal head into Year Three as a nonprofit, it’s heartening to see momentum among donors and readers who understand the crisis facing local news.
Our publications had an incredible end-of-year donation drive, and we’re so grateful for your gifts, your time and your readership. On behalf of our team, thank you!
Literary Women
Tickets are on sale for the Festival of Authors this spring, and if you want to go, you should get a ticket now. This event, March 7 this year, sells out quickly.
The event draws hundreds to the Convention Center downtown, and is organized by the nonprofit Literary Women.
It’s a long-running (44 years) popular event, with authors this year including Claire Hoffman (“Sister Sinner”), Barbara Demick (“Daughters of Bamboo Grove”), Amanda Peters (“Waiting for the Long Night Moon”) and more.
Learn more and get your ticket here.
Supporting education
Funding cuts from the federal government are starting to have real local consequences. The Long Beach Public Library Foundation announced it lost about $400,000 for its SEED program, which brought educators together to teach traditional STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math) using creative arts. The program began in 2022 and had served close to 500 middle school students from across the city.
The foundation announced the creation of a new program, the LBPL Creativity Lab, which will continue offering creative and design programming. It is expected to launch in February.
To learn more or get involved, click here.
Grants for nonprofits
The city’s Department of Health and Human Services has expanded its fund at the Community Foundation to give mini grants to nonprofits.
Tax-deductible donations to the fund can be directed to three programs:
- Direct support of up to $1,000 to help meet the urgent needs of community members, such as providing nutritious groceries, transportation vouchers for medical appointments and more.
- Workforce enhancements of up to $1,000 to support Health Department staff with supplemental tools, materials and professional development. These requests are used only when other funding sources have been exhausted.
- Mini grants of up to $5,000 for local nonprofit organizations to support staff wellness, professional development and capacity-building.
Long Beach Walls
The popular public mural festival, hosted by the nonprofit Creative Class Collective, announced dates for this year’s event: June 8-14. Mark your calendar.
The murals around town — crawling up the sides of private and public buildings, parking structures, skateparks, benches, schools and anywhere with a blank space (with permission of course) — has infused the city with beauty and culture.
My office overlooks a stunning mural on the parking structure near Broadway and Pacific created by Lula Goce in 2024:
The 2026 festival, the 11th year of the event, will include artist talks, music, biking tours and more. Three artists have already been announced: Leho and Bamboo Yang of Taiwan, and Liz Munson of Long Beach.
More to come as we get closer.
Read this
We published an incredible story yesterday about a former judge who left her seat on the bench to learn and revitalize the lost language of her Indigenous heritage. It’s an inspiring read.