By Dianne Anderson The homeless aren’t what they used to be when Pastor Paul Jones first started his extended food and resources outreach several years ago. Today, he sees a lot more regular working people, average families living in their cars – if they have one. With rents and inflation soaring, he said it’s no ...

By Selen Ozturk Those with 26-49 employees in 2021 or 2022, who paid COVID sick leave, are eligible for $5K to 50K. While COVID relief grants have phased down nationwide since the end of the federal health emergency declaration, California has announced a new one. Through June 30, small nonprofits and businesses with 26 to ...

By Dianne Anderson Not yet five years old, and Long Beach Gives has already raised over $6.6 million and is ready to roll on this year’s goals to get more money into the hands of nonprofits that serve the city. Fundraising success is attributed to big-hearted givers, along with an easy shopping cart platform that ...

By Dianne Anderson In Long Beach, where about one-fourth of all homeowners are Black, many are on a fixed income, and any extra money lately is likely going for food and gas, not to fix leaky plumbing, electrical wiring or install a new floor. Nancy Villasenor with Rebuilding Together Long Beach said that for struggling ...

By Dianne Anderson Ever since the last go-round of stimulus dollars, money has been flowing through multiple streams, and will continue over the next two years for those astute enough to grab at it. Jeff Williams, operations director for the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion (LBCEI), said that ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funding ...

By Dianne Anderson Some of the more popular advice that Kayla Booker remembers hearing all the way up through adulthood never panned out for most people she saw in her community, herself included. Going to college, buying a house, and having a family looked good in theory, but seemed out of reach for her generation. ...

By Dianne Anderson Community advocate Keith Lilly is not wasting any time lately getting his applications submitted to tap some free grants under American Rescue Plan dollars that continue to flow down to Long Beach nonprofits. But this round of free money has a short shelf life. Deadline to apply is April 15. He said ...

By Dianne Anderson Back when Tammy Tumbling created the African American Alliance Fund on Juneteenth of 2020, she came out of pocket with the first $25,000 donation that has since set the tone for something big. It seemed that good people wanted to support the cause, they just didn’t know how to get started. At ...

By Dianne Anderson Turkeys and the fixings are overpriced and in high demand but limited supply, leaving slim pickings for providers and nonprofits trying to get a turkey in every pot. Some organizations are calling on community to pitch in, drop off canned goods and nonperishable donations to help make up the shortfall that the ...

By Dianne Anderson Every little bit of money up to $25,000 here or there adds up for mom and pop nonprofits waiting to tap whatever new stimulus dollars they may have missed out on the first time around. New grants are coming, but first, the community needs prepare to respond to the RFPs that will ...