Long Beach Coronavirus Relief Fund Exceeds $1,000,000 and Expands Priorities Funded

LONG BEACH— The city of Long Beach,in partnership with the Long Beach Community Foundation, has raised more than $1,000,000 from members of the community, businesses and family foundations to address coronavirus-related issues in Long Beach. Approximately half of the amount raised has already been granted into the community to address the current public health crisis, and the momentum continues this week with updated priority funding announced.
The Coronavirus Relief Fund began accepting donations on March 18, via credit card, text-to-give, PayPal and check contributions from public donors at, [https://longbeachcf.org/donate/long-beach-disaster-relief-fund]. The Long Beach Community Foundation began collecting donations while simultaneously developing a program to distribute the funds quickly back into the community to support five defined funding priorities which include:
-Serving low-income individuals affected by COVID-19 to pay for critical expenses;
-Microloans and/or funds to small businesses affected by COVID-19 to pay for critical expenses and adapt business models during this crisis;
-Providing emergency funds for workers laid off as a result of COVID-19;
-Providing assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness for sheltering, food, sanitation supplies to mitigate the spread COVID-19, and to quarantine as a result of COVID-19 exposure, and
-Providing food and critical supply delivery to those who are home-bound.
Additional funding priorities were added april 13, to continue to support the most pressing current needs in Long Beach:
-Support for Emergency Health Workers
-Support for Mental Health & Domestic Violence Sheltering
More than $475,000 has been distributed to 31 nonprofits that are keeping families fed, sheltering people experiencing homelessness, providing key resources to businesses and supporting fragile populations quarantined during this public health crisis. Individual organizations are awarded up to $20,000 each, and the grant application process will be available for as long as funding allows.