“It’s not my money. It’s taxpayer money,” Councilman says
Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino announced the winners of the so-called “Buscaino Grants” at the start of Independence Day weekend, shaking off concerns about the fairness of the grant process.
On July 2, Wilmington nonprofit organizations received a total of $550,000. The councilman also announced that a portion of the community funds were used to complete the final phase of the Wilmington Park revitalization, including installation of the mosaic art installation and security cameras and a youth job training program called Clean and Green in Watts and Wilmington.
At the First Thursday Art Walk in Sirens Java and Tea on July 1, Buscaino announced the winning nonprofits in San Pedro, which totaled a little over $1 million. Perhaps the most unusual winner was Bridge Cities Alliance, whose 501(c)(3) status was revoked in December 2020 for not filing the necessary tax returns for three consecutive years. Start-up non-profits often have fiscal sponsors who do have 501(c)(3) status, which provides legal cover for them. Bridge Cities Alliance, however, is no-longer a mere startup. The Buscaino Grant process explicitly states that all applicant 501(c)(3) statuses would be confirmed.
Buscaino’s communication director Branimir Kvartuc and senior advisor explained, via text message, that Bridge Cities Alliance had become a 509(a)(2), a private foundation.
“There are five subtypes of 501(c)(3). BCA is a 509(a)(2), which is one of the qualified subtypes, so they are actually both (501(c)(3) and a 509(a)(2)), which makes them qualified,” Kvartuc texted.
The longtime councilman’s aide explained that Bridge Cities Alliance has had issues with the IRS website reporting their updated status, which the IRS says is due to COVID-19 staffing. The bottom line is that BCA is a qualified nonprofit.
Earlier in the day, Councilman Buscaino announced the grant winners in the Harbor Gateway at the newly-opened Normandiegale SkatePark, which totaled just $100,000.
In each of his announcements, Buscaino would say some variation of, “Don’t thank me, thank us,” highlighting that the nonprofits chosen were chosen by community stakeholders and that it was taxpayer money that was distributed. However, despite the public funding and voting, in Council District 15, the grants were called the “Buscaino Grants.” The council member went on to say, “This has nothing to do with me or my money or my office dollars that you all voted on. So thank yourselves.”
Also on July 1, winning nonprofit organizations in Harbor City received a total of $307,000.
Watts, with the overall greater number of applicant grant winners had the most proposals that fell under the Reimagining Public Safety category. Buscaino, a former senior lead officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, has staked his entire political career as the “community policing” candidate for both city council and the mayorship. The councilman allowing constituents to have a voice in the distribution of city funds in their neighborhoods is a welcome change — a shift from the days when community advocates would win grants from the state or federal government, only to have those same funds be filtered through the law enforcement agencies to the communities to force engagement between the youth and the police.
This time around, nonprofit organizations in Watts collectively received $2.5 million. It should be noted that while stakeholders throughout the council district got to pick the deserving nonprofits that applied for the grants, it was the council office that created the parameters for the grant proposals.
Those parameters dictated that all proposals fall under the umbrella of at least one of the following categories, including:
• Addressing homelessness and its root causes, including addressing and preventing poverty
• Addressing racial disparities
• City services/beautification
• Jobs/economic development
• Nonprofit/community investment
• Recreation/youth programming
• Reimagining public safety
WILMINGTON
• The Great Summer Comeback, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor, $60,000
• Wilmington Grow Green fitnessSpace, $50,000
• LAUSD Community School, Wilmington, $25,000
• Banning High School Booster Club weight room transformation, $75,000
• Wilmington Juniors youth soccer proposal, LA Monsters Sports Academy, Inc., $100,000
• Avalon Art and Culture Alliance, $90,000
• Wilmington Teen Center, $60,000
• Hawaiian Elementary School, $25,000
• Banning High School Parkette, $80,000
• Los Angeles Harbor College Job Reentry programs, $35,000
SAN PEDRO
• Beacon House, $75,000
• Boys and Girls Club, $60,000
• Shakespeare By the Sea, $100,000
• Pedro Petpals, $100,000
• San Pedro Fallen Veterans Association, $92,700
• Bridge Cities Alliance, $100,000 *
• Operation School Bell, $100,000
• Toberman Neighborhood Center, $100,000
• Eastview Little League, $90,000
• Friends of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, $69,500
• AltaSea, $30,000
• LA Maritime Institute, $36,000
• Marine Mammal Care Center, $47,000
HARBOR GATEWAY
• Driving Hope Foundation, Dream Program, $50,000
• Nuestras Raíces, $30,000
• New Challenge Ministries Food Bank, $20,000
HARBOR CITY
• Humanities Arts Academy, $90,000
• City Lights Gateway Foundation’s Youth Ambassador Program, $70,000
• Narbonne Arts Complex, $68,000
• The Giving Room, $30,000
• Harbor City Food Pantry, $25,000
• Boys and Girls Club LA Harbor College, $24,000
WATTS
• A Flower Pot of Resources, Lend An Ear, $30,000
• Educational Justice Through a College Degree for 250+ Watts Youth, College Track, $100,000
• Connections, a social emotional learning program for Watts youth, $43,000
• Rebuilding Connections for Youth in Foster Care, Peace4Kids, $50,000
• Watts Garden Club Apprenticeship Training for US Domestic and Global Trade, Watts Garden Club/SACOP, $100,000
• Finish First Academy Youth Financial and Physical Fitness Training, $100,000
• Fostering Resilience and Building Community through Professional Mentoring Services, Friends of the Children, $75,000.
• STREAM, Watts Community Core, $100,000
• BEAST Watts, East Side Riders Bike Club, $100,000
• Beauty Behind the Bricks, $100,000
• Watts Empowerment Center, $100,000
• Women of Watts and Beyond Community Youth Services, $100,000
• Watts Labor Community Action Committee, $200,000
• Rental Relief Outreach, Watts/Century Latino Org., $100,000
• Five Pillars of Success Program, Operation Progress Student Assistance Foundation CAL, $100,000
• Watts Community Core, $200,000
• Watts Empowerment Center, $200,000
• College Bound at Jordan Downs Public Housing Community, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles, $100,000
• Streets to Success, We Care Outreach Ministries, $89,578
• Sisters of Watts Summer Youth Leadership Program, $100,000
• Community Food Bank, People for Community Improvement, $76,500
• Continue What We Have Started, Hope Central, $24,500
• Camp Ubuntu Watts, Harold Robinson Foundation, $85,000
• Watts Gang Task Force Council, $100,000
• Watts Community Development Corporation Job Development & Retention Services, $75,000