New Round Of Grants Announced by Harbor Community Benefit Foundation

Advisory Committee Formed, Youth Committee To Follow

The Harbor Community Benefit Foundation (HCBF) has announced the opening of round 10 of its Community Benefit Grant Program, with a deadline for proposals on April 17.

“This round will provide up to $1 million dollars for projects to improve the San Pedro Bay environmental and public health,” HCBF Board Chair Ed Avol told Random Lengths. “As has been the case in the previous nine rounds of funding, we anticipate a wide array of interesting and varied applications and plan to follow essentially the same process as in the previous rounds of community funding.”

Two further funding rounds are planned in the future. Funds for all three rounds come as part of an EPA port grant which was initially in doubt during the early days of the Trump Administration. Though no longer in doubt, there has been a funding delay, according to Jayme Wilson, HCBF Director of Administration & Communication. “We are waiting on the Port to reimburse HCBF for expenses incurred on the EPA grant since August,” Wilson told Random Lengths. EPA and the port keep changing paperwork requirements, but after a “good meeting” on Mar 2, he felt confident things being resolved soon.

Meanwhile, “We have been holding monthly Community Engagement meetings to inform/involve community in what is happening with the program,” Avol said. The next meeting is on March 12 at the Toberman Center, from 6 to 7:30pm.

They’ve also established a Community Advisory Committee “who will help direct the funding awarded through the Community-Driven Zero Emissions [ZE] Funding Program,” he said. Their first meeting was held on Mar 2. It’s composed of community non-profit/EJ groups, at-large community residents, union/labor reps, Chamber of Commerce representatives, secondary and collegiate education reps, and a Tribal Nations rep.

They’re also in the process of establishing a “Youth Council” of individuals 16-to-22 years old, “to elevate youth perspectives.”

On the staff side, they’re reviewing resumes and interviewing applicants for a workforce development coordinator, who will oversee the major workforce development element of the program.

In short, despite snags and delays, things are about move forward in visible ways.