United Way of Greater Los Angeles Celebrates 100 Years of Service With $2.85 Million in Grants to 87 Community-Based Organizations Regionwide
COVID-19 lessons spur a reimagining of mission, vision and model of giving
LOS ANGELES, CA — United Way of Greater Los Angeles is closing out its Centennial year with a $2.85 million round of grantmaking to 87 organizations reaching tens of thousands of people across Los Angeles County.
In recognition of the fact that COVID has not impacted everyone equally, and that our low income communities have been hit disproportionately hard, this includes many first-time recipients as the United Way extends its reach to support to dozens of small grassroots organizations in a Centennial-year strategic focus on expanding its support in areas where the COVID19 pandemic unveiled the greatest inequities.
The awards, which range up to $50,000 each, represent two themes that have emerged as central to United Way of Greater Los Angeles’s strategy in its Centennial year: supporting on-the-ground efforts that allow neighbors to support one another in moments of acute crisis, and empowering grass-roots groups that can build community wealth over the long term.
“We’ve got 100 years of lessons to draw from, and some of the most powerful came out of what we saw in the last three,” said Elise Buik, President & CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. ”Communities with strong connections to each other and well-tended roots are more resilient.. We can see it in the response to disasters as well as in how we right the wrongs of racial inequity, whether it’s in making it through an immediate crisis or setting the next generation up for prosperity.”
This new UWGLA grant opportunity funds nonprofit organizations and community groups providing care and building power across L.A. County. The efforts supported vary in location, type of service and people served, but all strive to provide immediate support or build shared prosperity long-term. A full list of grantees is included below.
Some grantees re-imagine a community-powered social safety net by providing support for essentials like food, rent, utilities, transportation, childcare, mentoring/tutoring, clothing, hygiene, healthcare/mental health, and public benefits.
Arnali Ray, executive director of the Hollywood Food Coalition, one of the grantees that addresses food insecurity in Los Angeles, said her organization, “is a small organization that has grown over the last several years because United Way L.A. has been able to help us really built capacity consistently across our programs,” she said. “Over the last few years, we’ve been able to grow our dinner program, exchange, and wellness programs, helping us be consistent and responsive to the community.”
Additional grantees are helping to establish greater community ownership and build community wealth. Examples include organizing campaigns, community land trusts, housing and worker cooperatives, community information networks, public space improvements, and lending circles.
“We have been able to expand all our services from the community fridges to our rental assistance program, and we’ve been able to help more families than ever because of the help of United Way,” said Miss Rodgers, founder of Miss Rodgers’ Neighborhood, a grassroots community organization based in Compton. “I’m grateful for United Way, for recognizing us and for seeing how they can truly be beneficial to our communities.”
With this investment, UWGLA builds on the power of mutual aid networks to invest in communities across Los Angeles County. On average, the grant awardees are smaller than previous recipients, and many are grassroots organizations.
This model was piloted beginning in March of 2020 with UWGLA’s Pandemic Relief Fund, which raised more than $10 million in relief funds. Small community-based organizations and informal networks were key in making sure that food, funds and personal protective equipment got into the hands of people facing food and housing insecurity, such as unhoused people or informal workers such as food vendors, domestic workers and mariachis.
For 100 years UWGLA has built bridges between people of different perspectives in order to bring relief and resources to people in need. The organization will continue to learn and grow in partnership with communities to create L.A.’s future, together.
List of Grantees:
100 Black Men of Los Angeles, Inc.
All Peoples Community Center
Alliance for Community Transit – Los Angeles
Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust
SOLE FOLKS
BRIDGE Housing Corporation
Butterfly’s Haven
Let’s Be Whole
CARECEN
Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment
Central City Neighborhood Partners
CLEAN Carwash Worker Center
Communities In Schools of Los Angeles
Community Asset Development Re-defining Education
Community Loving
Community Power Collective
Concerned Citizens Community Involvement
Creating Justice LA
Crop Swap LA
Desert Life Ministry
Destination Crenshaw
Downtown Women’s Center
Eayikes
El Centro de Ayuda
Ephesus SDA Church
Fathers and Mothers Who Care, Inc.
Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre
Foundation For Economic & Social Justice
Garment Worker Center
Gente Organizada
Grass Roots Neighbors
Healthcare & Elder Law Programs Corp.
Hollywood Food Coalition
Inclusive Action for the City
InnerCity Struggle
It’s Bigger Than Us
J-TOWN Action and Solidarity
Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA)
L.A. Co-op Lab
LA CAN
LA Commons
La Defensa
Latinos In Action
Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition
Los Angeles City College Foundation
Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership
Los Angeles Valley College
Meals On Wheels West
Miss Rodgers’ Neighborhood
Mutual Aid LA
No Us Without You LA
NOAHS FOUNDATION INC
NoHo Home Alliance
Parent Organization Network
Pico Union Project
Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California
Polo’s Pantry
Project Joy
Proyecto Pastoral
Pukúu Cultural Community Services
Robinson School for Public Awareness and Community Engagement
Sanctuary of Hope
Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council – Wellbeing Microgrants
Santa Monica College Foundation
SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition
Silverlake Presbyterian Church
Sisters of Watts
Social Justice Learning Institute
South Bay Center For Counseling
Southeast Asian Community Alliance
Sowing Seeds For Life
St. John’s Community Health
The Al Wooten Jr. Youth and Adult Cultural Educational Center
The Catalyst Foundation
The Center in Hollywood
The Children’s Center of the Antelope Valley
The EmpowerTHEM Collective
University of California, Los Angeles
The South LA Cafe Community Foundation
The Valley of Change
Thinkwatts Foundation
TRUST South LA
United American Indian Involvement, Inc.
Urban Partners Los Angeles
Watts Labor Community Action Committee
WVHY (West Valley Homes Yes)
Youth With A Purpose
