LA Foundation Awards $8.5M For COVID-19 Relief

VENICE, CA — The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles announced Wednesday it will award $8.5 million for COVID-19 relief and response, including $2.5 million for local nonprofit organizations that provide food, housing and access to health care for those severely affected by the pandemic.

The first phase of the foundation's two-part response to the public health emergency focuses on providing immediate relief to Los Angeles nonprofits in both the Jewish and general communities offering direct services to those in need.

The 22 local nonprofit organizations include Project Angel Food, the L.A. Regional Food Bank, Homeboy Industries, Venice Family Clinic and Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, among others.

The second phase will support Jewish nonprofits locally, as well as in Israel, that face economic hardship due to the pandemic and must ensure long-term sustainability, according to the foundation.

"The devastating effects of COVID-19 and the financial crisis required us to re-imagine our institutional grantmaking to meet these unprecedented challenges," said Foundation President and CEO Marvin I. Schotland. "Our funding strategies, devoted entirely to COVID-19 relief, are meant to address both immediate and developing needs resulting from the crisis, as well as provide us the flexibility to adapt as the situation changes."

Phase one funding consists of $1.5 million distributed to causes and initiatives that focus on providing direct relief for financial, housing, and food insecurity, as well as access to adequate health care. Also, a grant of $1 million will go to the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles for its coronavirus relief efforts aimed at those nonprofits supporting the most vulnerable segments of the Jewish community locally and in Israel, the foundation said.

The Jewish Federation's program complements efforts being undertaken by the Jewish Community Foundation and will encompass four critical human and social services areas: wellness and resiliency; access to food through synagogues; financial aid and scholarships for early-childhood and day-school education to families impacted by COVID-19; and a loan-guarantee program.

Through their charitable funds administered by the foundation, individual donors have already distributed another nearly $4.3 million for COVID-19 relief, pushing the total amount to nearly $13 million through Tuesday, according to the foundation.

Phase two grants, currently estimated at about $6 million, will support the recipients' ongoing activities and organizational infrastructure to help ensure their sustainability, the foundation said.

The foundation's $8.5 million in charity includes funding from the Mickey and Irene Ross Endowment at the Foundation, as well as support from the Erwin Rautenberg Foundation, a private family foundation.

To develop its plan, the foundation consulted with more than 100 nonprofits locally and in Israel, as well as fellow funders throughout the community, to gain a better understanding of the most pressing and evolving needs facing the community.

"The Foundation's resources and keen understanding of the Los Angeles and Israel nonprofit landscapes—and breadth of relationships in the charitable world—uniquely position us to address pressing needs and serve a vital role," Schotland said. "Beyond our institution, the outpouring of generosity by so many funders banding together in this global crisis is inspirational. Those with the capacity to give are stepping up, including The Foundation and its family of donors."

Established in 1954, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles manages charitable assets of more than $1 billion entrusted to it by over 1,300 families. It ranks among the 10 largest Los Angeles foundations. It partners with donors to shape philanthropic strategies, magnify the impact of their giving, and build enduring charitable legacies. In 2019, the Foundation and its donors distributed more than $130 million in grants to 2,700 nonprofits with programs that span the range of philanthropic giving. Over the past 10 years, it has distributed nearly $1 billion to thousands of nonprofits across a diverse spectrum, the charitable foundation stated.

Locals are turning to Venice Family Clinic now more than ever, Mimi Lind, Director of Behavioral Health Services at the clinic and nonprofit community health center, told Patch.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of almost everyone in Venice, which significantly increases emotional stress," Lind told Patch. "Many people have lost their jobs or seen substantial declines in their incomes as a result of furloughs and other cutbacks in employment. Many of the people who have continued working are in health care and other essential jobs where they are more likely to be at risk of infection, creating substantial anxiety for them and their families."

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know

Don't miss updates about the coronavirus in California as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

- City News Service, Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report

See more:

• Pandemic 'Creating Substantial Anxiety' In Venice Community
• Three LA County Beaches Make Heal The Bay List For Water Quality
• Albertsons, Vons & Rite Aid Workers Demand Hazard Pay In Pandemic