Department of
Health & Human Services

Long Beach, CA – The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) is initiating its second year of Measure US fund disbursements via three rounds of community grant opportunities to support youth development efforts in Long Beach. A total of $600,000 will be available to support local youth this year. The Health Department will first make $400,000 available to provide summer programs for children and young adults between the ages of 8 and 24 in Long Beach through the Youth 100 Fund and the Youth Power Participatory Budgeting Long Beach (Youth Power PB Long Beach). Another community grant opportunity that will distribute an additional $200,000 is in development and will be available in the coming months.

“Investing in our youth and ensuring they have the tools, resources and support needed to foster their development and future success is a priority for our City,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We’re thrilled for the opportunity, through Measure US, to once again provide these grants to community organizations that support local youth through their programs and services.”

The City is partnering with The Nonprofit Partnership (TNP) to manage the distribution of the first two rounds of grants on behalf of the Health Department’s Office of Youth Development. Grant opportunities currently available for organizations include: 

The Youth 100 Fund, whichwill provide mini-grant opportunities for formal and informal community groups to submit youth neighborhood engagement proposals. Award amounts will range between $500 and $2,000 based on the scope of the proposal. Examples of informal groups include student, parent and neighborhood groups without nonprofit status and formal groups are defined as entities with nonprofit status or fiscal agents. To maximize opportunities, each applicant will be eligible for a maximum of one award. The Youth 100 Fund mini-grants application is available now through Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The application and further information can be found on TNP webpage at tnpsocal.org.

Youth Power PB Long Beach is for nonprofit organizations undertaking work aligned with the goals of the Youth and Emerging Adults Strategic Plan (YSP). Individual grant amounts will range between $10,000 to $75,000. Youth Power PB Long Beach is the first citywide participatory budget pilot process and is led by the Long Beach Office of Youth Development, TNP and The Long Beach Invest in Youth Coalition supported by Khmer Girls in Action. Participatory budgeting allows community members to decide how to directly spend a part of the public budget.

There are two phases for the piloted Youth Power PB Long Beach with phase one, Idea Collection, taking place now through Friday March 17. As part of the phase one process, organizations serving youth are invited to submit project proposals and are highly encouraged to attend an information session to learn about the participatory budget process, discuss ideas and engage in active discussions. Upcoming information sessions will take place in person at the Ron Arias Health Equity Center (6335 Myrtle Ave.) on Wednesday, March 15, and Thursday, March 16, from 5 to 7 p.m. both days. Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog interpretation will be available. People will need to attend only one session and can register here.

Phase two of the program will include a 10-day voting period, taking place Tuesday, May 2, through Thursday, May 11, which will include:

• Youth ages 13 to 26 who live, learn, work or play in Long Beach can vote for their top four proposals using an online voting form. People can complete the form remotely or at an in-person voting fair scheduled in May. Additional information on the voting process will be communicated at a later date.
• Idea submission and updates on Youth Power PB Long Beach can be found at tnpsocal.org.

More information about the additional $200,000 in Measure US funded grant opportunities to support Long Beach youth will be available in the next few months.