It’s been eight years since budget cuts forced the discontinuation of the city’s former Community Beautification Grant program in 2013, but yesterday the City of Los Angeles’ Office of Community Beautification (OCB) and Keep Los Angeles Beautiful (KLAB) announced the creation of a new Beautify LA grant program to fill the void. The new program, according to the announcement, is intended “to support the efforts of community-based groups to beautify public spaces throughout Los Angeles,” and is “aimed at engaging, educating, and empowering communities to take action in transforming their neighborhoods into clean, green, and beautiful environments.”
“Beautification projects are a critical component in maintaining our public spaces and building a sense of community identity and pride,” said Board of Public Works Vice President and KLAB Chair Aura Garcia in yesterday’s statement. “Through the Beautify LA Grant, we want to encourage local community groups to come up with innovative ideas for new projects and allow us to provide the necessary support to bring their ideas to life.”
The grants will provide awards of up to $2,500 per project, and applicants will be required to match at least 25% of the grant amount “through contributions including outside funds, discounts or donations of professional services or materials and supplies, and general volunteer time.”
Eligible organizations include:
- Homeowners Associations
- Neighborhood Councils
- Business Improvement Districts
- Neighborhood Block Clubs/Watch Groups
- Chambers of Commerce
- Beautification Teams/Committees
- “Friends of…” Groups
- Healthy Start Collaborative
- Parent and Teacher Associations
- Service Clubs
- College Student Organizations/Teams
It’s also worth noting that unlike some other current community grant programs, such as our Neighborhood Councils’ Neighborhood Purpose Grants, organizations applying for BeautifyLA grants do NOT have to be official 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.
Applications are due by Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at 5 p.m.
Application materials, instructions, and more information can be found at http://laocb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PROPOSAL-PACKET-GUIDELINES.pdf
