COVID-19 Relief Grants

Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau: $145,000 to lead a coordinated effort with local government, health care providers, and farmers to ensure a safe and healthy farming season. To work with growers to ensure worker safety and for vaccine outreach and coordination with farmworkers.

County Office of Education, Cruz One & Cruzio: $18,200 to ensure low-income students gain access to adequate broadband for distance learning.

Encompass Community Services: $5,000 for phones to help youth experiencing homeless and transition age foster youth stay connected to case managers, maintain social connection, and apply for jobs, housing or unemployment.

Equal Access Santa Cruz County: $590,777 to bridge the digital divide and bring high-speed broadband to low-income families with K-12 students.

Seniors Council: $12,640 to support the purchasing of equipment and internet access to connect isolated seniors and help Project SCOUT provide free tax preparation to help people access COVID relief support from expanded state and federal tax credits.

Senior Network Services: $5,000 for technology and communications upgrades to support isolated seniors access to information and assistance.

Pajaro Valley Shelter Services: $40,000 to help cover residents’ rental payments as they face job loss. For increased hygiene supplies and technology capability.

Salvation Army of Santa Cruz: $115,000 to expand their shelters for the unhoused to 24hr a day/7 day a week shelters and to provide food, meals and household supplies for low income families and individuals in Santa Cruz.

Valley Churches United Missions: $25,000 for emergency food, rental and utility assistance to low-income families and seniors in San Lorenzo Valley.

Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County: $20,000 for child care for low-wage essential workers.

Friends of Santa Cruz County Parks: $5,000 to support summer childcare program for essential workers at the county parks.

Santa Cruz County Office of Education: $140,000 to support in-person educational programming including outdoor science for elementary students (English Language learners, special education, low income students) not able to engage through distance learning in Live Oak School District and Santa Cruz City Schools.

Watsonville Family YMCA: $20,000 for very small group child care to serve the needs of essential workers who must be at work.

YMCA of The Redwoods: $20,000 for very small group child care to serve the needs of essential workers who must be at work.

UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory: $156,120 for COVID-19 diagnostic tests for community health clinic patients.

COVID-19 Tests: $25,000

Dientes: $100,000 to purchase PPE supplies and necessities to reopen clinics safely to provide dental care for uninsured, underinsured and publicly insured children, adults and seniors.

Salud Para La Gente: $10,000 for uninsured and underinsured patients to have the medications they need to manage their chronic illnesses.

Hospice Santa Cruz County: $100,000 to support staff and client safety including PPE, telehealth and other tools to protect and educate hospice patients and family members.

Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Support Services: $100,000 to support low-income medically fragile families with food, housing and other financial assistance.

Vaccination Pop-Ups with the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency: $216,660 vaccine pop up clinics and outreach with partners such as
El Pajaro Community Development Corporation, Boulder Creek Business Association, Davenport Community Resource Center (a program of CAB), Rotary Club of San Lorenzo Valley, Santa Cruz Seaside Company, Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center, Salvation Army Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County Corrections, Encompass Community Services, Felton Community Hall, Cradle to Career, the Warriors, and Community Health Trust Pajaro Valley.

County of Santa Cruz Human Service Department: $56,062 to Great Plates Delivered, to help older adults remain home and healthy through the provision of delivered meals from local businesses.

Elkhorn Slough Foundation: $12,500 to provide additional produce at Hall District Schools and Ohlone Elementary School's food distribution in Pajaro.

Grey Bears: $258,600 to support food delivery and distribution for an increasing number of isolated seniors.

Holy Cross Food Pantry: $41,300 to buy emergency food for low income families, an additional refrigerator for increased food distribution, PPE supplies, diapers and essential items, pantry operations support, and other direct emergency financial assistance to low-income immigrant families.

Housing Matters: $130,500 for extra safety supplies and sanitation personnel, increased meal costs, purchase of additional beds, and added technology costs. For food, rental, or essential financial assistance for individuals and families in the residential program, supportive services, or rapid rehousing program in order to stabilize their housing and employment.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: $14,500 for emergency food for low-income families in Aromas.

Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes: $147,500 for food, basic essential items, and pantry support to provide food to low income, undocumented or farmworker families in Pajaro Valley. For volunteer management software to support the increase need for coordination and outreach for more volunteers.

Salvation Army of Watsonville: $85,000 to provide food, meals, and household supplies for low income families and individuals in Watsonville.

Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos: $82,500 for emergency food and basic essential items for low income or undocumented families and formerly incarcerated individuals, and one time assistance for volunteers.

Second Harvest Food Bank: $180,000 to meet the need for increased food distribution countywide including additional food storage, and replacement of refrigerator and freezer doors.

St. Francis Soup Kitchen: $62,500 to buy food for the soup kitchen and transitional shelter.

St. Philip's Episcopal Church Pantry: $1,000 to buy food and basic essential items for low income families.

Teen Kitchen Project: $44,500 to support increased meal, delivery and packaging costs and to increase healthy meal delivery service to seniors, clients with life-threatening illnesses and COVID-19 patients.

Catholic Charities Diocese of Monterey: $470,000 for rental and household financial assistance with first priority to undocumented individuals and mixed immigration status families. To support increased case management services needed in Santa Cruz County.

Center for Farmworker Families: $1,374,000 for food, rental, or household financial assistance for farmworkers with first priority to undocumented individuals and mixed immigration status families.

Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County: $1,780,727 for food distribution supplies, fridge & freezer for increased food needs, client safety & hygiene kits, technology costs to connect remote staff, and supplies for farmworker families. For direct rental, and household financial assistance with first priority to undocumented individuals and mixed immigration status families. Emergency financial assistance for those ineligible for public aid and services to families at the Davenport Community Resource Center and laborers at the Day Worker Center. For COVID-19 patients' economic support and wage replacement. For staffing costs related to direct economic assistance.For case management/family support services, to fill in once ERAP funds have run out to help keep people housed.

Community Bridges: $758,000 for food, meals, and services to residents served by Mountain Community Resources, Nueva Vista Family Resources, La Manzana Community Resources, Live Oak Family Resources and to support transportation needs of medically fragile Lift Line clients. To purchase a freezer for Meals on Wheels to expand services to seniors and emergency shelf stable meals for seniors impacted by expected PGE emergency shut offs. Direct rental and household financial assistance with first priority to undocumented individuals and mixed immigration status families. Support to help families get their ITIN in order to access COVID relief support from expanded state and federal tax credits. For staffing costs related to direct economic assistance.For case management/family support services, to fill in once ERAP funds have run out to help keep people housed.

Diversity Center Santa Cruz County: $10,000 emergency financial assistance with first priority to LGBTQ+ seniors, transgender, immigrant or BIPOC individuals in Santa Cruz County.

Families in Transition: $431,800 for food, rental or household financial assistance with first priority to undocumented individuals and mixed immigration status families. For landlord incentives and to retain clients’ housing stability and support any additional case management they can supply, not covered by ERAP funding to help keep people housed.

Monarch Services: $128,000 for rental assistance and household financial assistance with first priority to undocumented individuals and mixed immigration status families and those unsafe due to domestic violence. For crisis support for additional families addressing intimate partner violence during the pandemic.

Santa Cruz Community Health Centers: $543,000 for food, essential hygiene and household supplies, and rental/household financial assistance with first priority to undocumented individuals and mixed immigration status families in Live Oak in partnership with Cradle to Career.

Santa Cruz County Veterans Memorial Building: $20,000 to support essential household supplies for veterans transitioning out of Project Room Key in the Vet Hall's C.A.R.E. Package Program.

Senderos: $1,364,810 for food, rental, or household financial assistance for immigrant families.

UndocuFund Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz Community Ventures: $95,000 for UndocuFund to provide direct financial assistance for our undocumented community in Santa Cruz County.

Vets 4 Vets: $21,000 for emergency financial support for local veterans.

Walnut Avenue Family & Women's Center: $25,000 to provide food and rental assistance for survivors of domestic violence and low-income single parents.

Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County: $35,000 to help extend part-time mediation staff to full-time to help keep people housed.

Senior Citizen Legal Services: $50,000 to help retain legal staff working housing cases and extend their work through Dec to help keep people housed

DigitalNEST: $10,000 for youth-led communication about COVID-19 prevention and safety.

Pajaro Valley Prevention & Student Assistance: $40,000 for added IT costs for telehealth behavioral health services with youth and workforce communications, costs of services to support client families without income and ineligible for benefits. For Save Lives Pajaro Valley communications campaign for COVID-19 prevention and safety.

Tannery World Dance & Cultural Center: $15,000 to support outreach for Black Health Matters and surveys to collect data to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on Black residents in Santa Cruz County.

SAVE Lives Santa Cruz County: $120,000 for coordinating county-wide public health messaging and outreach.

Economic Recovery Council: $25,000 for business and worker public health messaging.

Public Health Messaging: $4,461 public health messaging with farmworkers and COVID-19 videos.