Start-up grants pledged to new Hayward Community Relief Fund

HAYWARD, Calif., April 16, 2020—The City of Hayward announced today two important start-up grants pledged to the new Hayward Community Relief Fund to support and help sustain the City’s COVID-19 response initiatives.

East Bay Community Energy, a nonprofit organization made up of Alameda County cities and the County of Alameda to supply residents and business with electricity from cleaner sources, pledged $126,500 to the Community Relief Fund.

The Stupski Foundation, a spend-down foundation in San Francisco that primarily funds organizations in the Bay Area and Hawaii that address food security, postsecondary success, early brain development and serious-illness care, pledged $300,000.

The Hayward Community Relief Fund was established by the City in response to expressions of interest from residents, businesses, and organizations about ways to contribute money and materials to assist their neighbors and community during the public health crisis.

An initial focus of the Relief Fund will be Hayward’s most economically vulnerable residents, especially those experiencing loss of earnings without paid sick leave or access to unemployment benefits.

Other focuses will include support of local small businesses to curb job losses and funding to maintain community-based COVID-19 testing services initiated by the Hayward Fire Department with the support of Hayward Firefighters Local 1909 of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

Contributions to the Fund will be received by the East Bay Community Foundation and will be distributed to those most in need via local nonprofit organizations based on recommendations and direction from a City of Hayward advisory team.

To learn more about how to contribute, go online to www.hayward-ca.gov/ReliefFund.  Or call (510) 583-4227.

For information on receiving assistance through the Relief Fund, visit www.hayward-ca.gov/Covid19resources or call the City’s COVID-19 hotline at (510) 583-4949.

East Bay Community Energy

East Bay Community Energy is the local, public electricity supplier in Alameda County, where it serves 1.5 million residents.  EBCE provides cleaner, greener energy at competitive rates to its customers and has saved Alameda County residents and businesses more than $10 million on their electricity bills since 2018.  EBCE reinvests earners back into the community to create local green energy jobs, local programs, and clean power projects, including new wind farm in Livermore and battery storage in Oakland.  For information about EBCE, visit www.EBCE.org.

Stupski Foundation

The Stupski Foundation is collaborating with community partners to invest all of its assets within the next nine years to address some of the Bay Area’s and Hawaii’s biggest challenges so that one day everyone can benefit from the wealth of opportunities and resources in the places it calls home.  Learn more about Stupski’s work by visiting www.stupski.org.