City of Long Beach Launches Second Round of Love Your Block Mini-Grants

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PRESS RELEASE

Above: Love Your Block mini-grant awardees engage with City staff and community partners at a Love Your Block Mini-Grant Kickoff Meeting held at Silverado Park Community Center in December 2025.

Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach is now accepting applications for the second round of mini-grants through the Love Your Block program, a community driven initiative that empowers residents to improve their neighborhoods. This round of mini-grants will continue to support the City's Westside Promise Initiative, a 10-year community investment plan to address current and historic challenges facing West Long Beach.

"As Long Beach continues to invest in resident-driven solutions, Love Your Block plays a vital role in fostering collaboration between local government and community members," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "By providing mini-grants and hands-on support, the program helps residents transform public spaces, strengthen neighborhood connections and build pride in their communities. Thank you to the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University for making this initiative possible."

The Love Your Block program will provide mini-grants of up to $2,500, empowering community members to act and create lasting positive change in their neighborhoods. These mini-grants will support resident-led projects in West Long Beach that reduce exposure to poor indoor and outdoor air quality; promote clean air education, behavior and tools; enhance pedestrian, bicycle and rolling safety and build community capacity to advocate for street and environmental improvements.

"Through our Westside Promise, we are creating lasting, meaningful change for our West Long Beach community," said Vice Mayor and Seventh District Councilmember Roberto Uranga. "The Love Your Block program supports this initiative by addressing issues such as air quality and transportation, fostering relationships among neighbors and uplifting our entire community."

Applicants must be Long Beach residents ages 18 or older and propose projects within the 90810 zip code. Nonprofits and businesses can support projects with donations, volunteers or materials. Eligible residents, especially those living in West Long Beach, interested in applying for a mini-grant can learn more and fill out an application online in English, Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog at lbcity.info/LYB-MiniGrantApp now through March 31.

"We are excited to welcome more forward-thinking, resident-driven projects aimed at enhancing the quality of life in West Long Beach," said Lea Eriksen, Technology and Innovation Department Director. "Already, five groundbreaking initiatives dedicated to cleaner air and enhanced living conditions have been accepted. We invite all residents to share their ideas and take an active role in shaping our city's future."

In December 2025, five resident-led projects were selected during the first round of mini-grants. Selected initiatives include Legacy in Bloom, Breath of Fresh Air, Community Bee Apiary, Westside Clean & Green, and Community Garden. Community members interested in supporting these projects by volunteering for a community work day, a resident-led day of action where neighbors, volunteers and City staff come together to implement selected projects, are encouraged to complete a volunteer interest form at lbcity.info/VolunteerLYB. Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older and have a passion for addressing issues impacting residents, especially in West Long Beach.

Since March 2024, Long Beach has participated in LYB's two-year civic engagement program, which focuses on trust-building between local governments and residents. Supported by the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University (BCPI), the program provides $100,000 in funding for resident engagement, two rounds of mini-grants and staffing.

Since its inception, the program has positively impacted nearly 50,000 residents nationwide, improving over 4,000 public spaces-creating almost 800 art displays, cleaning 102,000 square feet of graffiti and removing 6.7 million pounds of trash in cities nationwide. A total of 50 cities across 33 states have received support through the program. Additionally, a 2021 study by the Urban Institute found that cities participating in Love Your Block were able to strengthen social cohesion among residents, increase civic participation and build stronger relationships with community members, leading to greater trust in local government.

For more information and to apply, visit the Office of Civic Innovation webpage. Learn more about the Westside Promise at longbeach.gov/wsp.

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000 people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. More information about the Health Department is available at longbeach.gov/health and on social on Facebook, X and Instagram.

About the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University
The Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University works to advance public sector innovation across the globe by marrying cutting-edge practice with world-class research to transform the culture of government, deliver exceptional results for residents, and inspire trust in public service. Launched in 2021 in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and Johns Hopkins University, the Center supports programs that equip local governments to unlock the insight, talent, and energy of their residents in cities across the globe. For more information, please visit publicinnovation.jhu.edu or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.

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