“Mayor’s Fund for LA” Angeleno Campaign Helps over 100 Thousands Residents

Los Angeles, CA. 105 thousand citizens of Los Angeles County have received help from the Mayor’s Fund for LA to do things like buy food and pay rent. FamilySource Centers also provided $1.2 million in grocery gift cards to nearly 10,000 Angelenos and all cards distributed in 3 days.

The Angeleno Campaign has helped counter major job losses as an emergency COVID-19 fundraising initiative launched with the collaboration of The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, Accelerator for America, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office, and MasterCard City Possible to give immediate financial support for LA residents and families who have had unstable job security since early spring.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti reported that on the first day, shortly after the campaign was open to the public, more than 56,000 applicants had crashed the city’s application site. Garcetti would later announce that the total number increased to nearly 455,000 applications by the end of the three days (seen above).

Within the last four months of the fund being introduced to LA citizens, the Angeleno Program has raised more than $36 million through private donations made toward Mayor’s Fund for LA, which has helped nearly 105,000 LA residents. The money is distributed for an individual through a prepaid debit card if they signed up during the three-day application period.

The amount of money on the debit cards varied from $700 to $1,500 based on an applicant’s financial and economic situation.

The Angeleno Card Program indiscriminately assists the undocumented workers and unhoused residents of the city as it is designed to randomly select a validated applicant for the prepaid debit card.

“We are helping America’s cities fill critical gaps left by the federal response to the economic devastation caused by the pandemic,” said Garcetti in an Accelerator for America press release. “Immigrants and domestic workers are essential to our economy and our communities, and we will not get through this pandemic by leaving people behind.”

Due to the program’s success in Los Angeles, Accelerator for America, alongside MasterCard City Possible, announced in late June that they would expand the program in ten different U.S. communities. The non-profit Accelerator, co-founded by the current LA mayor, announced in a press release that it was given a $750,000 grant by Open Society Foundation in support of the expansion of the Los Angeles program.

“I hope it inspires others who have those means or even two bucks,” said Mayor Garcetti during his April 16th briefing, “we need to get as many Angelenos covered in this crisis as we can.”

From Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles:

The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving life for all Angelenos. Uniquely positioned at the crossroads of local government, business, philanthropy, and the non-profit sector, the Fund facilitates the communication and collaboration vital to solving Los Angeles’ most complex challenges.

By leveraging the power of institutions and experts from across the city, the Fund helps create partnerships with the power to transform Los Angeles, making it a world leader in economic prosperity, efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life for all of its residents.

The Fund selects programs on the basis of their ability to engage public and private resources, demonstrate collaboration, seek innovative solutions, and yield measurable, transformational impact.

The Fund is supported by private donations and is overseen by an independent Board of Directors.