SAN BERNARDINO>> On Thursday August 31, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-San Bernardino) held a Community Grants Workshop to connect Inland Empire organizations with federal agencies to learn about federal grant opportunities. The workshop took place at the San Bernardino Community College District Office.
“I’ll fight to get our community the funds it needs, but I can only do that if we work together from the local to federal level to apply for the appropriate grants,” said Rep. Aguilar. He continued, “It’s important that Inland Empire organizations understand the opportunities that are out there and the application process so we can bring back as much federal assistance as possible to the Inland Empire to support our local law enforcement, transportation projects, education programs, scientific research and more. This is about getting our community its fair share, so I’m glad to host events like this that will help our region get the resources it deserves.”
“This was a very beneficial event and we really appreciate the information we received on writing stronger grant applications to get homeless veterans off the street and empower them to become self-sufficient,” said Julie Burnette, Program Manager for KEYS, a San Bernardino non-profit organization that provides services for economically disadvantaged individuals and families in San Bernardino County.
Sandra Espadas, Senior Director of Community Development of National CORE, a Rancho Cucamonga based housing non-profit, also commented on the event, “We really appreciate Congressman Aguilar’s work to help organizations like ours secure federal resources to improve the quality of life for Inland Empire children, families and seniors.”
Over 140 people representing Inland Empire non-profits, public safety departments and local, county and tribal governments attended the workshop, which included breakout sessions with federal agency representatives, a grant writing seminar and a panel with the federal agency officials moderated by the Congressman. Since taking office in 2015, Rep. Aguilar has announced federal funding for local law enforcement and those affected by the Inland Regional Center terror attack, for cyber security programs at Cal State San Bernardino, assistance for the construction of the Redlands Passenger Rail Project and more. In his first term of office, Rep. Aguilar announced over $75 million in federal grant funding.