Joint Project of Congresswoman Lee, East Bay Community Foundation

Oakland, CA – June 24, 2009 – The East Bay Community Foundation in collaboration with the Office of Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) has created a new Web-based resource guide to help East Bay non-profits and faith-based organizations search for federal funding being made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The guide can be accessed at http://www.ebcf.org/stimulusguide/ and at www.lee.house.gov

"I am pleased that we have created this easy-to-use tool so that my constituents will be able to easily and quickly determine what stimulus funds are available to support their work, who is eligible to apply for the funds, and how to apply for them," stated Rep. Lee.

Said East Bay Community Foundation President & Chief Executive Officer Nicole Taylor: "Finding stimulus funds available locally and gaining access to them is crucial to ensuring these funds are used to improve the lives of those most in need in the East Bay. Our funds finder is a big step toward attaining those goals."

The "First Stop Guide to Stimulus Funds" features a number of tools, including a way to search for funds by topic, such as child care, education, health and housing.  It includes a list, also organized by topic, of funds available, including what they can be used for, who is eligible to apply for them and how to apply. And it includes additional sources of information on the many government agencies from which stimulus money is distributed.

Representatives from the Foundation and from Rep. Lee’s office who worked on the project emphasized that the Web-based guide is equally usable for those non-profit and faith-based organizations searching for substantial background and policy information on available stimulus funds and for those who only want to know where the funds are, what they can be used for, who can apply for them and how to apply.