Co-op Community | Winter Quarterly 2024
Cooperative Community Fund
2023 Grant Recipient Highlight – Equity Arcata
Cooperative Community Fund
2023 Grant Recipient Highlight – Equity Arcata
Photo courtesy of Matt Filar for the Mad River Union.
Equity Arcata was granted $3,000 from the Co-op’s Cooperative Community Fund in June of 2023. Funds were for their Home Away From Home program. This program is a partnership between the City of Arcata, Cal Poly Humboldt, local businesses and members of the Arcata community working to make Arcata a more inclusive and welcoming environment for people of color. They are striving to create a welcoming, safe and racially equitable community.
The Home Away from Home group hosted an event in August where over 200 students (the highest turn out yet) from Cal Poly Humboldt, College of the Redwoods and Dell’Arte received a free hot meal and bag of personal care and household items donated by community members and purchased with grant money from the Co-op’s Cooperative Community Fund. The grant funds made up just under half the budget for the event.
Based on student survey feedback over 75% of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) students attending previous distributions reported that the events made them feel more welcome and supported in the Arcata community. 80% of students surveyed said they would continue to attend these distributions in the future because the food and supplies provided them with substantial assistance in light of their economic circumstances.
To learn more about how to apply for a Cooperative Community Fund grant visit northcoast.coop/CFF.
Interested in supporting such initiatives? Volunteer applications for the CCF grant committee are available now at northcoast.coop/grantcommittee.
