LONG BEACH, NY. — Long Beach community organizations will be able to apply for federal money this week thanks to an annual grant funding initiative known as Community Development Block Grants.

The grants are a small portion of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds sent to the city, which uses the rest for upgrades to things like playgrounds and municipal community centers. On average, city officials said the grants run between $4,000 and $10,000 — a drop in the bucket to a federal agency, but a difference maker to a community-based nonprofit. The city applied for three community development block grants last year,

“At least half of the people that benefit from a project that’s funded by CDBG, Half of those people have to be low-to-moderate income individuals,” Long Beach Director of Community Development Tyler Huffman said. “That could be programs for youth, for seniors, for adults, there’s a wide range of categories that nonprofits can apply for that are listed in the application that’s available. There’s a lot of ins and outs in terms of what’s eligible and what’s not eligible.”

Huffman said the city hasn’t gotten word from HUD on how much funding is available to Long Beach as of yet, noting that the total number of awards the city gets depends on how much is out there. According to the community development director, the turnaround once applications are in won’t be immediate.

“it might take a little bit of time before you actually see the money come down from, whether it’s HUD, the counties, [or] the state,” Huffman said.

City officials said they haven’t received funds from last year’s CDBG application, noting that the timeline for these grant applications typically runs about a year long before the money is doled out. With that in mind, nonprofits that submit the application on the city website should aim to disperse funds in the 2027 fiscal year.

“Eligible activities include, but are not limited to, programs that address childcare, healthcare, job training, recreation programs, education programs, public safety, fair housing, substance abuse, mental health, youth services, senior services, and more,” the city said in a statement.