SACRAMENTO — The at gibi pornoCalifornia State Library has made available $5 million in grant funding for ethnic media outlets and organizations serving communities historically vulnerable to hate crimes and incidents.
The funding for these grants was included in the historic Asian and Pacific Islander Equity Budget, which was sponsored by the API Legislative Caucus and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year in response to a sharp rise in hate crimes and incidents.
The goal of these ethnic media grants is to raise awareness of the California Department of Social Services’ Stop the Hate Program, which was also part of the API Equity Budget. The Stop the Hate Program provides support and services to survivors of hate crimes and incidents and their families. Grant funds will also be used to promote community healing and cross-cultural collaboration.
According to a report released by the California Department of Justice, hate crimes – defined as crimes targeting victims because of their race or ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender or a disability – increased by 31 percent from 2019 to 2020.
The API Equity Budget included a total of $10 million in funding for ethnic media outlets and organizations. The State Library will award at least $5 million in this first round of funding. The remaining funds will be awarded in subsequent fiscal years of the three-year program.
Applicants may request between $40,000 and $400,000. For more information, go to https://www.library.ca.gov/grants/ethnic-media/. Applications are due by 5 p.m. PST on Monday, March 14.
Founded in 1850, the California State Library (https://www.library.ca.gov/) has an extensive collection of art, books, diaries, maps, newspapers, periodicals, photographs, and posters from throughout California’s rich history. The State Library is also California state government’s information hub and holds federal and state publications, is home to the Bernard E. Witkin State Law Library and the Braille and Talking Book Library, and serves as the lead state agency for library-related services throughout California.