Facebook, headquartered in Menlo Park, has just launched the fourth round of grants from the Facebook Local Community Fund.

Through this PVF-administered initiative, Facebook has given out $400,000 to nonprofits serving Belle Haven and East Palo Alto, which are areas that particularly struggle in the midst of the Bay Area’s ever-widening inequality gap. The grants aim to support nonprofits that have a history of proven success in providing services to the Belle Haven community, as well as youth-serving nonprofits in East Palo Alto. Recipients have reported that these funds have helped them expand and sustain programs that benefit the underserved:

From Bayshore Christian Ministries (BCM): “The grant was used to help to cover the cost of an instructor for the robotics course offered in our summer camp in East Palo Alto. Grant funds were instrumental in helping BCM purchase two additional robot kits with software, as well as art supplies for the summer program. These additional resources allowed smaller groups of children to enjoy working with the robots and increase the individual time they spent building and programming. All students who attended were from minority groups and two thirds of the participants were girls.”

From Citizen Schools: “Your contribution has provided students at Cesar Chavez Academy in East Palo Alto more access to hands-on, project-based apprenticeships that engage them in the use of computer technology and social media. These apprenticeships connect our students with real-world STEM professionals who lead them in exploring a diverse array of fields, from environmental science to software engineering. Creating that interest in the middle grades is a crucial step in building future talent pipelines to fill the growing number of STEM-related jobs, as hands-on learning has proven to influence students’ likelihood of pursuing careers in STEM fields. Our extensive evaluations have indicated that after participating in a Citizen Schools STEM apprenticeship, approximately 80% of students express interest in STEM careers – more than double the rate among 8th grade students nationally.”

This year, Facebook hopes to make even more of an impact by increasing the grant size to $5,000-$10,000. Interested in applying for the latest round of funding? Check out our website for more details. We are accepting applications now!