Burrito Brigade, Circle of Friends School recipients of Gannett Foundation's A Community Thrives

Register-Guard
·2 min read

A Community Thrives Challenge from Circle of Friends School on Vimeo.

Burrito Brigade and Circle of Friends School in Eugene are the Oregon recipients of the Local Operating Grants through the Gannett Foundation’s crowdfunding initiative, A Community Thrives.

Nonprofit food access group Burrito Brigade was awarded for the third year in a row, receiving $9,200 this year, which required local fundraising to be eligible. The group raised an additional $6,000 from supporters during the crowdfunding portion of the campaign, for a total of $15,200. The money will help the group refurbish an old Chinese restaurant they are leasing into an industrial kitchen to produce the 750 burritos made each week to distribute to people experiencing homelessness. Previous grants allowed the group to purchase their first and second vans, taking pressure off volunteers using their personal vehicles to haul donated food.

Burrito Brigade's mission is to feed the unhoused and hungry of Oregon through a local community network of personal donors and nonprofit partnerships.

Burrito Brigade members assemble their free grocery store, the Waste to Taste Food Rescue program, in 2021. The organization has been awarded a grant from the A Community Thrives program.
Burrito Brigade members assemble their free grocery store, the Waste to Taste Food Rescue program, in 2021. The organization has been awarded a grant from the A Community Thrives program.

“We are honored to be a recipient, and the funds will greatly improve our ability to complete our mission to help the food insecure,” Executive Director Jennifer Denson said in a news release.

Circle of Friends School, a nonprofit serving youth with complex disabilities and medical hurdles, will receive a $2,500 grant. The school additionally crowdfunded more than $27,500 during the campaign.

The female-founded school said on its campaign site that the donations would ensure the school "can continue to provide existing programming, as well as expand to after-school programs, respite care, provide grief counselors and other mental health specialists for families, and even have a private classroom option for those who want the additional support."

Learn more at circleoffriendsschool.org.

Previous coverage:Burrito Brigade again awarded $8,400 grant for feeding community, tackling waste

Nationwide, 187 Local Operating Grants from $2,500-$35,000 were handed out in 2022.

This year, the initiative sponsored by USA TODAY’s parent company, Gannett, raised $3.1 million in an effort to support local organizations that alleviate hardships their residents face on a daily basis. The organizations cater to issues surrounding homelessness, pre- and perinatal care, immigration reform, addiction services and more. The local grants are chosen by leaders in one of the 250 news sites from Gannett’s USA TODAY Network.

"In 2022, the A Community Thrives program leveraged the Foundation’s investment and USA TODAY consumer base resulting in a $6 mill social impact investment in nonprofits doing important work across the country," said Sue Madden, director of the Gannett Foundation. "We are thrilled to engage with these impressive grantees."

For the full list of grant recipients, go togannettfoundation.org/act.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: 2 Eugene nonprofits receive Gannett Foundation grants