The Morongo Band of Mission Indians in California recently awarded nearly $400,000 in grants to non-profit organizations serving local communities across Riverside and San Bernardino counties as part of its fourth annual Morongo Community Outreach Awards Luncheon.
The 80 non-profit groups, which receive grants of up to $5,000, provide services across the San Gorgonio Pass and Coachella Valley, and Riverside, San Bernardino, Redlands, Palm Springs, and Palm Desert cities. The program focuses on groups that provide social, education, or healthcare services, support for military and military families, or preserve Native American culture.
“The Morongo Community Outreach Awards are about celebrating and supporting the life-changing work performed by dozens of remarkable non-profit organizations dedicated to the service of others across the region,” Morongo Tribal Chairman Charles Martin said in a statement. “At Morongo, giving back to the community has always been a part of who we are, and our hope is that these grants will advance the missions of many deserving groups in local communities.”
Launched in 2022, the Morongo program has awarded more than $1.3 million in grants to nearly 300 non-profit organizations with diverse missions and backgrounds.
“The grant from the Morongo Community Outreach Program is truly a blessing that will strengthen our work to help feed those experiencing homelessness in the San Gorgonio Pass,” said Pastor David Kieffer of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Banning. “This support allows us to extend compassion and dignity to our neighbors in need and reflects the strength of community partnerships in addressing hunger and hardship.”
Groups that received grants from Morongo from across the Inland region include Carol’s Kitchen and the Friends of Banning Library in the San Gorgonio Pass; Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center and the Riverside Police Foundation in Riverside; the Destiny Care Foundation in Moreno Valley; Cruz Chacon Foundation in San Bernardino; Assistance League of Redlands; Shelter from the Storm in Palm Desert; California Indian Nations College in Palm Desert; and the Boys & Girls Club of Cathedral City.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Morongo Band of Mission Indians for their generous grant, which will have a meaningful impact on the children and families we serve,” Variety Children’s Charity of the Desert in Palm Desert Executive Director Heidi Maldoon. “This grant will help support our programs and services that promote mobility, independence, and inclusion for children with special needs throughout the Coachella Valley.”
Over the past decade, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians has provided more than $20 million to support local and national non-profit organizations that serve the San Gorgonio Pass and the surrounding regions, as well as greater Southern California.
