California Restaurant Foundation Invests in Local Restaurants with Return of Resilience Fund

California Restaurant Foundation Invests in Local Restaurants with Return of Resilience Fund

$1 Million Gift from SoCalGas Seals the Deal for the Grant Program’s Third Consecutive Year

California Restaurant Foundation Invests in Local Restaurants with Return of Resilience FundThe California Restaurant Foundation (CRF), a nonprofit that invests in and empowers California’s restaurants and its workforce, has confirmed the much-anticipated return of its Restaurants Care Resilience Fund, which is slated to reopen applications in April 2023. Thanks to a donation from SoCalGas – the single-largest donation to date for the nonprofit – the Resilience Fund is guaranteed to return for its third consecutive year. Launched in 2021, CRF’s Resilience Fund provides grants and business support services to independent restaurant owners and their crew throughout California. This year, the Resilience Fund will increase the number of 2023 grant recipients and strengthen the resources offered to California’s restaurant owners battling growing economic tides.

“The Resilience Fund was initially created with SoCalGas and other generous partners to allow independent restaurants to keep their doors open during the pandemic, but as the industry continues to recover amidst an unpredictable economy, there is still a critical need to aid locally owned restaurants throughout California,” said Alycia Harshfield, executive director of the California Restaurant Foundation. “Thanks to SoCalGas’ generosity and commitment to supporting small businesses, the Resilience Fund will return for another year – now with more resources than ever – to continue relieving stressors for restaurant owners and staff throughout California’s vast and diverse restaurant community.”

From its inception, the Resilience Fund has helped 788 independent Golden State restaurants, with an impressive 294 of those grants directly funded by SoCalGas.

“Unprecedented gas prices have presented challenges for many, especially restaurants, which is why SoCalGas is redoubling its efforts to help restaurants in need with a $1 million contribution toward the 2023 Restaurants Care Resilience Fund,” said David Barrett, senior vice president and general counsel of SoCalGas and board member of the CRF. “SoCalGas has partnered with the California Restaurant Foundation since 2021 to help independent restaurant owners through the pandemic, and we hope this year’s donation will help many local establishments to continue serving our communities.”

For more information about the California Restaurant Foundation or Restaurants Care, please visit www.restaurantscare.org. If you are an independent restaurant in California and want to apply for this year’s Resilience Fund, sign up for alerts at https://restaurantscare.org/resilience/ to be notified of this year’s application.

California is home to more than 90,000 restaurants that reach more than $72 billion in sales and employ more than 1.6 million workers, making restaurants an indisputable driving force in the state’s economy. The California Restaurant Foundation (CRF) is a non-profit that empowers and invests in California’s restaurant workforce. Founded in 1981, CRF supports the restaurant community through relief grants for restaurant workers facing hardships and provides scholarships and mentorship for 13,500 high school students each year. For more information visit www.calrestfoundation.org.