Board approves $40.5 million in emergency rental assistance after debate over La Raza CRC capacity

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on April 5 approved resolutions authorizing Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) to execute multiple grant agreements for COVID‑19 emergency rental assistance totaling $40,500,000 and enabling up to approximately $56,500,000 in total program funding.

The vote adopted a package (items 12 and 13) that would allow MOHCD to distribute funds through existing nonprofit partners, including Eviction Defense Collaborative, Catholic Charities and Mission Neighborhood providers. Supervisor Sandra Fewer, acting as chair for the Budget Committee at the hearing, and other supervisors emphasized the urgency of getting rent relief to tenants to prevent evictions.

Why it matters: The board’s action releases a large tranche of local funds intended to fill gaps left by inconsistent state and federal rent relief programs and to avoid imminent evictions. Supervisors pressed city staff and MOHCD to safeguard taxpayer money by verifying grantee capacity where there were allegations of organizational problems.

What supervisors asked and what MOHCD said Supervisor Mariela Ronan (Mission District) pressed the issue at length after community groups flagged concerns about La Raza Community Resource Center (La Raza CRC). Ronan said long‑term staff had protested and alleged a hostile work environment after a leadership change, cited a letter reportedly signed by 70% of staff, and noted an independent auditor’s report had only recently been delivered to MOHCD, leaving limited time for review. “Should MOHCD give them an additional $8,000,000 to distribute to the community?” Ronan asked, saying MOHCD still has about $900,000 in La Raza funds to distribute and that the board should not act in a way that bypasses fiscal due diligence.

Brian Chu, Director of Community Development at MOHCD, replied the organizations named in the resolution were selected through a prior procurement intended to identify groups with capacity to administer rental assistance. Chu said the grants before the board increase authorized amounts for three organizations whose totals exceed $10,000,000; MOHCD may amend grants up to those amounts but is not required to allocate the full sums. He also said MOHCD was reviewing materials La Raza CRC provided and that the department had authority to allocate up to $6,000,000 to La Raza without returning to the board if that award would not push their total above the $10,000,000 threshold requiring board approval.

Funding breakdown cited during the hearing Supervisor Ronan described the authorization the board was voting on as allowing MOHCD discretion to increase existing grants to specific providers, and gave examples of amounts referenced in committee: up to $16,600,000 for Eviction Defense Collaborative; $14,100,000 for Catholic Charities; and $9,800,000 for a Mission Neighborhood recipient — figures Chu characterized as increases that triggered board approval thresholds. MOHCD staff said total program funding available for COVID‑19 rental relief across multiple sources was approximately $56,500,000, with $40,500,000 reflected in one grant authorization before the board.

Concerns and safeguards Multiple supervisors said they did not want internal organizational disputes at a nonprofit to slow money getting to tenants. Supervisor Ahsha Safaie and others said MOHCD had been working with the organizations and that subcontracting arrangements already allow organizations such as La Raza CRC to continue work through partners while MOHCD completes reviews. Supervisor Preston and Supervisor Melgar supported advancing the item with the caveat that MOHCD finish its fiscal review and exercise discretion consistent with the public interest.

Board action The Board took public comment on the continuance of related matter and then proceeded; the rental assistance items were taken without objection and adopted unanimously.

What remains unresolved MOHCD said it was still reviewing an independent audit and had not completed a determination on La Raza CRC’s capacity. Supervisors repeatedly urged that MOHCD finish its review and maintain the ability to reallocate funds if fiscal or operational problems were confirmed. No reallocation or new awards to La Raza CRC were mandated by the board vote; MOHCD retains authority to fund up to $6,000,000 more to La Raza if its internal review supports that decision.

Ending note Supervisors framed the vote as a move to get large emergency dollars out quickly while directing MOHCD to proceed with due diligence. Several supervisors said they would advocate for or against future allocations to any organization based on MOHCD’s completed review and the auditor’s findings.