ORANGE

Councilman Michael Alvarez is working to form a nonprofit organization to help raise money for community projects and other services. “We want this to benefit the entire community,” he said at a recent City Council meeting, “but especially for kids. If we keep kids busy, we keep them out of trouble. . . . This could fund programs that currently we can’t fund.”

As proposed, the nonprofit organization would be led by top city entrepreneurs who would organize “large-scale” events to attract local and regional corporate and individual tax-deductible funds. “[City] money’s real tight,” Alvarez said. “The need is far beyond what we can meet. With a community trust, we can start meeting those needs and start chipping away at that.”