_The Avila Beach Community Foundation is a charitable organization created in 1998 to accept donations and fund projects for the enhancement and betterment of the Avila Beach community. In its ten years of community grant making, the Foundation has funded over 110 Avila projects, at a combined value of roughly $1.8 million. Some of the larger grants were made in collaboration with agencies such as the State Department of Fish and Game and the Air Pollution Control District. Notable grant examples include the renovation of the Avila Beach Community Center, free Avila Trolley bus service, Avila Beach lifeguard towers, landscaping at the treatment plant, beach cleaning tractor and attachments at the Port, new beach volleyball courts and a beach slide.  Grants have also been awarded to local youth organizations such as the Junior Lifeguard Program, the Pale Kai Junior Outrigger Program, and the Port San Luis Marine Institute. Grant amounts have ranged from $100 to $570,000.