Huntington Beach leaders are facing some questions over their decision to slash funding for after school programs and send the money to a nonprofit that takes veterans with PTSD fishing offshore.

The move is raising questions from a group of local activists because City Councilman Andrew Gruel sits on the board of the directors for the nonprofit, Save the Brave. 

“Our HB City Council operates on a need-to-know basis, and apparently, you don’t need to know!!” wrote Protect HB, a group of activists created to oppose the current city council who regularly speak out at city meetings and online, on their Facebook page. “Lack of transparency and cronyism is rampant in city hall, and last night it was evident.”

Gruel didn’t formally recuse himself from the vote on May 5, but stepped out of the room during the council’s discussion without explanation, and his role with the nonprofit wasn’t mentioned by his council colleagues. 

In a Monday interview, Gruel said he’s previously disclosed his connection to the nonprofit from the dais, adding that he’d recused himself from any discussions at the city or nonprofit on the issue and that he’s never taken a dime from Save the Brave. 

“I get absolutely nothing from them,” Gruel said. 

The funding shift comes as city leaders were making their annual decision over how to spend over $160,000 in grant funds from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

That federal grant money is required to go toward three things according to the US Congress – programs that help “principally benefit low-and moderate-income persons,” eliminating urban blight, or to “meet an urgent need by addressing conditions that pose a serious and immediate threat to the health and safety of residents.” 

The Save the Brave nonprofit was originally tied for last place, with city staff recommending the group receive about $17,000 in funding to support its offshore fishing program for veterans – the first time the nonprofit received a city grant. 

Now, it’s getting more money than any other nonprofit, with city council members directing they get over $32,000 for their first year participating in the grant program. 

The program focuses on “saltwater therapy” by getting veterans with PTSD out on the ocean to talk with one another and decompress according to Nick Velez, a Marine veteran and the organization’s founder. 

“A lot of these guys miss the brotherhood and structure after service, and getting them around other veterans in a healthy environment makes a big difference,” Velez said in a Monday interview. 

Velez noted the new funding would let them take over 100 more veterans out on the water over the next year, and encouraged any veterans living in Huntington Beach to sign up, saying the conversations have helped veterans find new jobs and friends. 

“We’re stoked about getting this grant, this is a huge deal for us,” Velez said. “This funding helps us expand our veteran outreach.” 

But $15,000 of their new funding came from money that was originally set aside for other nonprofits working with kids. 

All for Kids helps run afterschool programs alongside the Boys and Girls Club in the working class Oakview neighborhood and had $10,000 of its $30,000 allocation taken back. 

Robyne’s Nest works with homeless or at-risk kids to help them finish high school and find a way to stay off the street, and lost $5,000 of its $27,000 allocation to Save the Brave.  

The push to reroute the funding came from Councilman Pat Burns, who raised concerns about “fraud” from All for Kids before moving to shift the money over at the city council meeting. 

“I’m worried about all the fraud and stuff,” Burns said, referring to All for Kids. 

Yet Burns offered no details of alleged fraud.

“I just question that center quite a bit as far as being one of the top money getters,” he said. 

Robyne’s Nest lists former Councilwoman Natalie Moser as its executive director. 

According to the nonprofit’s disclosures and her own LinkedIn, Moser did not come on as executive director until Sept. 2025, nearly a year after she lost her reelection campaign. 

In a Tuesday morning statement, Moser said that while the nonprofit was grateful for the money, she had questions over the transparency behind the council’s decision to reallocate funding. 

“We are genuinely grateful for the $22,000 in grant funding approved to support the young people we serve: youth in Huntington Beach who are at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness,” Moser wrote. 

“I know how foundational public trust is to a functioning city,” she continued. “That trust is built through transparency — through full disclosure of relationships and connections that would require a public recusal, so that decision-makers and the public alike can ask informed questions and reach informed conclusions.” 

“In this instance, I do not believe that standard was met.”

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.