Impact100 Sonoma announces finalists for $100k grant
The nonprofit group Impact100 Sonoma will award $276,000 in grants to a variety of Sonoma Valley nonprofit organizations at its Grant Awards Ceremony on May 21. This year, the $100,000 Impact Grant will be awarded to one of the following four nonprofit organizations serving Sonoma Valley:
10,000 Degrees. The proposed program would extend the two-year college access program to serve 35 additional students at Sonoma Valley High School and seven students at Hanna Boys Center, focusing on academic support, college persistence skills building, and financial aid.
Becoming Independent. Grant would launch a community-based model of “social inclusion” for individuals with disabilities, providing opportunity for jobs, education, and volunteerism while contributing to a more inclusive and diverse community.
Pets Lifeline. Grant would fund Mobile Emergency Response/Pet Adoption Vehicle to supply, house and care for up to 200 animals in an emergency, and increase adoptions with a self-contained “adoption storefront” that can locate at numerous community-partner locations.
Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance. Grant would provide training for mentors, teachers. and other adults who work with children the best available tools and skills to assess, prevent and heal children who are suffering from personal and family traumas.
In addition to the $100,000 Impact Grant, the remaining finalists for the Impact Grant will each receive $20,000. Additionally, a total of $116,000 will be designated to Community Grants, ranging in size from $9,000 to $15,000, to 22 recipients.
“As we end the 2016 grant cycle, it has never been more apparent that the commitment to enrich the lives of others is woven into the fiber of this community,” said Cathy Gorham, who Impact Grant selection chair.
The following 22 organizations are the Community Grants finalists:
Ceres requests $15,000 to continue their Healing Meals for Healthy Communities program serving healthy meals to families and individuals struggling with serious illness.
Child Parent Institute requests $10,000 to hold a Creative Arts Camp and Workshops to empower children and strengthen low income families through transformative arts experiences.
F.I.S.H. requests $15,000 to provide rental assistance to needy Sonoma Valley residents.
La Luz Center requests $15,000 to provide low-income Latinos free, bi-lingual employment counseling, computer classes, and ongoing technology literacy assistance.
On The Move requests $14,900 to implement On the Verge – a program to train and mentor a cohort of 12 emerging nonprofit and public sector leaders in Sonoma County.
Redwood Empire Food Bank requests $15,000 to expand their weekly distribution of fresh produce to approximately 300 low-income seniors, families and individuals residing in Sonoma Valley.
Sonoma Arts Live requests $12,100 to expand its Teens ‘N Training on Tour that provides a powerful, positive outlet for teenagers to explore and express their fears, feelings, and hopes.
Sonoma Charter School requests $15,000 to expand A New Leaf – a successful gardening, cooking and nutrition education program currently for 6th thru 8th grade – to include 5th grade.
Sonoma County Regional Park Foundation requests $15,000 to fund construction of a new multi-use trail at Sonoma Valley Regional Park as part of the future Sonoma Valley Trail along Highway 12.
Sonoma Ecology Center requests $15,000 to train teen EnviroLeaders in urban tree planting/care and community survey techniques and enhance the environment with a tree-planting event in the Springs.
Sonoma Valley Education Foundation requests $10,000 to support in-depth, overnight college field trips for the 100 students enrolled in their engineering and agriculture academies.
Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation requests $15,000 for a planning grant to integrate all of the existing programs and resources into a new patient-focused care program at the hospital.
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art requests $15,000 to support participation of low-income youth in their summer Young Artists and Writers workshop.
Teen Services Sonoma requests $15,000 to launch the TSS Welding Program pilot in conjunction with Hanna Boys Center as the first in a series of programs to prepare youth for construction sector jobs.
Verity requests $15,000 to provide continued support for their Youth Empowerment and Support program that educates children and youth to identify, prevent, and report sexual violence.
Vintage House requests $15,000 to support their senior transportation project (LIMO) that provides free, local rides for life-enhancing purposes.
Art Escape requests $10,000 to upgrade the van used in their mobile art education programs and to expand its use during the summer.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley requests $9,000 to refurbish the aging and damaged gym floor at the Maxwell Clubhouse.
Pets Lifeline requests $15,000 to expand their in-house spay/neuter capabilities, so that all sterilization surgeries can be performed at the shelter, reducing costs and decreasing the stress of the animals.
Sonoma Community Center requests $10,000 to replace its 30-year-old community gas kiln with a safer kiln that will help expand the ceramics programs and generate more income for the Center.
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art requests $12,422.86 to install a new LED lighting system in the entrance, library, and back hallway, improving safety and reducing operational costs.
Transcendence Theatre Company requests $15,000 for theater design, production, and management technology to be used by 15 young people in their new summer intern program.Impact100 Sonoma has raised a total of $1,468,000 for Sonoma Valley nonprofits since its founding in 2009. The organization’s mission is to increase the number of women involved in local philanthropy, raise awareness of the unmet needs of nonprofits in Sonoma Valley, encourage members to become more involved with local charities, and make an impact on the long term sustainability of Sonoma Valley’s nonprofit community.
Voting by the Impact100 Sonoma membership for the Impact and Community Grants will take place in May, and the recipients will be announced at the Grant Awards Ceremony to be held at Hanna Boys Center on May 21.
Thus far, the organization has awarded a total of 53 grants including six $100,000 Impact Grants: in 2010 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley’s College Bound program, in 2011 to the Sonoma Valley Teen Services’ Skills for Life program, in 2012 to La Luz to expand programs and services at its Family Resource Center, in 2013 to Sonoma Valley Education Foundation to start a pre-school at Sassarini School, in 2014 to Redwood Empire Food Bank for its Diabetes Wellness Program, and in 2015 to On The Move for its Parent University project.
Information about Impact100 Sonoma can be found at www.impact100sonoma.org or by calling 707-939-5007.
