Impact 100 finalists chosen

Impact100 Sonoma will award $195,000 in grants to a variety of Sonoma Valley nonprofit organizations at its June 23 annual meeting. Its annual $100,000 Impact Grant will be awarded to one of the following three nonprofit organizations serving Sonoma Valley:

• Enrichment & Environment area – The Sonoma Community Center:  Its proposal, Sonoma Serves Volunteer Center, would bring a local Volunteer Center back to Sonoma – a place where those interested in volunteering can learn about the specific needs of the nonprofit organizations in the community.

• Prevention & Intervention area – Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance. Its proposal, Project IMPACT! (Improving Mentoring Partnerships & Applying Counseling Techniques) would address the 15% (70 – 75 matches) of mentor-mentee relationships that haven’t been as successful as they could be.  IMPACT! would provide additional counseling and tools that will sustain positive mentor-mentee relationships and ensure that even the most at-risk Sonoma Valley youth have the possibility of a bright future.

• Social Outreach area – La Luz.  Its proposal, Fortaleciendo las Familias y Nuestra Comunidad–Strengthening Families and our Community, would expand their Family Resource Center to meet the growing demand for their programs and services.  Over the past five years, La Luz has experienced a 400 percent increase in the number of walk-in inquiries each month.

During the 2011-12 grant cycle, 195 women joined Impact100 Sonoma, enabling a total of $195,000 to be awarded in grant funds this year.  As a result, in addition to the $100,000 Impact Grant, the remaining 2 finalists for the Impact Grant will each receive $13,375, and a total of $68,250 will be awarded in Community Grants, ranging in size from $5,000 to $15,000 and focusing on capital needs, innovation, and collaboration.

The following nine organizations are the Community Grants finalists:

Capital Needs:

• Friends in Sonoma Helping (F.I.S.H.) provides emergency services for Sonoma families, including food, clothing, transportation, and rental assistance.  They request $15,000 to enable completion of capital projects begun last year to improve their facility: parking lot repaving, lighting, floor covering, and installation of a security camera.

• Sonoma Overnight Support (S.O.S.) is the only homeless shelter serving families in Sonoma Valley that allows children to remain in school and families to remain in their own community.  They request $11,000 in funds to improve the shelter by replacing linoleum in the bath and laundry, recarpeting the whole facility, and upgrading storage in the bedrooms.

• Willmar Family Grief & Healing Center is a grief counseling center providing peer grief support for children traumatized by the loss of a loved one. They request $9,000 in funds to create “on-the-go” kits with supplies for music, art and games utilized in the counseling process.  The kits allow Willmar to provide emergency services at other sites throughout the valley, thereby bringing service to those not able to come to the Center.

Innovation:

• California Parenting Institute requests $15,000 to provide community-based parent education for high-risk families, including classes and home visits.

• La Luz Center requests $15,000 to provide citizenship classes designed to promote civic and cultural integration – a service previously discontinued by Sonoma Valley Adult Education.

• Literary Arts Guild-Bookmobile of Sonoma requests $5,000 for updated book supplies to support the Bookmobile at local organizations throughout the valley, thereby promoting reading by providing easier access to books.

• Valley of the Moon Natural History Association (VOMNHA) requests $5,000 to support educational opportunities that focus on history, literature, and environmental studies for elementary students, including transportation, provided at Jack London State Historic Park. VOMNHA is the first non-governmental entity contracted to maintain a California State Park.

Planning for Strategic Partnering/Collaboration:

• 10,000 Degrees, in collaboration with the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance and the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation, requests $15,000 to explore a collaborative partnership that would create a college-going culture from elementary through 12^th grade in Sonoma Valley by providing counseling and support, college prep, and access to scholarships.

• Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, in collaboration with Willmar Center, Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, requests $10,000 to establish teen focus groups to identify ways to engage underserved and at-risk teens by implementing a multi-faceted art scholarship program for teens at the museum.

Patti England, who chairs the selection process for the $100,000 Impact Grant, said, “I am delighted with the proposals that have been selected as finalists. It will be difficult for our members to choose just one of these projects as our Impact winner.”

In February, Impact100 Sonoma received a total of 39 Letters of Inquiry from Sonoma Valley nonprofit organizations interested in applying for the $100,000 annual Impact Grant and smaller Community Grants. After Impact100 Sonoma Grants Committee members reviewed the Letters of Inquiry, the organization invited 9 nonprofits to submit full proposals for the $100,000 Impact Grant and 17 organizations to submit full proposals for Community Grants. The finalists were selected after months of careful review by 56 Impact100 Sonoma members serving on grant review committees.

At the June 23 Annual Meeting of the Impact100 Sonoma membership, each Impact Grant finalist will present its vision for how the $100,000 grant would impact its organization and the community. A vote of the entire 195 members of Impact100 Sonoma will determine the one nonprofit to receive the $100,000 Impact Grant. The presentations, a reception, and the announcement of all awards will take place at Hanna Boys Center’s Auditorium and is open to all Impact100 Sonoma members and invited guests.  The meeting is sponsored by Rabobank, Chateau Sonoma, Vella Cheese, Qualia Wines, Walter & Pistole Attorneys at Law, Hanna Boys Center, and Debbie Drummond Information Technology Specialties.