Help for Sonoma Valley nonprofits responding to ongoing Covid challenges

A total of $230,000 — Recovery Grants administered by the Sonoma County Community Foundation — will be utilized by 12 Sonoma Valley nonprofits to fund specific responses to the pandemic crisis. 

The fund has so far awarded $1,000,000 in local grants to help organizations adapt to this new phase of the pandemic crisis, aiming for greater effectiveness and efficiency in times of rapid change.

“The Catalyst Fund has made it easier for our very hardworking nonprofits to make it through a  very tough couple of years in this unprecedented crisis,” said Simon Blattner, Catalyst co-chair with Katherine Fulton. “We have proven what a great community can do quickly when we come together in a common cause.” 

Programming and services, marketing and communications — operating in the ‘new normal’ takes a proactive, nimble approach. And for nonprofits that directly serve clients and patrons, a new and often costly safety protocol is essential. Sonoma Arts Live, for example, needed high-grade air purifiers to make Andrews Hall safer for audience members.

“This grant will be used to provide state-of-the-art protection,” said Jamie Love, artistic director.  Among other measures, a cleaning service will be hired to thoroughly clean the theater and sanitize with electrostatic fogging after every performance.  “We take the opportunity to gather and entertain again very seriously.”

The Catalyst Fund received 28  Recovery Grant proposals. A total of 12 grants were made, totaling $229,045. Below are the 12  grantees and their proposals. 

• Becoming Independent 

To fund the transitional staffing necessary to create a new hybrid model of  service that will meet the needs and desires of their intellectually and developmentally challenged Sonoma Valley clients in the continuing pandemic. $20,000  

• Boys & Girls Club Sonoma Valley 

To provide staff pandemic recognition for going above and beyond to support  their high-risk students for the past 18 months. $20,000 

• Council on Aging 

To provide for six more months of hybrid programming to address the social  isolation among older adults living with dementia in Sonoma Valley as reopening  evolves. $17,500  

• Pets Lifeline 

To address the quadrupling of demand for spay/neuter procedures needed by  the pandemic pet population adopted over the last year and to provide key staff  time off. $20,000  

• Sebastiani Theater 

To hire a part-time Marketing Development Manager for one year to shift  programming, restore the theatre’s economic vitality and increase outreach to more diverse audiences. $20,000  

• Sonoma Arts Live 

To execute the CDC’s layered approach to safety during their indoor shows by purchasing needed air filtering, hiring a special cleaning crew and sanitizing show  equipment. $16,545  

• Sonoma Overnight Support 

To support the continued prepared meal outreach collaboration with Vintage  House, the funds will support SOS’s absorption of the meal preparation and  deliveries to homebound seniors in the Springs, who were formerly serviced by  Vintage House. $20,000  

• Sonoma Valley Communications Corp (KSVY, etc.) 

To support the planning and execution of several operational pandemic  adjustments to ensure ongoing emergency coverage and to provide staff  recognition. $15,000  

• Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation 

To help purchase and install a new patient/visitor screening kiosk in the main  visitor entrance and to provide 22 weeks of drive-through testing. $20,000 

• Sonoma Valley Museum of Art 

To expand digital and in-home learning tools, tested and piloted during COVID,  for its Art Rewards the Students (A.R.T.S.) program for academic year 2021/22. $20,000  

• The Botanical Bus 

To help expand bilingual wellness programming in the Springs by providing six  Farm Worker Clinics and eight in-person Wellness Workshops at La Luz Center  this fall. $20,000  

• Vintage House 

To implement a tracking database to enable staff to reopen services safely,  providing a seamless customer welcoming experience despite COVID protocols and fund a two-day, team-building staff retreat. $20,000