Impact100 Sonoma grants record $337,400 to Sonoma Valley nonprofits

The women’s collective giving organization Impact100 Sonoma gathered at Hanna Center to celebrate the annual awarding of grants totaling $337,400 to Sonoma Valley nonprofits.

Fourteen full Impetus Grants and two partial grants were awarded, the highest number of full grants the group has given in a single year.

The 2023 grant total of $337,400—donated by more than 300 members—also sets a new annual giving record for Impact100 Sonoma and raises its cumulative grant total since 2010 to $3,661,900. It is one of the Valley’s largest funders. Grant recipients represented a broad range of nonprofit organizations serving residents of all ages and needs.

“Our applicant and finalist pool was incredibly strong,” said Kathy Bloch and Dana Simpson-Stokes, Grants Oversight Co-Chairs, “so we weren’t surprised to see close counts and even a tie in the member voting. Six organizations are first-time full grant recipients, showing that our members are embracing the breadth of possible uses for Impact100 funds.”

Applicants submitted their grant proposals in January. Over the winter, Impact100 Sonoma volunteer committees reviewed applications, made site visits, and selected the finalists. Those organizations presented their proposals to the full Impact100 membership at the Sebastiani Theatre on April 15, and online voting for grant recipients closed on April 23.

For the third year in a row, Impact100 Sonoma awarded multiple Impetus Grants of up to $25,000 to selected nonprofits. This strategy of disbursing funds widely, as opposed to offering fewer large grants, was initiated during the pandemic and is planned to continue long term. Grant recipients will use the money to sustain their current programs, expand or improve their offerings, or better fulfill their core mission.

2023 Impetus Grant Recipients

• 10,000 Degrees: $25,000 to support near-peer-Fellows working with high-school students to expand college access, including a program of twice-annual campus tours

• Cancer Support Sonoma: $25,000 to increase outreach to underserved cancer patients and to provide adjunct treatments not otherwise available in Sonoma Valley

• Farm to Pantry: $9,850 to purchase software supporting gleaning and food-distribution services for households in need

• Food for All (Comida Para Todos): $25,000 to fund the purchase and delivery of healthy, culturally relevant food products and other necessities for underserved families

• Friends in Sonoma Helping (FISH): $25,000 to support ongoing food and rental assistance programs for low-income and elderly clients

• Homeless Action Sonoma (HAS): $23,972 to fund a mental health program at the new Home and Safe Village of 22 tiny houses

• Just1mike: $20,000 to enable free heart-health screening for Sonoma Valley youth, and installation of two automated external defibrillator (AED) stations at Maxwell Farms Regional Park

• LifeWorks of Sonoma County: $20,000 to fund El Puente (The Bridge), a program providing in-home, bilingual mental-health services for at-risk youth and their families

• Redwood Empire Food Bank: $25,000 to continue essential food distribution to everyone needing assistance in Sonoma Valley
• Sebastiani Theatre Foundation: $25,000 to fund an evaluation of the aging stage fly/rigging system that supports essential equipment for live performances
• Sonoma Community Center: $25,000 to fund a bilingual, introductory Early Childhood Music Education program for children and their caregivers
• Sonoma Overlook Trail Stewards: $25,000 to fund a professional work crew that will make essential, permanent improvements to the upper trail, ensuring safe public use
• Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance: $25,000 to fund a wide-ranging series of shared extracurricular activities for adult mentors and youth mentees
• Square Peg Foundation: $19,200 to fund scholarships for economically disadvantaged Sonoma Valley families to access equine therapy programs and services for autistic and trauma-afflicted children

Unrestricted Partial Grant Recipients

Two proposals tied for the next-highest number of member votes after full grants were allotted:

• Becoming Independent: $9,689 unrestricted grant
• Sonoma Ecology Center: $9,689 unrestricted grant

“We thank our Impact100 member donors who fund our grants and the some 60 volunteers who evaluated the applications so diligently,” said Co-Presidents Debbe Noto and Claudia Sims. “Our organization recognizes and appreciates the hard work of all nonprofits serving Sonoma Valley, those receiving Impact100 grants this year, in the past, or in the future. Our efforts to support and encourage them are ongoing.”

Founded in 2009 by Annette Lomont and Christine Dohrmann, Impact100 Sonoma is a women’s philanthropic organization that pools member funds to support nonprofits serving valley residents from Schellville to Kenwood. For more information, visit www.impact100sonoma.org or write [email protected].