Search Through Santa Cruz County Grants for Nonprofits in California

About The Foundation

The Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation was founded in 2008 to center the margin, creating and supporting strategies to reach gender and racial equity. The Foundation believes that intersectional feminism is an essential principle in our work and we intentionally prioritize women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals of color throughout our programming.

The Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations primarily in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties (the tribal lands of the Amah Mutsun, Ohlone, Chalon, Awaswas, and Esselen nations), occasionally in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, and organizations and programs with statewide impact across California or national impact across the US. Grants are restricted to the United States. We do not accept unsolicited applications.

The Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation is a registered 501c3 non-profit.

Funding Priorities

The Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations that serve people and communities in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties (the tribal lands of the Amah Mutsun, Ohlone, Chalon, Awaswas, and Esselen nations), occasionally in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, and organizations and programs with statewide impact across California or national impact across the US. The Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation believes that intersectional feminism is an essential principle in our grantmaking. We fund solutions to address the impact of racist and patriarchal structures facing women of color and gender-expansive individuals of color. 

Current Grant Opportunities/Funding Priorities

• Feminist / Gender / Women’s Studies
• Reproductive Rights and Justice
• Legal Advocacy for Immigrant Women
• Activist Fund
• Indigenous Women and Girls
• Girls in Engineering
• Women in Public Policy
• Transitional Housing for Survivors of Relationship Abuse
• Legal Services for Survivors of Relationship Abuse
• Women Re-Entering the Workforce
• Media Literacy
• Gender Economic Justice
• Environmental Gender Justice
• Farming: Gender and Racial Justice

MPRPD Transportation Grants

Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District (MPRPD) established the Transportation Grant Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County to increase recreational, environmental, and cultural education access to the Park District’s natural areas, open spaces, museums, working landscapes, and cultural sites while supporting the MPRPD mission and values to have accessible open space for education and recreation enjoyment and protection of natural and cultural resources, native habitat and wildlife.

Description

To increase recreational, environmental, and cultural education access to the Park District’s parks and reserves.

Conservation: Committed to conserving irreplaceable Bay Area landscapes

Sustaining the Bay Area’s healthy ecosystems

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most biodiverse regions of the United States, and its storied conservation history and role in the environmental movement is unparalleled. Compared with other metropolitan areas, the proximity of significant, biodiverse open space to major economic and residential centers is exceptional.

Our region’s unique role in the history of the conservation and its remarkable network of open space have been the direct result of concerted effort by many individuals and organizations. We are honored to be a part of this community, conserving these landscapes for the future generations who will call this region home.

Strategies

We aim to maintain and, where possible, increase the Bay Area’s remarkable biodiversity, ecosystem services, and nature-based recreation opportunities. In order to do so, we pursue several strategies:

• Prioritize land acquisition and conservation easements that are grounded in science-based regional conservation planning
• Support initial stewardship in order to deliver real, durable conservation outcomes
• Coordinate partnerships across the region to foster effective collaboration among stakeholders
• Develop the most effective conservation finance structures to maximize the impact of our funding and ensure financial sustainability

To protect and steward Bay Area conservation resources for future generations the efforts of local conservation groups and agencies are more critical than ever before. The same technological and financial engine that helps define the Bay Area’s economy also pushes up against the undeveloped and wilderness areas that define its ecology. Threats to natural habitat have become even more acute in recent years due in part to the regional economic boom.

That’s why we’re focused on supporting grantees who, through property acquisition, natural resource use and conservation finance, are working to preserve and enhance habitat for native plant and animal species in the Bay Area. Together with nonprofits, agencies and other funders, we have been fortunate to play a part in more than 80 acquisitions, easements and other conservation-related projects across the 10-county Bay Area.Impact StatementMaintaining and increasing the biodiversity, ecosystem services and nature-based recreation opportunities of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund

This 10-county fund provides flexible resources and focuses on community relief and recovery needs for current and future disasters.  Depending on the nature of the emergency or disaster, needs could include shelter, food, financial assistance and other services as they are needed.

The fund is designed to provide a continued, flexible source of funding, so that we may respond to our communities' immediate needs in times of emergency, assist in building community resilience, and be prepared to act quickly when future disasters occur. Grants disbursed by the fund will prioritize support for those most in need and facing the harshest circumstances.

Our Mission

The Tony Robbins Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of people often forgotten.

We’re dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of youth, seniors, the hungry, homeless and the imprisoned population, all who need a boost envisioning a happier and deeply satisfying way of life. Our passionate staff, generous donors and caring group of international volunteers provide the vision, inspiration, and resources needed to empower these important members of our society.

Grants

Dedicated to meeting challenges within the global community, creating solutions and taking action, The Tony Robbins Foundation provides monetary donations to various organizations around the world. Funding requests are evaluated on an ongoing basis. We look for organizations that align with our mission to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of those often forgotten.

Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation collaborate with a wide range of nonprofit organizations that align with our strategic funding priorities. We prioritize our funding to activities and programs that have a broad reach and support the needs of underserved communities. We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve by using our financial and volunteer resources and business expertise in collaboration with community organizations to help solve complex societal problems.

• Financial health
• Housing affordability
• Small business growth
• Sustainability

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities such as disaster relief, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, human and social services, and workforce development. However, opportunities are limited as our intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our major focus areas.

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  • Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Barbara J. Thompson Scholarship

Multiple one-time awards of $1,000 or more are available for graduates or current graduating seniors of any accredited high school physically located within the Santa Cruz City Schools District who have a minimum 3.0 GPA, are US citizens who have resided in Santa Cruz County for three of the past four years and have participated in three of the following activities during their high school term: Employment, Family Care, Community Involvement, Volunteer Work, and Sports.

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  • Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Burton Scholarship

Multiple awards of up to $5,000 (renewable annually) are available for graduates or current graduating seniors of any high school in Santa Cruz County who have maintained a minimum 3.0 GPA for two consecutive years, demonstrate financial need, and are US citizens.

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  • Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Environmental Scholarship

One or more awards are available to students who have been accepted and/or are currently enrolled and in good standing as either Undergraduate or Graduate students at four-year colleges and universities in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, or Monterey Counties. This scholarship is intended to support those who have innovative ideas and intentions to pursue a career in a field that will make a difference in helping the human species to evolve to a more compatible existence with natural ecosystems. 

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  • Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Emmett & Elsie Geiser Scholarship

Multiple awards of up to $1,000 (renewable annually based on academic performance) are available for graduating seniors from Watsonville High School, Pajaro Valley High School, and Aptos High School who have earned at least one letter in an athletic program.

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  • Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Ernest V. Cowell Scholarship

A one-time award of $1,000-$5,000 is available for a graduating senior or graduate of any public high school in the Santa Cruz City Schools District, who demonstrates financial need, and who will be attending a University of California campus.

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  • Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Giles Family Scholarship

Multiple awards of up to $5,000 (renewable annually) are available for current graduating seniors of any high school in Santa Cruz County who are involved in art, craft, or music programs. Students must be enrolled/admitted in Cabrillo College, San Jose State University, or the University of California at Santa Cruz, demonstrate financial need, and have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  • Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Hank Garcia Jr. & Family Scholarship

Awards of $2,000 (renewable annually) are available for graduating seniors from Aptos High School, Monte Vista High School, Pajaro Valley High School, St. Francis High School, and Watsonville High School who have a minimum 3.5 GPA, demonstrate financial need, and are US citizens.

What is a Community Foundation?

A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  •  Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Isabel Fowler Sewell Scholarship

Multiple one-time awards of $5,000 are available to graduating seniors from Pajaro Valley High School, or any public high school in Santa Cruz County, who has a minimum 3.0 GPA, demonstrates financial need, and will be attending college at Cabrillo or an accredited 4-year college or university full-time.

What is a Community Foundation?A community foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the financial resources of families, individuals, and organizations who care about a specific place and then invests those resources back into the community and the people who live there.

What does Community Foundation Santa Cruz County do?

We provide:

• Philanthropic Advising
  • Expert and personalized service to donors and their advisors about tax-wise charitable giving tools to achieve their charitable goals.
  • Over 40 years of trusted knowledge of local nonprofits to help donors align their passions to meet our county’s needs.
• Support for Local Nonprofits
  • Through grants, low-interest loans, professional development workshops, offering our building as a community space, and hosting capital campaigns, nonprofit reserve funds, and endowments.
• Community Leadership
  • We convene conversations on urgent community needs to inspire collective action around key local issues and rally resources in moments of crisis and opportunity.
• Creating Lasting Impact
  • Build endowments to provide permanent resources for our community 
  • Invest in the next generation by awarding scholarships and fellowships to local students and artists.
• So we can:
  • Give and rally timely, flexible resources
  • Generate wise and durable solutions to our community’s most pressing problems
  • Respond to crises together
  • Build trust across differences

Judy Anton Woman of Valor/Lupita Loves to Read Project Scholarship

An award of $1,000 or more (renewable annually) is available to Latina students who are graduates or current graduating seniors of any high school in Santa Cruz County, or a current student of Cabrillo College, reside in the Live Oak or Watsonville area at the time of application, and demonstrate financial need. 

Our Mission

To bring together people, ideas, and resources to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things

Our Vision

To make Santa Cruz County thrive for all who call it home, now and in the future

Our Values

Accelerating Solutions. Building Trust. Advancing Opportunities.

Our Grantmaking Overview

Our Grantmaking is guided by a set of eight principles we apply in awarding funds. Our approach is to provide flexible funding to organizations addressing pressing local issues and creating lasting positive impact. We prefer making grants to support the general operations of nonprofits. We continue to work with leaders of color to make sure that our grant funds are addressing historic and current inequities.

This May we'll award $1.2 million through our Community Grants cycle. The majority of these funds are restricted to children and seniors and are focused on education, youth development, end-of-life care, historic preservation, and human services. 

Our Priorities

Our Community Grants are made from endowed funds that have been given to the Foundation over four decades. This year, those funds will provide funding to support:

• 41% for Youth & Education
• 35% for Seniors, End-of-Life Care & Historic Preservation
• 9% for Health & Human Services
• 7% for Arts, Culture & History
• 3% for Environment
• 3% for LGBTQ+ specific causes
• 2% for Women & Girls initiatives

Grant Program Overview

Funding for arts and/or cultural projects open to the public in Santa Cruz County, up to $3,000. Open to Santa Cruz County artists, arts organizations, and non-arts organizations working in collaboration with artists.

Grant Program Objectives

We provide funding for artists and organizations in Santa Cruz County to:

• Support the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work
• Increase the success of artists and the sustainability of arts organizations
• Expand equitable access to the arts
• Engage new audiences in the arts
• Increase social impact through the arts

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Grant Program Overview

Funding for professional development (activities that improve artistic skills or expand business and professional capacity), up to $1,500. Develop grants do not require a public presentation/exhibition. Open to Santa Cruz County artists and arts organizations.

Grant Program Objectives

We provide funding for artists and organizations in Santa Cruz County to:

• Support the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work
• Increase the success of artists and the sustainability of arts organizations
• Expand equitable access to the arts
• Engage new audiences in the arts
• Increase social impact through the arts

Our Approach

Monterey Peninsula Foundation operates a place-based, responsive grantmaking strategy that spans a broad range of ages and community needs. The community focus is our primary strategy to strengthen the web of services, programs, and supports that contribute to healthy vibrant communities. We fund organizations over the longer-term, however, we work to minimize dependence on annual support grants whenever appropriate and prudent. Our policies requiring board giving and external financial oversight are designed to help organizations capitalize on best practices in the field.

We view funding as a partnership. We acknowledge that each community served has different strengths and challenges, and we work to tailor our support accordingly. We aim to be flexible. We realize that there are gaps that exist and we care about filling the need in all the communities we serve.

What We Support

Since its inception, Monterey Peninsula Foundation has given millions of dollars to support local nonprofits and schools in the tri-county area we serve. In 2022, the Foundation reached the charitable milestone of $200 million in lifetime giving.

Focus Areas

Monterey Peninsula Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations that benefit the community in the focus areas of arts & culture, community & environment, education, health & human services, and youth.

Monterey Peninsula Foundation places a higher priority on applications that offer creative responses to the community’s most pressing, unmet needs and show promise of building ongoing local support for needed services.

Organizations seeking funding should have a broad base of funding support, management capacity to effectively execute the project, a clear plan for project evaluation, outcome measurement, and collaboration among other service providers. Organizations seeking funding for a specific program should showcase a significant funding gap or critical opportunity, a long-term impact, preventive intervention and education, and produce measurable results.

Arts & Culture

Grants in the Arts & Culture focus area foster the creative environment and inspire curiosity, imagination, and appreciation of the arts.

Community & Environment

In the Community & Environment focus area, grants leverage collaboration and partnership for increased impact. We look for opportunities to increase equity and to build healthy, thriving communities appropriate to the needs of the counties we serve. We seek to protect, conserve, and nurture our environmental, natural, and agricultural resources.

Education

In the Education focus area, grants build skills and knowledge for students that carry the capacity to change lives. We support efforts to ensure equitable access to quality education for all, from early childhood to career and beyond.

Health & Human Services

Grants in the Health & Human Services focus area seek to improve health and wellness for body, mind, and spirit. We look for opportunities that ensure individuals, families, and children have what they need to be safe, healthy, and to thrive.

Youth

In the Youth focus area, we look to support organizations that help young people grow into their individual potentials, building resiliency along the way.

Types of Support

Operating Support

Across our focus areas, we offer trusted partners the opportunity to receive operating support, providing the greatest degree of flexibility for delivering quality services and programs. Unrestricted funds are an important tool in community funding strategies aimed at building a resilient sector and consistent service. We see operating support as a key way to strengthen the web of organizations supporting the spectrum of needs in communities we serve.

Program Support

Program support provides specific funding to achieve a small set of goals. For this restricted support, we require a specific budget that outlines the program or project. Reports provided give Monterey Peninsula Foundation the ability to compare projected costs with actual expenditures. Strategically, program support ensures that communities have access to important services and experiences that enrich lives.

Capital Support

We support a wide range of capital efforts each year. We look for opportunities to contribute toward important community resources in each of our focus areas, supporting infrastructure for whole communities. Grant applications should show strong and realistic financial planning that includes a variety of income streams. The Foundation may make matching or challenge grants to help organizations attract wider support.

We understand that multiple phases are sometimes necessary to accomplish a big vision, and we’ll work to right-size our support in light of context and need.

Grant Size

Monterey Peninsula Foundation receives approximately 225 grant applications a year for local support, and the Grant Committee awards about 175 grants annually that range widely from $1,000 to $500,000. The amount requested from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation should be proportional to the budget, and should include income from other sources. While there are no restrictions for the maximum grant amount applicants may request (other than for public K-12 schools), Monterey Peninsula Foundation will take into consideration the applicant’s track record in implementing projects of a similar size and scope.

San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund

About Us

In 1983, The Mercury News launched Wish Book, a non-profit philanthropy that connects their readers to Bay Area organizations that provide laudable causes such as assisting seniors, alleviating homelessness, providing food and counseling abused people.

Every September, Wish Book selects about 20 local non-profit groups that have applied for assistance. Those selected will have their stories and “Wishes”, their hopes and needs, published in the Mercury News in print and online from Thanksgiving to the end of the year. During this holiday fundraising drive, readers are encouraged to help fulfill these wishes by donating. Since its inception, Wish Book has raised over $12 million — thanks to the generosity of donors.

Wish Book Grant

Wish Book provides grants to local organizations and nonprofits from their holiday fundraising campaign from November to January. Every year, about 20 grantees are selected through a competitive application and review process. Those selected will be featured in stories in The Mercury News and used for fundraising efforts throughout the holiday season.

Organizations and nonprofits interested in receiving a grant for the upcoming Wish Book holiday campaign are encouraged to apply.

Wish Book is interested in funding initiatives or organizations that:

• Provide excellent story topics to highlight good work of individuals and/or organizations, with special consideration given to submissions with specific program participants willing to be interviewed by The Mercury News or Bay Area News Group affliate.
• Expose readers/influencers to community needs and specific populations.
• Represent diverse populations and geographic areas within San Mateo, Santa Clara or Santa Cruz counties.
• Create meaningful impact for residents of San Mateo, Santa Clara or Santa Cruz counties, and reflect well on the nonprofit sector.
• Address priority areas including systemic racism, climate change, unsheltered residents, food insecurity, community activism.

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

Serving the Arts Community

We serve as a connector between artists, arts networks, government leaders, arts advocates, arts educators, and arts education organizations.  Through grants to artists and arts organizations, arts education programs that serve more than 20,000 youth across Santa Cruz County, and community initiatives such as Open Studios, the Tannery Arts Center, and the Watsonville Center for the Arts, we help Santa Cruz County thrive.

Mission

We envision a Santa Cruz County where all artists have access to the resources they need to thrive; where a full range of creative expression is accessible to everyone; and the arts are recognized for their essential contributions to a healthy, vibrant, and representative community.

Support Grants

General operating support for Santa Cruz County nonprofit or fiscally-sponsored arts organizations of all budget sizes. Annual grants of up to $7,000 with applications accepted once per year. First-time applicants are welcome to apply.

Our Objectives

We provide funding for artists and arts organizations in Santa Cruz County to:

• support the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work
• increase the success of artists and the sustainability of arts organizations
• engage new audiences in the arts
• expand equitable access to the arts (improvement of disparities in representation and access in the arts)
• increase social impact through art (advancement of social and racial justice issues in our community)

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

Our Approach

Monterey Peninsula Foundation operates a place-based, responsive grantmaking strategy that spans a broad range of ages and community needs. The community focus is our primary strategy to strengthen the web of services, programs, and supports that contribute to healthy vibrant communities. We fund organizations over the longer-term, however, we work to minimize dependence on annual support grants whenever appropriate and prudent. Our policies requiring board giving and external financial oversight are designed to help organizations capitalize on best practices in the field.

We view funding as a partnership. We acknowledge that each community served has different strengths and challenges, and we work to tailor our support accordingly. We aim to be flexible. We realize that there are gaps that exist and we care about filling the need in all the communities we serve.

What We Support

Since its inception, Monterey Peninsula Foundation has given millions of dollars to support local nonprofits and schools in the tri-county area we serve. In 2022, the Foundation reached the charitable milestone of $200 million in lifetime giving.

Focus Areas

Monterey Peninsula Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations that benefit the community in the focus areas of arts & culture, community & environment, education, health & human services, and youth.

Monterey Peninsula Foundation places a higher priority on applications that offer creative responses to the community’s most pressing, unmet needs and show promise of building ongoing local support for needed services.

Organizations seeking funding should have a broad base of funding support, management capacity to effectively execute the project, a clear plan for project evaluation, outcome measurement, and collaboration among other service providers. Organizations seeking funding for a specific program should showcase a significant funding gap or critical opportunity, a long-term impact, preventive intervention and education, and produce measurable results.

Arts & Culture

Grants in the Arts & Culture focus area foster the creative environment and inspire curiosity, imagination, and appreciation of the arts.

Community & Environment

In the Community & Environment focus area, grants leverage collaboration and partnership for increased impact. We look for opportunities to increase equity and to build healthy, thriving communities appropriate to the needs of the counties we serve. We seek to protect, conserve, and nurture our environmental, natural, and agricultural resources.

Education

In the Education focus area, grants build skills and knowledge for students that carry the capacity to change lives. We support efforts to ensure equitable access to quality education for all, from early childhood to career and beyond.

Health & Human Services

Grants in the Health & Human Services focus area seek to improve health and wellness for body, mind, and spirit. We look for opportunities that ensure individuals, families, and children have what they need to be safe, healthy, and to thrive.

Youth

In the Youth focus area, we look to support organizations that help young people grow into their individual potentials, building resiliency along the way.

Types of Support

Operating Support

Across our focus areas, we offer trusted partners the opportunity to receive operating support, providing the greatest degree of flexibility for delivering quality services and programs. Unrestricted funds are an important tool in community funding strategies aimed at building a resilient sector and consistent service. We see operating support as a key way to strengthen the web of organizations supporting the spectrum of needs in communities we serve.

Program Support

Program support provides specific funding to achieve a small set of goals. For this restricted support, we require a specific budget that outlines the program or project. Reports provided give Monterey Peninsula Foundation the ability to compare projected costs with actual expenditures. Strategically, program support ensures that communities have access to important services and experiences that enrich lives.

Capital Support

We support a wide range of capital efforts each year. We look for opportunities to contribute toward important community resources in each of our focus areas, supporting infrastructure for whole communities. Grant applications should show strong and realistic financial planning that includes a variety of income streams. The Foundation may make matching or challenge grants to help organizations attract wider support.

We understand that multiple phases are sometimes necessary to accomplish a big vision, and we’ll work to right-size our support in light of context and need.

Grant Size

Monterey Peninsula Foundation receives approximately 225 grant applications a year for local support, and the Grant Committee awards about 175 grants annually that range widely from $1,000 to $500,000. The amount requested from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation should be proportional to the budget, and should include income from other sources. While there are no restrictions for the maximum grant amount applicants may request (other than for public K-12 schools), Monterey Peninsula Foundation will take into consideration the applicant’s track record in implementing projects of a similar size and scope.