Capital Grant Program

with Community Foundation Sonoma County

In late March, 2023 Sonoma Valley Catalyst Fund (Catalyst Fund) and Community Foundation Sonoma County (CFSC) announced $500,000 in new funding for vital capital improvement projects for 13 Sonoma Valley-based nonprofit organizations. This initiative aimed to support local nonprofits, many of which operate on tight budgets, by enabling them to make essential safety, technological, and maintenance upgrades.

Karen Roche, Catalyst Capital Grants Chair shared her enthusiasm, stating, "We are thrilled to support the outstanding work these nonprofits are doing in our community. By providing funding for these much-needed capital improvements, we're empowering them to continue serving Sonoma Valley with enhanced safety and efficiency."

Funding for the capital grants program was made possible by a one-time launch gift from Community Foundation Sonoma County. Elly Grogan, Interim Vice President for Community Impact, explained, “This critical funding comes thanks to the generosity of Roland and Hazel Todd, who left a legacy bequest to Community Foundation in the hopes that we would continue to support capital projects like these in the Sonoma Valley for years to come. We’re grateful to partner with the Sonoma Valley Catalyst Fund, whose dedicated volunteers did the groundwork to identify these projects and recommend these grants.”

With these capital grants, the Sonoma Valley Catalyst Fund and Community Foundation Sonoma County aim to create a lasting impact on the community by enhancing the capabilities of nonprofit organizations to better serve the needs of the Sonoma Valley.

The Catalyst Fund capital grants were utilized for a wide range of projects across the Sonoma Valley. In late October, 2023 we reviewed the progress of each grant and have the following updates to share:

Art Escape ($25,000): This grant allowed Art Escape to make many needed upgrades to their building. They were able to replace the outdoor steps which were bordering on unsafe. They built out a space under the deck that added valuable storage. As the project progressed, they make a key adjustment to their original plan and decided to concrete the back yard. This change has opened the back yard as an outdoor classroom. The funds also allowed the building owners to address important electrical and lighting issues. Below are some photos of the upgrades.

Boys and Girls Clubs Sonoma Valley ($100,000): This grant has not been spent yet. BGCSV has had the unexpected opportunity to apply for a larger federal grant to replace all doors and windows at their Maxwell Clubhouse. We will hear back in January 2024 as to whether or not they received the federal grant. If BGCSV is awarded the federal dollars, Catalyst will reallocate the grant.

Becoming Independent ($50,000): BI has purchased a Ford van that can carry 2 wheelchairs and 7 passengers. Their fleet now has a total of 59 vehicles, with 24 in active use. The wheelchair-accessible van will allow BI to provide more personalized services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our Valley. Together with an additional grant, BI was able to afford the total cost of the van of $61,000.

Community Child Care Council (4Cs) ($27,400): The grant provided funding to transition their facility to a toddler program (0-3 yrs) by upgrading the kitchen, adding laundry facilities, and toddler-sized furniture. This project has been delayed due to the loss of another much-needed federal grant. But, happily, funds are now in place to open in fall 2024. We will follow up summer 2024 to see how things are progressing.

FISH ($40,000): The new roofs on the Food Pantry and Clothing Room buildings have been installed! There were many obstacles: Sonoma County needed a 2nd permit for the second building; the solar panels had to be taken down and reinstalled; the discovery of dry rot; and the addition of gutters. Thanks to their volunteers, FISH was able to get all work completed without disrupting services in food or clothing rooms. And it was all done on budget. See the photos below:

Hanna Center Mental Health Hub ($51,271):  All furniture for the new community-facing Mental Health Hub has been purchased. There was a delay in opening due to  HVAC certification permitting and the other was getting Medicaid certification but, they are now open and accepting some clients on a sliding scale.

Homeless Action Sonoma ($23,995): HAS purchased most of the furniture and appliances for the Home and Safe Village communal area. They are holding off on the commercial washer/dryer for now as they cannot be installed under the tent due to special power needs. HAS is waiting on the new bath and laundry building to be completed to install them. Permit Sonoma just approved the new sewer line hookup which will require cutting across Hwy 12 to connect. The 22 huts are fully occupied with a waiting list.

Jack London Park Partners ($20,250): The truck and watering trailer have been purchased using our grant along with a matching grant (and some smaller donations) for a total of $66,250. The truck has reduced the watering time of the orchard’s 30 acres by 80%! The orchard’s production is way up and the produce is being donated to Farm to Pantry via volunteer gleaners.

RISK ($14,296): The new bilingual website is still in development with Bright Idea but they expect to go live in early November. The new laptop was purchased and is proving to be a great asset in the office and for presentations and meetings.

Sonoma Immigrant Services ($13,000): This grant allowed for the purchase of office equipment and furniture to enhance the accessibility of SIS’s legal services. The office equipment has been purchased, including a large copy machine. The large copier has reduced staff time tremendously and reduced the monthly toner bill from $250/mo. to $7.14! SIS is sharing the machine with other nonprofits with large printing needs.

Sonoma Overnight Support ($51,000): A 2019 Toyota RAV4 was purchased for $31,000 for food supply and transport. Unfortunately, it cannot be shared with other organizations yet due to insurance limitations. SOS plans to move into the new Unity Kitchen the weekend of Oct 21st. The remaining funds were used for purchasing appliances for the new Unity Kitchen.

Sonoma Valley Community Health Center ($57,718): SVCHC transitioned to the new health records system (EPIC) on August 1st. The 14 laptops purchased with this grant helped tremendously with training staff on the new system and the many dress rehearsals before going live. They expect it will take about 10 months to work out the kinks. They are thrilled with the new system as it allows for inter-operability with other service providers and sharing of client data. SVCHC is the 3rd health center in Sonoma County to make the transition to EPIC. The total cost of the transition is far beyond our grant. SVCHS raised a total of $898,587 for the project and are just $50K shy of reaching the total goal.

Vintage House ($31,000): Vintage House was able to install the new commercial dishwasher and attached sink with NO interruption to the meal services. Once the installer realized that every down day in the kitchen meant seniors would not get meals, he brought in a special team of 6 people to get the originally-planned 3-day job done in 7 hours so no senior would miss a meal!

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