Our Funds
Community Foundation Sonoma County administers hundreds of funds that serve a wide variety of charitable purposes and reflect the intent of our donors. View lists of our current fund holders by clicking on the link for each kind of fund below.
Endowment funds are the backbone of our community impact work, providing support for present and future needs and opportunities in perpetuity. In essence, endowments are gifts that keep growing and giving. The principal is carefully invested and remains whole forever and a specified portion of the income (based on a “spending rule”) is used annually for grants.
Expendable (non-endowed) funds permit grant distributions from the earnings or principal in any amount ($250 minimum grant) at any time. An expendable fund may be converted to an endowment (usually upon the death on the original donor(s).
Donor-Advised or Committee-Advised Funds
These are established by individuals, families, groups or companies, allowing you to contribute assets and recommend grants at any time. This is a flexible, personalized way to support your favorite nonprofit groups in Sonoma County, elsewhere in the U.S., or anywhere in the world. All grants you recommend must be approved by the Community Foundation. As desired, we can provide grantmaking help in any areas of interest. Youth-advised funds in the name of any child can be opened to help children learn about charitable giving.
Organization Funds
Individuals or nonprofits can create this kind of fund for a specific nonprofit beneficiary. Nonprofit organizations can also establish this kind of fund as part of a fundraising strategy. Organization endowment funds are particularly valuable in assuring long-term financial stability and independence.
Community Endowment Funds
Immediate gifts may be made to these existing funds to ensure that future generations have the same or better quality of life in our community. Legacy gifts are a primary way these funds grow. These funds provide the major resources used by the Community Foundation to make discretionary grants. Funds are invested for the long term and provide an annual payout that ensures regular, on-going support for our annual grantmaking. Since needs and opportunities change, our ability to respond effectively is maximized by having flexible funds. Grants are made through our competitive grants process in broad fields of interest: e.g., Arts/Culture, Education, Environment, Health/Human Services, along with Basic Human Needs and Ending Family Homelessness.
Field-of-Interest Funds
Individuals may open endowment funds to support particular charitable interests. These funds provide the most long-term flexibility for the Community Foundation to address the changing needs and opportunities of our communities. You may establish named endowment funds to support your particular field of interest. These may be created or added to with future estate gifts. Grants are made through our competitive grants process in broad fields of interest.
Scholarship Funds
These are designed for donors who are interested in helping students attend college, university, or vocational school, using criteria of your choice. Funds are invested as endowments and the earnings support students who are studying a particular subject, attending a specific school, or graduating from a specific school. In some cases, donors and committees participate in the selection process.
Healdsburg Area Funds and Sonoma Valley Funds
Funds may be created to support nonprofit programs and services in partnership with our two affiliates. Each affiliate has board members and donors from its area and a grants committee which oversees its local grantmaking program.
Community Project Funds
Individuals or groups can create funds to support a particular community project or activity. These funds may have advisory committees.
Supporting Organizations are separate nonprofit, community-benefit corporations that operate under Community Foundation Sonoma County’s charitable umbrella. It creates its own board (with a majority of Community Foundation appointees), investment policies, grant priorities and charitable status. Its grantmaking and activities fulfill and support the mission of the Community Foundation, which facilitates the start-up, manages investments and administers grants and financial reporting.
Please contact J Mullineaux at 707.303.9620
Greg Young, a Community Foundation donor advisor, talks of the rewards of supporting a nonprofit organization with a local branch in Sebastopol. "I belong to Bread for the Journey because I want to support local start-up organizations that need a little boost to achieve their vision. That boost is often money, but sometimes it's simply asking the right question like, 'What is a business plan and why do you need one?' Watching these seeds sprout is even more rewarding than I had dreamed; meeting people who have the passion and knowledge to make our community a better place is an amazing experience. It fills me with hope for the future... and joy."
Helen McStravick’s commitment to caring for those in need spans her lifetime and continues today through her donor-advised fund with the Community Foundation Sonoma County. After Harry’s death in 2001, Helen has continued to make grants from their donor-advised fund to support the mentally ill homeless population in Sonoma County, and she will leave the remainder of her estate to do the same. It’s comforting as she grows older, “a gift for me,” she says, and a way of honoring her husband’s wishes and extending her reach in the community. More…