Growing economic uncertainty is stretching local nonprofits to their limits. They’re working hard to help an influx of new clients who need support physically, mentally, and financially.

The sharp rise in the cost of living has led to financial stress among low-income families struggling to make ends meet. Many of our neighbors are experiencing food insecurity and lack the resources to pay the soaring gas costs necessary for transit to work while still covering the growing costs of rent, utility bills, medical fees, and other urgent financial needs.

To help address the crisis this spring, our Community Impact Team recently granted over $1 million dollars to 50 local nonprofit organizations dedicated to supporting our local community. These grants, made through our Julia L. Grant Fund for Basic Human Needs and our Sonoma County Resilience Fund, are helping to address critical shortfalls in our community’s support network.

The grants made will allow organizations to provide aid to struggling families and individuals living in Sonoma County. Grants include:

• Alternative Family Services to provide food, critical supplies and rent assistance to Sonoma County foster families and youth.
• California Human Development to provide direct financial assistance to low-income farmworkers and other vulnerable populations.
• California Indian Museum & Cultural Center to provide healthy foods, rental and utility assistance to local Native American elders and families in need.
• Catholic Charities – Santa Rosa to provide healthy food deliveries to those experiencing food insecurity.
• Ceres Community Project to provide meals to low-income residents in 2022.
• Child Parent Institute (CPI) for food assistance, medical expenses, and for diapers and similar household needs for families.
• Cloverdale Senior Multipurpose Center to provide access to healthy foods, housing, and other fundamental human needs to maintain independence and dignity.
• Coastal Seniors to help continue their home delivery meal distribution to seniors in the coastal region.
• Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County to provide high-need, low-income Sonoma County residents direct, immediate basic needs.
• Conservation Corps North Bay to provide corpsmembers with transportation assistance, food access, and assistance paying medical and utility bills.
• COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) to support Mary’s Table kitchen and community food program.
• Council on Aging to support the Senior Nutrition program, providing meals to older adults through both home-delivered (Meals on Wheels) and drive-up pick up (DUPU) meals throughout Sonoma County.
• Disability Services & Legal Center for assistance for people with disabilities and older adults through DSLC’s Access to Basic Needs (ABN) Program.
• Farm to Fight Hunger to provide nutritious culturally relevant vegetables and eggs to those in need of healthy food.
• Farm to Pantry to help allow them to hire a volunteer coordinator to maximize their food distributions and cover the cost of fuel for food deliveries.
• I.S.H. of Santa Rosa to purchase healthy food from Redwood Empire Food Bank for distribution to food-insecure people of Sonoma County.
• Food for All/Comida para Todos for culturally relevant food to families.
• Food for Thought to help cover the cost of food, packaging, and gas expenses, all of which have recently increased.
• Forget Me Not Farm Children’s Services to support Project HOME which provides 10,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce to low-income families.
• Healdsburg Food Pantry to purchase food from the Redwood Empire Food Bank.
• InterFaith Shelter Network to provide immediate solutions to community members who have unmet basic needs.
• Jewish Community Free Clinic to provide food, gift cards, and additional needs for bilingual community health workers.
• La Familia Sana to provide direct rental and utilities assistance to families impacted by COVID.
• La Luz Center to provide low-income Sonoma Valley Latinx residents direct, immediate basic needs.
• Lilliput Families for basic emergency needs for Sonoma County low-income families through the Kinship Support Services Program.
• Nuestra Comunidad to provide emergency financial assistance to local families through Essential Needs Program.
• Operation Access to provide donated surgeries and specialty medical procedure for uninsured people in Sonoma County.
• Pediatric Dental Initiative to provide immediate and direct assistance for urgent dental needs to low-income pediatric and special needs patients.
• PEP Housing to provide basic human needs to seniors and veterans with low incomes, prioritizing food assistance for over 650 seniors.
• Petaluma Health Center to offset the prescription and transportation costs for our homeless and low-income patient populations.
• Petaluma People Services Center (PPSC) to help cover the increase in costs for food and to provide programming for the expanding volunteer team.
• Rebuilding Together – Petaluma to provide critical home repairs and accessibility modifications for elderly and people with disabilities.
• Redwood Empire Food Bank to help cover food acquisition, increasing gas prices, and staffing.
• River to Coast Children’s Services to help cover costly Costco purchases made to ensure food boxes sent out weekly or bi-weekly have fresh, quality produce.
• Sebastopol Area Senior Center to support the Center’s Harvest Café food program.
• SHARE Sonoma County to provide assistance for clients participating in the SHARE Sonoma County program.
• Social Advocates for Youth to provide food and rental support to vulnerable youth through the SAY Housing Continuum.
• Sonoma Applied Village Services to provide nutritious meals to homeless persons living in Sebastopol SAVS Horizon Shine Village and on the street.
• Sonoma County Black Forum to aid in continuing their food assistance distributions.
• Sonoma Family Meal to provide delicious, efficient, and safe meals to families and seniors facing food insecurity in times of crisis and beyond.
• Sonoma Overnight Support to help combat the increased need for food due to COVID-19 surge.
• Vincent De Paul Sonoma County to provide emergency financial support such as rental and utility bill assistance.
• TLC Child & Family Services to provide the Transition Age youth Housing Program youth with emergency basic needs.
• USO Northern California to support programs and services for military service members and their families in Sonoma County.
• Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation to support the Critical Needs Fund, which benefits former foster youth.
• Verity-Compassion Safety Support to support the Basic Needs Assistance Program to provide basic necessities to families who seek safety from sexual violence.
• VOICES Sonoma to prevent homelessness among transition-age youth and address critical basic needs.
• West County Community Services to help cover the 30% increase in cost to provide program services.
• Women’s Recovery Services to support the WRS treatment program to provide a healthy recovery for women and their children.
• YWCA of Sonoma County to support victims of domestic violence with their most urgent basic needs.