Some organizations offer lavish parties or other year-end perks to their employees. At Community Foundation Sonoma County, the best perk for our staff is the opportunity to make grants to local nonprofits in our community which are personally meaningful to them. While we have so many...
"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Leonard Cohen We find ourselves in a season of contrasts of darkness and light. Today is the shortest and darkest day of the year. We reflect on the year coming to a close and chronicle our personal and...
In Sonoma County we consider ourselves lucky to escape the snowy, downright freezing weather that many of our fellow Americans contend with over the winter months. But that’s also taking for granted a dry, warm place to call home that insulates us from the elements....
We are excited to share that on December 2nd, 2016 Sonoma Wine Country Weekend will be launching the 2016-17 Community Grants Program, a broadly accessible, responsive grants program designed to address the most pressing needs in our communities. To learn more about the Community Grants Program...
At Community Foundation Sonoma County, we regularly share things we are personally and professional grateful for. It is, quite frankly, part of our culture and the work we do every day. Recently, President and CEO Beth Brown led our staff through a “speed gratitude” activity where...
A New York Times review of How To Survive a Plague – The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France caught our eye. The review is beautifully written, inspiring and highlights the moving work AIDS activists and scientist undertook to...
Reframe the holidays in your workplace to include a more generous approach to your community and selves. Research shows that employee satisfaction is higher amongst individuals whose employers participate in community engagement (i.e. making donations, volunteering time, working on behalf of nonprofits, etc.). We have created...
Preparing for family holiday gatherings is more than determining who gets the guest bedroom and who gets the sofa. It is more than finding gluten-free dessert recipes and the frenzy of assembling complicated toys at the last minute. Instead holiday family gatherings are an opportunity to...
Expecting their first child, saving for a first home and working as a preschool teacher, all seemed well with a young family until their daughter’s birth had complications. The couple, having no health insurance, used all their savings on medical bills. Then, after her husband...
There’s a saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” This is especially true when it comes to estate planning. In my practice, I often encounter excuses as to why people fail to plan their estates. I encourage...