The Issue
Living in Sonoma County is expensive. The high cost of living makes it challenging for low- income residents to cover their basic human needs—a situation made worse by the compounding effects of the wildfires, coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent inflation. Families are increasingly forced to choose between paying their rent or medical bills, buying food or gas to get to work.
In crises such as these, straightforward, real-time assistance with food, shelter, transportation, or medical expenses can prevent families from losing a job, falling into homelessness, or facing another day without food.
Grant Program Overview
Community Foundation Sonoma County’s Julia L. Grant Fund for Basic Human Needs grant program provides a unique funding opportunity for nonprofit organizations already working with vulnerable populations and in need of funding for critical safety net services. Eligible organizations may apply for a grant between $15,000 and $30,000 through a streamlined application process.
Funds may be used to provide immediate and direct assistance to secure shelter, emergency food, transportation, and support for urgent medical and dental expenses to people in acute need. Examples of previous safety net services funded through this program include:
- Support for provision of food
- Rental assistance
- Emergency financial assistance
- Diapers and other hygiene items
- Medical expenses
Please note that due to the extreme impacts of inflation on the cost of food, proposals targeting food insecurity will be prioritized in 2022.
Grant Program Criteria
Our Julia L. Grant Basic Human Needs Grant Program is a broadly accessible grants program meant to address the most essential needs of families and individuals in Sonoma County. When evaluating proposals, we use the following criteria to assess the competitiveness of a request for funding:
Evaluation Criteria
- Support can be delivered immediately and directly to those in acute need (ex. gift cards, hotel vouchers, rent subsidies).
- Organization is fiscally sound with strong management.
- Program minimizes barriers to accessing services.
- Food providers will be prioritized.
Eligibility Criteria
- Sonoma County 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or fiscally sponsored.
- Intervention-related services that address short-term needs of community members, rather than prevention-oriented activities.
- Case management and referral services are not eligible for this funding.
- Program and general operating support are not eligible for this funding.
Timeline
January 24, 2022: Grant application opens; apply here
February 11, 2022: Grant application closes at 5pm
March: Applicants informed of grant awards
Grant Period: April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023
How to Apply
How To Apply
Community Foundation Sonoma County uses an online process for submitting grant applications. If this is your first application using the online portal, you will be asked to set up an account. Click here to apply.
If you have an established account, you will be asked for your password to open a new application.
Once you’ve opened an online account, you will be asked a series of questions that include your contact information and a series of narrative questions. Applicants will also be asked to upload the following documents:
- Organization Budget
- Board of Directors List
- Fiscal Sponsorship Form (only for organizations using a Fiscal Sponsor)*
*If using a Fiscal Sponsor, complete the Fiscal Sponsorship form. Provide an Organization Budget and Board of Directors list for both the fiscal sponsor and the organization being sponsored.
We highly recommend that you complete your application in a Word document and then copy and paste the content into the online template. Click here to download a Word version of the narrative questions.
A word of caution: when working in the electronic application program, save your work as you go along and, if you want to leave and then return to complete your application later, save your work before you exit the program. Once you’ve exited without saving, your unsaved work is lost.
To review FAQs for Online Submission, please click here.
For questions about the Julia L. Grant Fund for Basic Human Needs, please contact:
For questions about the online application process, please contact:
2021 Grant Recipients
| Organization | Grant Purpose |
|---|---|
| Buckelew Programs | to provide direct, urgent, basic need and safety net services to Sonoma County residents who live with severe and persistent mental illness |
| California Parenting Institute (CPI) | to provide food, medical, transportation, clothing, diapers, and other safety net support services to families in Sonoma County through Basic Needs program |
| Ceres Community Project | to support Healing Meals for Healthy Communities |
| COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) | to support the Mary Isaak Center |
| Council on Aging Services for Seniors | to support the Drive-up/Pick-up meal program which has become invaluable in reaching food-insecure seniors during the COVID crisis |
| Covia Foundation | to support the Market Day senior program by providing access to fresh produce, critical information, and referrals |
| FISH of the Santa Rosa Area Inc. | for purchase and distribution of food to families in Santa Rosa |
| Food For Thought | to provide healthy groceries to seriously ill, food-insecure homeless people across Sonoma County through the Bags of Love Program |
| Friends in Sonoma Helping | to provide rental assistance to clients in Sonoma Valley |
| Healdsburg Shared Ministries | to provide healthy food to food insecure residents of Healdsburg and Geyserville |
| On The Move | to support the critical needs of transition aged youth in VOICES Sonoma |
| Petaluma People Services Center | to meet the expanding need of older adults for Home Delivered Meals |
| Reach for Home | to support basic human needs through the Community Health and Wellness Mobile Unit |
| River to Coast Children's Services | to provide food, diapers, short-term shelter, health and safety supplies for west Sonoma County families in need and who have children living in the home |
| Sebastopol Area Senior Center | to provide nutritious meals to older adults in West Sonoma County through the Sebastopol Senior Meals To-Go! program |
| Shared Housing and Resource Exchange California DBA SHARE Sonoma County | to restabilize clients by addressing their basic human needs |
| Side by Side | to provide basic human needs to Side by Side's Sonoma Community Counseling and YouThrive clients |
| Sonoma Overnight Support | to provide food, housing support, healthcare, and other resources to the growing number of individuals and families who are facing housing and food insecurity |
| Sonoma State University | to provide emergency micro-grants to Seawolf Scholars and DREAM Center students through the Critical Needs Fund |
| St. Vincent De Paul Society of Sonoma County | to support Braking Bread the St. Vincent de Paul Sonoma County food truck that delivers meals to homeless people |
| The Living Room | to support the Outreach Program to provide homeless or at risk of becoming homeless individuals with essential goods and services |
| TLC Child & Family Services | to support the THP Resource Center for transition age youth experiencing homelessness or transitioning out of systems of care |
| Verity-Compassion Safety Support A California Corporation | to assist survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking with basic needs such as food, emergency shelter, transportation and clothing |
| Vintage House Senior Multipurpose Center of Sonoma Valley | to support the Soups On! and Suppers On! weekly meal programs to address food insecurity and social isolation among Sonoma Valley seniors |
| Wayfinder Family Services, dba Lilliput Families | to provide for basic needs of children/youth who have entered into emergency care with relatives |
| West County Community Services | to provide twice weekly lunches to low income seniors in the lower Russian River area |
| Women's Recovery Services - A Unique Place | to provide immediate basic human needs for mothers with substance dependence and their children |
| YWCA of Sonoma County | to provide basic needs assistance and support to individuals and families impacted by domestic violence |