2018 Julia L. Grant Fund for Basic Human Needs

Please note: The Julia L. Grant Fund for Basic Human Needs program is now closed for 2018.

 The Issue:

While Sonoma County has a thriving economy with a low unemployment rate and seven million tourist visitors each year, too many members of our community are falling increasingly behind. A combination of rapidly rising housing, food, and transportation costs in Sonoma County is exacerbating the ability of low-income residents to cover their basic human needs—and this has been made all the worse by the devastating fires in October 2017. Families are too often forced to choose between paying their rent or medical bills, buying food or gas to get to work. In crisis situations 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.

The Grant Program:

Community Foundation Sonoma County’s Julia L. Grant Fund for Basic Human Needs grant program supports non-profit organizations that provide services such as shelter, emergency food, transportation, and support for urgent medical expenses to people in acute need.

Over the past two years we have been able to significantly expand the reach of this grant program thanks to the generosity of Julia L. Grant. We are proud to be supporting the largest cohort of grantees in this program’s history, providing critical housing, food, medical and transportation support across all areas of the county.

We also know that the devastating fires in October 2017 have placed significant strain on our nonprofits, who are going above and beyond to meet the increased demand for safety net services. We are committed to minimizing the amount of time that nonprofits spend applying for and reporting on grants so that they can direct efforts to where they’re needed most—supporting our most vulnerable community members.

In this spirit, in 2018 we have invited current grantees who are providing critical safety net services to apply for a $10,000 grant through a streamlined application process. The grant program is now closed for this year.

We anticipate that we will return to an open, competitive grants program in 2019; this year’s approach is due to the tragic and extraordinary circumstances our community has experienced this year.

For questions about the Julia L. Grant Fund for Basic Human Needs, please contact Elly Grogan, 707.303.9638, egrogan@sonomacf.org.