June 2022 – The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County

We are now accepting applications for our 2022 grants cycle! Over $450,000 is available through our General Grants program for organizations serving the environment, arts, seniors, people with disabilities, and more. And for the first time, in order to further support stability and trust within SLO’s philanthropic sector, all General Grants will be unrestricted.

“Starting this year, 100% of the grants we are offering through our General Grants Program will be unrestricted, meaning these funds can be used however each recipient deems necessary,” said Heidi McPherson, CEO of the Community Foundation. “Challenging times require a new approach, and we believe that unrestricted funding gives our nonprofit partners the flexibility they need to succeed in today’s environment. ”

The primary goal of our 2022 General Grants Program is to provide funding for agencies and programs that directly address community needs while helping nonprofit organizations fulfill their mission. We will prioritize applications that support community well-being, resiliency, collaboration, and demonstrate cultural competency.

WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR

To streamline funding efforts, nonprofit organizations can either submit new applications directly to The Community Foundation or submit a copy of an application that has been drafted to the County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

“We hope that by accepting grants previously submitted to ARPA, our beloved nonprofit community can save time and money by eliminating duplicative grant writing,” says Cassandra Kartashov, Director of Grants & Programs at The Community Foundation. “The General Grants Program will also be supporting multi-year awards as we know how important it is for nonprofits to have funding stability.”

All grants offered by The Community Foundation’s General Grants program will not only be unrestricted but will also have a two-year funding term. The average grant awarded through the General Grants Program is anticipated to be $15,000. Funding will support the following interest areas:

Arts
Environment
Human Services
Seniors and People with Disabilities

IMPACT OF GRANTS IN SLO COUNTY

Since its inception, our grants program has grown and pivoted to reflect the changing needs of SLO County. To ensure the greatest impact of funds, we leverage data and community members’ lived experiences to inform decision-making.

For example, Growing Together for LGBTQ+ Fund – a Field of Interest fund managed within The Community Foundation – developed its recommendations for grant distribution based on data analysis from multiple sources, subcommittee members’ independent research, lived experiences, and thorough discussion. In spring, over $19,000 was distributed to Planned Parenthood California Central Coast, SLO Children’s Museum, KCBX Radio, and Lumina Alliance based on these recommendations.

The Women’s Legacy Fund – another Field of Interest Fund managed by The Community Foundation – recently granted over $75,000 to the Center for Family Strengthening, People’s Self-Help Housing, and Boys & Girls Club Mid Central Coast: all of which are programs supporting women and girls.

The BUILD Grant and Opportunity to Thrive Grant are also grants available for this year but are separate from the General Grants cycle. The goal of the BUILD (Building Unity, Infrastructure, Leadership, and Development) Grant program is to provide capacity-building funding for agencies with an annual operating budget of less than $500,000. BUILD Grants support the following areas:

Capacity-building
Staff or board training and development
Communications or donor development efforts
Capital equipment improvement (hardware, software, furniture, etc.)

Opportunity to Thrive supports organizations that offer direct assistance to individuals with a one-time emergency, focusing on empowering and strengthening individuals to overcome obstacles while embarking on the road to self-sufficiency.

HOW TO APPLY

Organizations that meet eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply at https://www.cfsloco.org/nonprofits-2/.

We are hosting a Virtual Grant Informational Session which will be hosted on Friday, June 17, and will equip attendees with information on how to submit a successful application. To attend, please use this sign-up sheet.

Completed applications must be submitted online by August 15, 2022 at 5pm. Applicants will be notified of their award status later this fall. For further questions about the application process or if you are interested in evaluating grant applications, please contact Cassandra Kartashov at cassandra@cfsloco.org.

We are excited to announce that $308,500 in scholarships has been awarded to dozens of students across San Luis Obispo County. Thanks to the support of our donors and leadership from our Board of Directors, 62 scholarships for the 2022-2023 school year were distributed in May of 2022.

For over 20 years, our Scholarship Program has enhanced access to education for students of all backgrounds and academic levels in San Luis Obispo County. The scholarships are as varied as their recipients and span a range of academic interests from nursing to agriculture to technology and beyond.

“Our scholarship program is a reflection of our values as a whole,” said Heidi McPherson, CEO of The Community Foundation SLO County. “We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the donors that make these scholarships possible, and reward students of varying backgrounds and career paths with the financial support needed to pursue higher education.”

In years past, scholarships from The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County have been used to support room and board fees, tuition, textbook costs, and other qualified education expenses. Unlike loans, these funds do not have to be repaid and cannot be treated as taxable income.

Some of these scholarships include The Riggs Family Scholarship, which was established to help graduating seniors from San Luis Obispo County high schools make a successful transition to a four-year university. The scholarship is open to graduating seniors from a San Luis Obispo County high school with a 2.8-3.8 GPA who demonstrate financial need. The John S. Renner Memorial Scholarship funds LGBTQ+ youth as they aspire to achieve their goals, especially in the fields of creative or performance arts. This scholarship is open to LGBTQIA+ students who are pursuing arts education at either a 2 or 4 year university.

Scholarship recipient Emilio Pena playing baseball

The Yeagar Scholarship fund is a scholarship which provides support to for a graduating senior at Coast Union, Morro Bay or Paso Robles High School who is planning to pursue a degree, at a California public university, in physical or technical science (Physics, Geology, Math, Engineering, Chemistry, Computer sciences or Architecture). This year’s recipient of the $23,000 scholarships is Emiliano Pena Ramirez, who had this to say: “This county is filled with such talented students, and I feel so honored to be selected. My parents did not graduate from middle school and moved to the United States so that me and my siblings would have more opportunities. My parents always stressed the importance of hard work, and it is so special seeing that hard work come to fruition. I’m putting myself through college, so this generous scholarship is a game changer for me.” Emiliano is graduating from Coast Union High School and will be majoring in Aerospace Engineering at Cal Poly.

Students of all academic backgrounds and interests are considered for scholarships based on varying criteria, including but not limited to:

Financially disadvantaged students who would like to attend a 4-year anniversary;
First-generation college students whose parents are vineyard or farm workers;
Students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community;
Women in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM).

Learn more about scholarships at https://www.cfsloco.org/available-scholarships-2/

Month: June 2022

Now Accepting Applications: 2022 Grants Cycle

Scholarship Recipients for 2022-2023