Emergency Grants Help Small Business Owners Stay Afloat Through COVID-19
Story by Dani Burlison, Photos by Erik Castro On the afternoon of April 22, New Jersey native Tom Singerline made his way through Dry Creek Valley on his way home to Santa Rosa. Singerline, who owns and operates Jersey Tom Wine Country Tours, was emotional as he...
CFSC’s Technical Guide for Nonprofits Using Zoom
Shelter in Place has radically changed the way we interact with one another, moving most if not all, of our interactivity with the outside world online rather than in-person. Adapting to this shift has been hard on many of us, forcing us to use tools we've never used...
Healdsburg Forever Makes $80,000 in Emergency Grants
Healdsburg Forever our a regional affiliate has recently made emergency grants totaling $80,000 to six nonprofit organizations providing essential safety net services—food, shelter, and health care—to the most vulnerable people in Healdsburg and Geyserville. The...
Adapting to Shelter in Place: The Living Room
Story by Dani Burlison, Photos by Erik Castro Since 1993 The Living Room has provided a safe place for unhoused women and their children to go during the day while overnight shelters are closed. In the early days, a mere handful of women dropped in, had a cup of...
Webinar Series for Nonprofit Organizations
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on local nonprofit organizations. Beyond our grantmaking work, Community Foundation Sonoma County offers educational resources for these nonprofits, which have been adapted for the current shelter in place orders. As...
Creating Homes Without Building
When Amy Appleton’s children became teenagers in 2011, she decided to spend some of her newfound spare time volunteering. Although she had a background in IT, she found herself working with the county’s unhoused population at the COTS (Committee on the Shelterless)...
Nonprofits and the CARES Act
Financial Resources for Nonprofits Community Foundation Sonoma County is responding to the current and continuing disaster with a commitment to helping to ensure our communities and their many wonderful nonprofit organizations remain resilient, sustainable and...
Affordable by Design
Sometimes called granny flats, in-law units, second units, casitas, or backyard cottages, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) share several distinguishing features: they are 250 to 1,200 square feet and must have a kitchen or kitchenette, bathroom and sleeping area. ADUs...
Finding Common Ground for Housing
If you ask anyone in Sonoma County what the top issues are facing this community, there’s a very good chance that housing tops that list. Of course, this would probably be true of many cities in California—a high cost of housing—and not enough of it to go around—are...
Our COVID-19 Response: $805,000 in Emergency Grants to Support Sonoma County
Even with relatively few COVID-19 cases in Sonoma County so far, people are already suffering from the economic impacts of lost hours at work, and fears of a longer-term economic slowdown. Parents who have children in schools that are closing are struggling to find...
Welcoming New Team Member Mark Geary
We are delighted to welcome a new team member to the CFSC staff: Mark Geary, who joins us as our new Controller. Joining the foundation at an extraordinary time, Mark has jumped in with enthusiasm and care for our community. We are so glad to have him with us. Mark...
Coronavirus Response: Donate Today to Help Your Community
Community Foundation Sonoma County is following the spread of COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) in our community, and stands ready to help if needed. While the virus is international, there may become a time when our most vulnerable community members are significantly...
Making Bilingual Therapy Affordable
UPDATE: this article was published before Sonoma County's social distancing and shelter in place. Humanidad continues to provide mental health services during this time, and are offering remote appointments with clients. When Isela Vigil lost her Santa Rosa home in...
Training Educators to Combat Trauma
One of the most widespread impacts from both the 2017 and 2019 fires was on our community’s mental health. “Children are especially impacted by disaster, often experiencing trauma-related fears, anxiety and sleep disruption, even after the disaster is over, ” said...
Supporting the North County After Kincade
When the Kincade Fire ignited, multiple organizations responded quickly to ensure residents would be supported. Facing the loss of homes, paychecks, and other essentials as the holiday season approached, we immediately enacted a round of emergency grants from our...