Reporters May Contact:
Julie Kawahara, Assistant Director, Training and Technical Assistance                
707-544-6911                            
Jkawahara@capsonoma.org

$196,000 Awarded to local Non-profits to Increase their Effectiveness in Providing Social Services to Sonoma County Residents

Santa Rosa, CA – Community Action Partnership, which has been Sonoma County’s official anti-poverty agency since 1967 has awarded almost $200,000 to fifteen Sonoma County community-based organizations.

As the administrator of the Community Capacity Building Initiative, Community Action Partnership has been working to strengthen organizations in financial management, fundraising, governance, human resource management, obtaining and using technology, and marketing and branding services for three years. 

“No one agency can hope to successfully address all the critical issues and factors that stand in the way of individuals and families in advancing up the economic ladder.  We must strengthen a variety of community-based organizations to provide social services and diversify funding streams, which will have a lasting impact on the community,” states Oscar Chavez, Executive Director.   “It is our goal that each organization, and therefore the community at large, will benefit from the funds allotted. Sonoma County’s nonprofits provide vital services, especially during this time of growing need; we are grateful to support our non-profit community through these community capacity initiatives.”  Community Action Partnership – formerly Sonoma County People for Economic Opportunity or SCPEO has been acting as an incubator of sorts throughout its 40-year history.

One unique example of this is the grant provided to the Redwood Empire Food Bank. This non-profit organization was given funds in 2009 to increase their organizational efficiencies after purchasing a forklift for their warehouse.  “The Redwood Empire Food Bank’s ability to distribute larger quantities of food is directly attributable to the new forklift. Unloading food into the warehouse is done more effectively and efficiently and this hastens the distributions to our sites and the people that need fresh food.”

 “Capacity building” is defined through five areas: leadership development, organizational development, program development, revenue development, and community engagement.  In addition to the grants, Community Action Partnership offers training and technical assistance in critical areas.  A total of 52 proposals were received and teams of prominent members of the community were involved in reviews to evaluate and recommend funding. After thoroughly discussing each application, a total of $196,652 was handed out to the following organizations:

The mission of the Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County is to partner with low-income families and individuals to help them achieve economic and social stability, to build community, and to advocate for social and economic justice. Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County, has been described by the Press Democrat’s Gaye Le Baron as “…arguably... the most productive human service agency on the North Coast…”.

The year 3 grantees are: