More than 40 local nonprofit organizations will be awarded grants totaling almost $500,000 from The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County (CFSLOCO). The awards will allow community organizations to further their work on behalf of the arts, the environment, human services, and seniors or people with disabilities.
The Board of Directors for CFSLOCO finalized their decisions Tuesday: “The goal of the General Grants Program has always been to provide funding for agencies that directly address community needs,” says Heidi McPherson, CEO of The Community Foundation. “We are grateful for the opportunity to support these programs, and look forward to the important impact they will continue to have on our community.”
As a way to further support stability and trust within SLO’s philanthropic sectors, a strategic decision was made by the Foundation to ensure that these awards — and all future General Grants — are unrestricted. Starting this year, each grantee has the agency to determine how best to utilize their funding.
“Our grantees are the experts in their particular fields, and understand how best to leverage their grant awards for maximum impact,” said McPherson. “We’re proud of this new giving model and hope it provides our partners with the flexibility they need to reach their goals.”
More than 70% of grants awarded will support nonprofits for the next two years, providing a sense of funding stability for grantees. The average award amount totaled over $16,000.
“Our grant will support the high level of meal production and services, which help maintain the good health, safety, and independence of all our seniors,” shares Elias Nimeh, Executive Director of Meals that Connect, who received $25,000 in funding. “We are deeply grateful for this opportunity to further our services and improve the lives of many.”
Michelle Jenkins from the SLO Children’s Museum, who was awarded $15,000 says: “I one-hundred percent believe that the Children’s Museum would have suffered financially and in our inability to deliver services to our community without the grants [CFSLOCO] invested in us.”
Grants were awarded to the following community organizations:
- Cal Poly Corporation
- KCBX Inc.
- San Luis Obispo Museum of Art
- San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum
- Studios on the Park
- Atascadero Loaves and Fishes
- Atascadero Printery Foundation
- Central Coast Veterans Memorial Museum (CCVMM)
- Creston Activities Town Center Helping Hand
- Ecologistics
- SLO Climate Coalition
- HomeShareSLO
- TalentDreams
- The Diversity Coalition of San Luis Obispo County
- City Farm SLO
- Friends of Camp Natoma
- One Cool Earth
- Pacific Wildlife Care
- Surfrider Foundation
- 5Cities Homeless Coalition
- Boys & Girls Club Mid Central Coast
- Child Development Resource Center of the Central Coast
- Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County
- Lumina Alliance
- SLO CASA
- SLO County UndocuSupport
- SLO Noor Foundation
- THMA Unrestricted
- Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County
- Hospice of San Luis Obispo County
- PathPoint
- Senior Nutrition Program
- Senior Volunteer Services, Inc.
- SLO CASA
- 5Cities Homeless Coalition
- Casa Solana
- Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County
- El Camino Homeless Organization
- Family Care Network, Inc.
- Lumina Alliance
- Restorative Partners
- Womenade Estero Bay, a program of Los Osos Cares
For a detailed list of grantees, click HERE. For further questions about grants from CFSLOCO, please contact Cassandra Kartashov at [email protected].