Grant Opportunities
Our Donors’ Generosity Leads to Opportunity and Impact
Since 1982, we have had the privilege of stewarding charitable gifts from generous locals who wanted to see our community thrive. Together with our donors, we’ve awarded a total of $223 million to community organizations to date.
Our Mission, Vision, and Values drive our actions
Our Mission
To bring together people, ideas, and resources to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things.
Our Vision
To make Santa Cruz County thrive for all who call it home, now and in the future.
Our Values
Accelerating Solutions. Building Trust. Advancing Opportunities.
Our Grantmaking Overview
Our Grantmaking is guided by a set of eight principles we apply in awarding funds. Our approach is to provide flexible funding to organizations addressing pressing local issues and creating lasting positive impact. We prefer making grants to support the general operations of nonprofits. We continue to work with leaders of color to make sure that our grant funds are addressing historic and current inequities. You can view our 2023 Community Grant awardees below.
Learn more about our recent grantmaking:
Our Priorities
Our Community Grants are made from endowed funds that have been given to the Foundation over four decades. This year, those funds will provide funding to support:
- 41% for Youth & Education
- 35% for Seniors, End-of-Life Care & Historic Preservation
- 9% for Health & Human Services
- 7% for Arts, Culture & History
- 3% for Environment
- 3% for LGBTQ+ specific causes
- 2% for Women & Girls initiatives
Impact Profile
We work actively to bridge donors’ interests and local nonprofits’ work to address our county’s needs. To stay accessible year-round and help make everyone’s work efficient, we offer a tool to share a profile of your organization’s impact with us and our donors.
Completing an Impact Profile is not a grant request. But its a chance to provide our donors the answers they're most curious to learn. To create one for your organization, first download the Impact Profile Instructional Worksheet.
After reviewing the worksheet, visit our portal to access the Impact Profile form. Don't have a login to our portal? Sign up here. Your responses will be collected in our online form and made available to donors as they consider grants from their donor-advised fund. We accept them on a rolling basis. If you submitted a Community Grant proposal in March, that will serve as your Impact Profile and no further action is needed.
Click the link to view our Impact Profile FAQs.
Congratulations to our 2023 Community Grant Partners
Compassionate Care 2023
Diversity Partnership 2023
Rise Together 2022
Here to Help
Kevin Heuer
Questions?
Contact our Director of Engagement & Impact Kevin Heuer at 831.662.2030 or kheuer@cfscc.org
Grantee Partners
Looking to submit a grant report or new application? Login here.
