PAST GRANTS

ANNOUNCING OUR 2023 GRANT RECIPIENTS               

INSPIRATION GRANTS

Inspiration Grants do not have a specific focus, thereby inspiring nonprofits to identify and address our community’s most pressing needs. 

Housing El Dorado 

www.housingeldorado.org

916-380-9352

Program:    El Dorado Jump Start Cottage/ADU(Accessory Dwelling Unit)Project

Amount Requested: $25,908

El Dorado County (EDC) has a substantial homeless population, a severe shortage of affordable/workforce housing, and rapidly rising rents. Efforts to house the homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless are hindered by the lack of affordable housing.  According to EDC Housing Element, the county needs to construct 2,163 very low & low-income housing units on the unincorporated West Slope. Nearly 51% of EDC's workers live outside of the county, largely because they can't afford and/or find available housing within the county. Business leaders and employers are losing employees or job applicants because of the lack of affordable housing.

IT IS AN HONOR TO PRESENT TO YOU OUR 2022 GRANT RECIPIENTS

In 2022, WFED anticipates awarding a total of $119,000. Funding is broken down into the following categories:

Inspiration Grants

$60,000 total will be awarded. Applicants may apply for up to $30,000. Two grants will be awarded in this category. 

Impact Grants

$30,000 total will be awarded. Applicants may apply for up to $10,000. Three grants will be awarded in this category.

Acorn Grants

$29,000 total will be awarded. Applicants may apply for up to $10,000. Three grants will be awarded in this category. 

2022 INSPIRATION GRANTS

Total to be awarded $60,000

Inspiration Grants do not have a specific focus, thereby inspiring nonprofits to identify and address our community’s most pressing needs. Applicants can apply for up to $30,000. 

Snowline Hospice

snowlinehospice.org

Program: In-Home Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia Patients

Amount Awarded: $30,000

Our pilot program's goal is to focus on the unique needs of advanced dementia patients and their families living in rural El Dorado County. By providing specialized in-home care, dementia patients who are experiencing gradual destruction of memory, reasoning, judgment, and speech are ensured a higher quality of life while remaining in their home. With this grant, we will share the materials and current program outcomes with agencies who were closed due to COVID and revisit providers with the goal of re-educating them about the benefits of palliative care for patients and caregivers who suffer from the burden of dementia.  Dementia patients who die with hospice at home are more likely to have families with greater satisfaction with their end-of-life care. To regenerate the home-based palliative program, it will provide care that recognizes the unique needs of patients and caregivers living with dementia.

This personalized program will support the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of dementia patients and their families. A hospice interdisciplinary team consisting of a physician, nurse, spiritual counselor, social worker, home health aide, volunteer, and bereavement coordinator will significantly improve the patient care experience and clinical outcomes for patients with dementia and their families.

ANNOUNCING OUR 2021 GRANT RECIPIENTS

INSPIRATION GRANTS

Inspiration Grants do not have a specific focus, thereby inspiring nonprofits to identify and address our community’s most pressing needs. 

New Morning Youth & Family Services

newmorningyfs.org

Program: Queer Youth Advocacy Project

Amount Awarded: $26,000

Program Description: Providing early mental health support to youth who are struggling, is an absolutely critical component to their successful development as human beings. With this said, research indicates that LGBTQ+ youth are almost six times more likely to attempt suicide AND experience homelessness than their heteronormative counterparts. These same youth also complain of peer-harassment, severe anxiety, depressive symptoms, identity dysphoria, dissociation, strong inclinations toward substance use, feelings of extreme isolation and more. This project will enable New Morning to establish a multi-pronged program specifically geared toward this cross-section of our county’s most at-risk youth population. The program will not only support NM in re-establishing its long-standing LGBTQ+ Youth Support Group (via virtual platform), but it will also support our agency in providing the El Dorado County region with up-to-date, population-specific education and support resources for LGBTQ+ youth. This program will maintain and strengthen our culturally-informed LGBTQ+ therapeutic and case management services, allow us to continue providing safe emergency shelter for these youth, and will allow us to strengthen collaborative efforts with our incredible community partners in working to keep the LGBTQ+ youth of El Dorado County safe.

2020 GRANT RECIPIENTS

Our Site Visit Committee continues to check-in with each grantee throughout the grant cycle for progress updates. Our 2020 funding cycle ended May 31. Site Visit reports for all 2020 Grantees are linked below. 

WE CONTINUE TO SERVE 

It’s because of you, we continue to serve. A few weeks ago, the WFED Cabinet surveyed our membership about utilizing reserve grant funding to support our community in this time of need. We are proud to say that the response was overwhelmingly in favor of this support. Over 90% of responding members supported Cabinet and Committee directed rapid response grants to organizations serving the western slope of El Dorado County to address the immediate needs of vulnerable populations and communities impacted by COVID-19. Thank you for trusting and empowering WFED leadership to provide this much needed funding. Your Cabinet worked closely with the Grants Committee to carry out an expedited grant process.

Our Site Visit Committee continues to check-in with each grantee throughout the grant cycle for progress updates. Our 2019 funding cycle ended May 31. Site Visit reports for all 2019 Grantees are linked below. 

WFED Site-Visit Committee wrapped up visits will all 2018 grant recipients. Read their site-visit report here. 

INSPIRATION GRANTS

3 Strands Global Foundation 

Employ-Empower Reintegration Program

$30,000

Survivors of human trafficking have told us for years that the most important action we can take on their behalf is to help them find a job. 3Srands Global Foundation’s reintegration program, Employ + Empower, provides sustainable employment opportunities for survivors and at-risk youth, as well as the behavioral health services they need to succeed in their jobs.

COMMUNITY FOCUS GRANTS

Big Brothers, Big Sisters of El Dorado County

"Tomorrow's Path Together"

$27,500

“Tomorrow’s Path Together” is a resourceful and ambitious program dedicated to youth detained in Juvenile Hall in El Dorado County.

Adult mentors with compassion for this troubled segment of the population will be trained to address the needs of these youth. These adult mentors will serve as positive role models, instilling hope, confidence, encouragement, faith and trust in these young minds.

COMMUNITY FOCUS GRANTS

Boys and Girls Club El Dorado County Western Slope

$22,500

Every day, forgotten and severely at risk youth walk through our Clubhouse doors. We can’t simply just ask our kids if they are ok. We must and we do delve deeper to ensure they really are ok. This is what happens in our SMART Girls program. The Club is asking that the WFED be our title sponsor for our 2016-2017 SMART Girls program at our new facility in Placerville by granting $22,500. Over 80 vulnerable young ladies from the ages of 8-17 will participate in the program through the course of the year. SMART Girls offers age-specific experiences that enhance girls’ physical and emotional health, creating a sound foundation for them to feel GREAT about themselves, their bodies and their future! Anna, an 8 th grader, saw her father leave two years ago and leave behind a trail of abuse, neglect and mistrust. Anna has tried to commit suicide, nearly dropped out of school and has been in and out of counseling the past three years. Anna was very alone when she first came to the Club but the relationships she has formed and the strength she has shown in dealing with her past is empowering. Help us ensure that Anna and her peers do not fall through the cracks. Help us create a foundation of character and positive self-identity that allows these young ladies to dream big and be all they wish to be. Help us ensure that their tomorrow is far better than their yesterday.  For more information on Boys and Girls Club, see www.bgce.org.

2015 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$20,000

Every day, the Sponsor a Child Program helps hundreds of low income children take advantage of the Club’s services. It offers them the opportunity to believe that they can and will be whatever they dream of becoming. The program shows these children that all things are possible if you do not let your situation define who you are and who you can become. We hope they learn to never give up on themselves.

Kevin’s father and his grandfather before him were poor and incarcerated much of their adult lives. Kevin is now 12 years old and he still has an opportunity to alter the way his story unfolds. The cycle of poverty can end with Kevin and we are hoping that the WFED can help us break the pattern for him and many more! At our Club we see this story daily. We see the hopelessness of poverty and the hollowness that it brings into the eyes of the young people with whom we work. Providing tools to break the cycle is what we do for our young people every day. These tools are in the form of a healthy snack, a helping hand with homework and a positive adult reinforcement that the Club provides. The Club is there for our youth and the Club is there for Kevin. This is his story.

2014 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: MENTAL HEALTH

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF EL DORADO COUNTY AND

THE CENTER FOR VIOLENCE FREE RELATIONSHIPS

$20,000

STOP THE CYCLE – With this grant award, Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Dorado County (BBBS) and The Center for Violence-Free Relationships (CVFR) will create a new collaborative partnership that will increase early detection and intervention of domestic violence and create an enhanced network of services in order to improve the mental health of children and families.

Early intervention and access to services are critical to the mental and emotional healing of a family in crisis.  An integrated network of services will ensure the family gains priority access to the preventative mentoring services provided by BBBS, as well as intervention and counseling services offered by CVFR.  This collaboration will be a foundation of a strong safety net for women, children and families within the entire community.

2013 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

CASA OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$14,000

Our grant will match Title IV funding to help train 60 new volunteer advocates and provide continuing education for another 130 volunteer advocates throughout the year.

The target population is 350-400 children per year in El Dorado County who experience abuse and neglect and, as a consequence, end up removed from their homes and placed in foster care.  These children range in age from 0-19.  Statistically, over half are under the age of 7.  The children need an independent advocate who can act as a consistent positive adult in their life and speak on their behalf to the child welfare system.  CASA advocates help the courts decide what services these children need in the short term to help them recover and what placement options will serve them best in the long term.  This past calendar year there were 91 children with no advocate.

CASA’s ability to recruit, screen, and train new advocates is one of the main obstacles that stand in the way of serving each child.

2012 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: WOMEN AND GIRLS

NEW MORNING YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES

$17,500

New Morning Youth and Family Services will provide expanded school-based mental health services to students and their families in the Mother Lode Union School District (MLUSD). Severe budget issues have caused the closure of one school in the MLUSD and cuts during the next fiscal year are expected to cause the reduction, if not elimination, of social support programs for the most at-risk students and their families, often single mothers. New Morning has been working successfully with the MLUSD for 30 years to treat children who are depressed, experiencing family conflict, engaging in delinquent behavior, and/or abusing substances. They can step in by August of 2012 to begin helping a minimum of 20 additional families become more stable while working with 30 to 40 additional students to improve behavioral and academic functioning.

New Morning Youth Services 2012 Report Final

THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$17,000

The Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado County Western Slope will fund a portion of the cost for their “Smart Girls” program with this award. For over ten years, the Boys and Girls Club has been serving disadvantaged youngsters at their clubhouses in Placerville, Pollock Pines, and Georgetown. The “Smart Girls” program will be offered weekly and is divided into modules that span the course of a year. “Smart Girls” will help 120 girls age 8 to 17 understand, care for, and make responsible decisions regarding their developing bodies. The ultimate goal is to help girls develop and adopt a healthy life attitude and life style and maintain a positive self concept.

2011 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: HEALTH AND WELLNESS

ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF SIERRA FOOTHILLS

$20,000.00

http://www.assistanceleague.org/

The goal of the Assistance League of Sierra Foothills’ (ALSF) Operations School Bell (founded in the early 1950’s) program is to provide new school clothing to underprivileged and homeless middle school children in El Dorado County. ALSF’s plan is to clothe 450 middle school children who have been identified by the schools as children in need. This year they will focus on middle schools in Placerville (4 schools) and South Lake Tahoe (1 school).

These schools were identified because they have the highest percentage of children on the free and reduced lunch program. Three to four shopping events at local retailers will be scheduled in October where students receive a $100 voucher to purchase school attire with the support and supervision of ALSF volunteers. ALSF will utilize the $20,000 grant and provide matching funds from their organization to accomplish this goal.

COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER

$10,000.00

2010 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: BASIC NEEDS

NEW MORNING YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES

$15,000.00

www.newmorningyfs.org/

New Morning shelter program targets youth, ages 6-17, from our community who voluntarily or involuntarily are no longer residing at their legal places of residence. This is an expansive group with diverse and complicated histories and needs, ranging from living in homes where drug and alcohol abuse is rampant, child abuse and neglect are common, and domestic violence is frequent. El Dorado County law enforcement logged 340 runaways in 2008 and estimates that they are another 400-750 runaway and throwaway youth unreported each year.

The grant request would support the shelter’s operation budget for 2010-2011 providing services to six youth at a time. The core services provided youth are safe shelter, nutritional meals, recreation opportunities, structured study times, educational support and case management. New Morning will provide a minimum of services with this grant to 125 youth including food, shelter, clothing, access to medical care, crisis counseling, educational support and recreation to address the youths’ full developmental needs. New Morning has provided services since 1970.

2009 GRANTS, FOCUS AREA: BASIC NEEDS

THE CENTER FOR VIOLENCE-FREE RELATIONSHIPS

 $10,000

The “Shelter from the Storm” program provides services that include emergency housing in the Center’s safe house, food, clothing, and other basic needs, along with crisis counseling and advocacy with social services and the criminal justice system.

El Dorado County’s domestic violence call volume has surpassed California state rates for the first time. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s office reports that law enforcement currently receives three domestic violence calls per day. In 2008, the Center assisted over 1,000 clients, in person, and served over 2,000 in crisis due to domestic violence with 68% of clients being low income.

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE WESTERN SLOPE

 $8,000

The summer program is designed to help youth acheive their full potential by providing them opportunities that support them to succeed. The program offers one trained youth development professional for every 15 youth. This low ratio gives staff members the opportunity to work closely with youth to develop their self-esteem, resistance to negative influences, physical wellness- including good nutrition- and social skills development.

The Placerville clubhouse hosts the largest segment of low-income members providing basic shelter during the day, nutritious food and opportunities for developing constructive skills and competencies within a supportive environment. They are offered opportunities to develop new roles and responsibilities to help counteract the acting out that many kids are experiencing due to the added stress experienced at home and in the community.

FOOD BANK OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$7,000

The program provides food delivery to homebound, older adults on El Dorado County’s western slope. The program targets those older adults who are unable to access regular food distribution sites due to an inability to drive, disabilities, or care giving responsibilities.

2008 GRANTS

THE FOOD BANK OF EL DORADO COUNTY

$12,000.00

www.foodbankedc.org

The Food Bank intends to purchase bulk food for distribution to El Dorado County charities in the Food Bank’s food assistant network, which serves more than 10,000 low-income individuals per month. The network includes emergency food closets, maternity homes, women’s centers, senior programs, children’s programs, soup kitchens, and more.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

$6,000.00

www.familyconnected.org

Family Connections will use its grant dollars to purchase a variety of psychological and educational counseling services for 144 adults and children. The programs are directed at families in high-conflict divorce or separation situations.

THE CENTER FOR VIOLENCE-FREE RELATIONSHIPS

(FORMERLY THE EL DORADO WOMEN’S CENTER)

$5,000.00

www.thecenternow.org

The Center is going to use its grant money for the “Safe Now” program, which includes crisis counseling and support, advocacy with social services and the criminal justice system, and food and shelter for 60 days for women and children escaping a violent environment.