3 Ways to Help Santa Cruz County's Most Vulnerable

Responding to Local Needs Since 1982

Along with all of you, the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County is committed to responding quickly to the impact of COVID-19. As a community foundation, we bring together people, ideas and resources to meet the ongoing needs of our neighbors; take on unexpected challenges, and accelerate solutions. Throughout our 38 year history, the Community Foundation has been a trusted place for locals to respond to local needs. Indeed, we formed as a local response to the 1982 floods and from those humble beginnings, we’ve grown and have made over $100,000,000 in grants through the generosity of donors just like you. More grants will be awarded in coming weeks to nonprofit providers of critical safety net services.

Our top priority is the health and safety of our community, particularly those most vulnerable. We’re closely monitoring COVID-19 with Santa Cruz County Health and Human Services Agencies and community partners to respond quickly to the urgent needs our community faces.

We are partnering with the good people at CruzOne to enable our educational system to provide remote based learning. If you would like to give to this effort, simply donate to our COVID-19 Fund and add CruzOne in the notes on the second page of the form.

We know you want to help.

Our community has a history of coming together in times of disaster. During times like this, the role of philanthropy – especially local giving - is especially critical. We can act fast to support our most vulnerable people. Now is our time to act together.

Here are three ways you can take action to support your neighbors in Santa Cruz County:

1. Donate to the Local Response Fund.
   Join us by making a gift to the Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Local Response Fund at this link. We've deployed over $100,000 in disaster-related grant funds to local community-based organizations at the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak in Santa Cruz County. We are supporting seniors, low-wage workers, and others impacted by the virus. The fund will accept and strategically disburse grants to address COVID-19 emergency response and relief efforts in Santa Cruz County.The fund is designed to complement the work of public health officials and expand local capacity to address all aspects of the outbreak as efficiently as possible. The fund will provide grant awards on a rolling basis to nonprofit organizations in Santa Cruz County. 100% of the gifts are doing out to the community.
2. Help ensure our community has access to food.
   We encourage healthy individuals to consider giving their time as volunteer shortages are disrupting operations at places like Second Harvest Food Bank. Older adults are especially vulnerable to getting seriously ill from coronavirus. But they still need food and human interaction. This makes program like Meals on Wheels and Grey Bear's Healthy Food Delivery more important than ever – and they may have more demand than ever. Find out how to volunteer or donate directly through their websites.
3. Support your favorite nonprofit with unrestricted gifts. Arts organizations are facing loss of revenue from cancelled events; human services organizations will need to meet increased demand, health organizations may need overtime for staff, and our safety net will be stretched thin in the coming weeks.

Join us.

In mid-March, the Community Foundation granted $100,000 to support food distribution and health efforts for home bound seniors, migrant workers and low-income families. In the coming weeks, we will continue to deploy gifts from the community to the most urgent needs. We are working closely with community-based organizations at the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak in Santa Cruz County.

Though we find ourselves in uncharted waters, we've seen firsthand how our community has stepped up in the wake of other disasters. Together, we have recovered from the floods of 1982, the Loma Prieta earthquake, and many more tragedies. Together, we can make sure that our community is as safe as possible and that our most vulnerable are well supported. We will work with our partners at United Way, and other organizations, to continually assess and ensure that funds are getting where they are most needed.

It's easy to feel helpless amid uncertainty but there are direct actions we can take now. We hope you’ll join us.