Fire Response Fund

(Photo credit: Shmuel Thaler)

Donations to the Community Foundation's Fire Response Fund benefit the nonprofit agencies and organizations directly assisting community recovery and fire survivors with unmet needs.

100% of donors' gifts will be used for grantmaking. All donations are tax-deductible.

What is the Fire Response Fund?

The Fire Response Fund at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County was created August 19, 2020 to address the relief and long-term recovery needs of Santa Cruz County to recover and rebuild from the devastating CZU Lightning Complex fires that struck our community.

Why immediate and medium to long-term support?

When a disaster strikes, the majority of funds are raised In the first few weeks. Yet, we know that most of the support is needed in the years to come.

We began to make grants for immediate relief as soon as the evacuation orders began and we will continue to work closely with the communities of Boulder Creek, Davenport, and Bonny Doon to provide needed funds.

We also know that we are only just beginning to see the long road of recovery and rebuilding. There will be significant and long-term needs for our fellow community members to rebuild.

Long after media attention has shifted away from our community, we will be here, committed to providing support that addresses the most critical needs of our nonprofits and their clients.

Why Community Foundation Santa Cruz County?

Disasters are chaotic, but the response should not be. With 38 years of experience in philanthropy we know how to make strategic, thoughtful, and impactful grants. To date, we’ve given out over $100 million to local organizations addressing issues such as housing, hunger, education, economic well-being, arts & culture, and mental health. To learn more about our role in recovery and rebuilding, we encourage you to read this Forbes article: 10 Ways Community Foundations Are a Best-Bet for Disaster Giving.

How will you decide what to support?

Our experience in grantmaking in Santa Cruz County goes back to the devastating floods of 1982, when locals came together to coordinate local giving for local needs in the aftermath. We use a due diligence process to identify and vet organizations to receive funding. We also rely on longstanding relationships with local nonprofit leaders whose work we’ve invested in for years.

In the aftermath of a disaster, the immediate relief needs are clear—shelter, food, cash, and other basic needs. We are already making grants to support that effort. Recovery and rebuilding is more complex and depends on each community’s needs. While we can’t yet predict exactly what those needs will be they tend to include longer term economic, health, and social support for fire victims of the disaster. We will use our experience to:

Who will the fund support?

Our nonprofits provide critical services across the county, providing shelter and long-term housing, economic and rental assistance, legal services, education, healthcare, and more. These nonprofits will be supporting fire victims directly and will need the capacity to grow their services to meet the need. Our funds will support these nonprofits who are providing direct services to those impacted by the fires.

Donations to the Fire Response Fund at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County will be used across our county and will be directed to the areas of greatest need, including victims and evacuees from the San Lorenzo Valley, Bonny Doon, and Davenport.

Resilient, Together

We are grateful to our firefighters, nonprofit first responders, our local news outlets, disaster service workers, and all of those working tirelessly to keep Santa Cruz County residents safe during this challenging time.

In Times of Need, We Step Up

As with past local disasters, there will be a long road ahead for individuals recovering from devastation. But Santa Cruz County has always stepped up to help neighbors in need and we believe it will be the same now. The Community Foundation was created to meet disaster with generosity and action. In times like this, giving locally is especially critical. As we’ve done for past fires, floods, earthquakes, we embrace our role to inspire local giving that meets local needs. Learn more about our history.