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The spirit of hope and collaboration was felt throughout the region last month as the Three Valleys Community Foundation awarded more than $218,000 in funds to 19 local nonprofit organizations.
Local leaders, elected officials and advocates gathered at the Mertes Center for the Arts at Las Positas College on Nov. 28 to participate in the foundation’s first State of Giving Gathering, where the funds were distributed.
The event was planned to coincide with Giving Tuesday, known widely as a day to give back or focus on charitable acts.
“We hope our first grants in this area will provide valuable assistance. We were also delighted to bring our region together for a night celebrating the power of philanthropy with other grant awards dedicated to helping our community,” said 3VCF CEO and president Kelly Bowers in a statement. “Together, let’s build our foundation and our community, one person, one donor, one cause and one contribution at a time.”
The State of Giving Gathering was co-hosted by Bowers, 3VCF board chair John Sensiba, and board member Kenneth Cooper. Alex Briscoe, Principal of California Children’s Trust and a behavioral health advocate, was a featured speaker.
“Let’s create a ripple effect of generosity that will transform our community. And in this time and season of giving thanks, let’s thank, honor and support our nonprofits for their hard work and heart work in raising the quality of life for all in the beautiful Three Valleys region we call home,” added Bowers.
According to 3VCF, funding for the grants came from the Power of Collaboration Corporate Challenge campaign.
Launched in 2022, the campaign was designed to raise $500,000 to go toward the top needs of local and regional communities. These causes included health care access, mental health and homelessness, as cited from a 2021 Community Benefit Report from Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley.
The organization received funds from Amazon, PG&E, John Muir Health, Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley, Danville Area Chamber of Commerce and others.
Many of 3VCF’s awards focused on mental health and wellness. The foundation distributed 13 of its community impact grants specifically to organizations focused on those causes.
“We are honored to work collaboratively with so many local corporations and individual donors to award funds to worthy nonprofits working at the intersection of mental health and Wellness,” said Bowers. “This is such a critical issue for our society.”
These awards ranged from $5,000 to $22,000 and were given to Alan Hu Foundation, Discovery Counseling Center of the San Ramon Valley, Family Violence Law Center, Goodness Village, Harmony & Healing, Livermore Fusion Soccer Club, Love Never Fails, Pleasanton Partnerships in Education, Project Sankofa, Sunflower Hill, Teen Esteem+, Tri-Valley Haven, and Z-Cares Foundation.
Livermore Mayor John Marchand, Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown, Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez and Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert were present at the event to help distribute the grants.
Other awards given out at the State of Giving Gathering highlighted community engagement, health, education and restoration.
Sarah Yoell, PG&E director of government affairs and community relations, presented four “PG&E Better Together Giving Program” awards totaling $41,000. These were in support of community vitality, health equity and access, said 3VCF.
Recipients included Asian Health Services, ($7,000), Axis Community Health ($20,000), Clinica de la Raza ($7,000) and Native American Health Center ($7,000).
The award-winning Amador Valley High School Journalism program received $7,500 from the foundation’s “Stories from Pleasanton’s Past: Powering the Future” fund meant to cultivate and support local storytellers and journalists. These grant funds were generated by donated proceeds from the sales of the book, “Cruising Down Memory Lane, Stories of Pleasanton in the 1950’s.”
A $25,000 Sunol Relief & Recovery Fund grant was presented to a contingent of community groups from Sunol that included Sunol K-8 School, Sunol Glen Community Club, Sunol Business Guild, and Sunol Citizens Advisory Council. The funding aims to support long-term natural disaster repairs and other restoration efforts in the wake of the devastating floods that hit the community hard last winter.
“We have an opportunity to change the paradigm,” said Susan Houghton, 3VCF co-founder and board secretary during the event. “We encourage grantmakers, corporations and local foundations to ‘give where you live.'”
“In 2022, more than $22 million was awarded by grantmakers headquartered in the Three Valleys region. But only $11 million was awarded to local nonprofits,” said Houghton. “We want that number to rise and 3VCF will focus on encouraging local companies and grantmakers to support our region in 2024.”
3VCF was created in November of 2021 with the goal of strengthening the Tri-Valley region through leadership and community funding. To find out more about the organization, visit https://3vcf.org/.
