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Community Impact Fund Grants
We’re here to help make Napa County stronger, more vibrant, and more livable for all who call this region home. We do this by pooling resources from a variety of donors and then investing in charitable projects that are making a difference in our community. By gathering resources in this way, donors’ contributions go farther, and the effect of their giving is multiplied—impact is achieved on a much greater scope than would be possible with a single donation.
With the very broad goal of building a more durable community, how do we focus our grantmaking priorities? Our competitive grantmaking is anchored in three principles: impact and innovation; gaps and practicality; flexibility and rigor.
Impact and Innovation. We always want to have the greatest possible impact with our grantmaking. We look for projects where a relatively limited investment can make a big difference. This is important for us, given the relatively small size of our assets. We also seek innovative programs or pilot projects that attempt promising new ways to tackle existing problems. Oftentimes we find that when we provide seed funding, our grant is a catalyst for others to invest.
Gaps and Practicality. Napa County has some capital-intensive needs—such as affordable housing and expanding hospitals to meet increasing demands. Our county also contains grantmakers who direct a large amount of funds to these projects. Since our assets are limited, we look for gaps where our resources can do the greatest good: programs, causes or places in our community that deserve attention but aren’t getting it. We take a practical approach to closing those gaps (or at least narrowing them) with thoughtful grants that are relatively modest in size.
Flexibility and Rigor. We recognize that many competitive grant programs, including some of ours, accept applications just once a year, which can mean that some critical community needs go unmet due to funders’ timelines. Our experience has shown that a $1,000 grant at the right moment can sometimes do more than $5,000 too late. We’ve developed a few Community Impact Funds that allow us to review ideas and proposals year-round, so we can respond to needs as they arise. We also have designed an uncomplicated application and review process. Although the process is simple, we consider each idea and organization with rigor: We ask tough questions, carefully review proposals, and draw upon experts who can help inform our decision-making.Each Community Impact Fund has a unique grantmaking focus, as well as specific guidelines and application requirements.
Capacity Grants support capacity-building projects of health and social service nonprofits in Napa County.
City Fund grants support projects that benefit the citizens of American Canyon, Calistoga and St. Helena.
Fund for the Arts grants help the arts and culture sector in Napa County weather recent challenges and begin to thrive.
In School & Out of School Fund grants help children and youth (ages 3-24) succeed in school and improve their chances of becoming confident and contributing adults.
Neighbors Fund grants provide assistance to individuals and families in the event of community-wide emergencies, such as floods, fires or earthquakes.
Strong Communities Fund grants help our County’s residents get their basic needs met and engage them in community life.
| Community Impact Fund application process Preparing for a site visit 2007 Community Impact Fund Report to Donors |
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