Community Link
A newsletter of Napa Valley Community Foundation
November/December 2013
Holiday Grab Bag

This is the third installment of Community Link's holiday "grab bag."

 

All organizations and projects featured have been vetted, and all have funding gaps that need closing.

 

If you'd like to support any of them, you can recommend a grant by logging into your DonorCentral account from the homepage on our website (click on "Your Fund" at the top of the page). Or, you can fax us a completed grant recommendation form at 254.7955.  Grant recommendations received by 9 a.m. on December 13 will be mailed by the end of the year.

 

With wishes for a happy and prosperous holiday season,

  

Julia DeNatale & Marla Tofle

Philanthropic Services Staff 

Up Valley seniors learn, stay active and build community

                                   

Organization: Gunilda Rianda Senior Activities Association ("Rianda House")  

What's needed:  $5,000 for general support

 

Why they exist: To help aging, up Valley residents stay independent by offering workshops and activities that enhance physical and emotional well-being, and connecting seniors to a variety of local agencies that bring their health and social support services to Rianda House.

 

What they do well: Rianda House has an innovative program committee, made up of experts that work with senior populations, which has developed a robust and varied slate of activities and services offered each month. Everything from: basics of using a mobile phone classes, to brain fitness workouts, caregiver support groups and legal services. Clubs for players of canasta and dominos, knitters, writers, French or Spanish speakers also abound. Evening lecture series, with topics like "A Visitor's Guide to World Religions," draw local Baby Boomers into the audience.

 

What we learned when we met with them recently: Helping seniors get around safely isn't just about ride share services and public transportation. It's also about helping aging residents prepare for the inevitable of not being able to drive, and Rianda House is exploring classes and support groups on this topic.

 

People served: 700 individuals, ages 55 and older  

 

Budget & Board: $252,000/11 Board members

 

Contact: Julie Spencer, Executive Director, julie@riandahouse.org

 

Local residents nurse songbirds and other native species back to health

                                   

Organization: Wildlife Rescue Center of Napa County 

What's needed: $1,000 for general support

Why they exist: WRCNC's cadre of 100-plus volunteers treat and rehabilitate injured, ill or orphaned wildlife, and then release the healthy critters back into their native habitat. The group handles about 600 birds and animals annually.  

What they do well: The nonprofit has built a strong network of volunteer community members and veterinarians that support its treatment and rehabilitation work. For example, its Songbird Clinic operates out of a temporary, donated space seven days a week from April through September and provides intensive care to more than 250 debilitated birds, like robins and sparrows. WRCNC uses a satellite model to treat other animals: A local veterinarian's office serves as the intake center, and volunteers' homes are used as clinics.

 

What we learned when we met with them recently: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife licenses organizations to treat and rehabilitate wildlife, and WRCNC is the only Napa County organization with this credential. WRCNC also has a special unit of 10 volunteers, called "rehabbers," that are certified in species-specific treatments regulated by state and federal agencies.

  

Animals/People served: 600 animals, 100+ humans

 

Budget & Board: $140,000/7 Board members

 

Contact: Phyllis Hunt, Vice President, phyllis@phyllisphunt.com

 

Fledgling nonprofit ensures students have needed school supplies

  

What's needed:  $2,000 to hire a consultant to lead the Board through a strategic planning process

  

Why they exist: TRCNB is a volunteer-run "store" (run out of a warehouse in south Napa) of donated classroom supplies that is open to all 1,100 public school teachers in Napa County during after-school hours. Teachers often spend between $500 and $2,000 out of their own pockets on school supplies for their students, so TCRNB gives them a way to access materials at no charge.  TRCNB plans to launch a mobile "store," which would travel up Valley and provide easier access to teachers there.

 

What they do well: The all-volunteer organization builds relationships with large stores, to enlist them to donate supplies, plus they run local "supply drive" events where community members and smaller businesses can contribute materials to TCRNB's inventory. TRCNB solicits cash donations to purchase more expensive supplies, like dry erase pens and cardstock paper.

 

What we learned when we met with them recently: TRCNB's Board of Directors, which mostly is comprised of founding members, is ready to take the organization to the next level. To that end, TRCNB's leadership wants to hire a consultant (for a total cost of $7,000) to help with strategic planning and Board development.

 

People served: 200+ teachers, representing 42 schools and 35,000 students  

 

Budget & Board: $78,000/5 Board members  

 

Contact: Kathleen Montgomery, President/Founder, montgmry@comcast.net

 

Giving together for greater good.

 


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