One of the ways the Community Foundation for Monterey County strengthens communities is through scholarship funds. The CFMC manages nearly 70 named scholarship funds established by individuals, families and businesses who recognize the value of education and want to create opportunities for local students. Receiving the scholarship has made everything so much easier. I’m free to focus on my studies....
Nonprofit leaders in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties encouraged to apply by October 2, 2023 deadline Monterey County, California — The Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE), a program of the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC), has officially launched its recruitment for the LEAD (Leadership, Education and Development) Institute 2024 cohort. Rising nonprofit leaders in Monterey, San Benito...
The Autism Society of California, the Finnigan family and the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) proudly announce the names of three highly qualified California students who received Achievement Scholarship awards through the National Achievement Scholarship Program. Emma Blanck of Moorpark received the 2023 1st place scholarship award of $2,000. Clara Garcia of Riverside was awarded the 2nd place $1,000...
Building South County & Celebrating 10 Years of the SMCF (Scroll down for event slideshow) The Southern Monterey County Foundation (SMCF) celebrated 10 years of impact and launched their Campaign for the Future on Saturday, August 12, 2023. Advisory Board Members shared the impact of the SMCF to improve the quality of life in South County. So far, more than...
Women’s Fund Scholarship Recipient Laura K. Rivera Shares Her Story Laura Rivera, a Spanish and Political Science major and current Vice-President and Student Trustee of Hartnell College, is a recipient of the Girls’ Health in Girls’ Hands Scholarship of the Community Foundation for Monterey County. A first-generation Latina college student named 2022 Young Adult Philanthropist of the Year by the...
Monterey County, California — The Siembra Latinos Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County is proud to announce that Ernesto Vela, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for the Monterey County Office of Education, is the recipient of the inaugural Alfred Diaz-Infante Award. The award was established in 2023 to honor the late Alfred Diaz-Infante, a community leader and nonprofit...
If the Community Foundation for Monterey County is to be effective, if it is truly Inspiring Philanthopy; Strengthening Communities, it is because we’re a reflection of a powerful philanthropic landscape that stretches from Big Sur to Castroville, Salinas to San Ardo, and all points in between. It is truly an honor to be your community foundation. – Teri Belli,...
By Dan Baldwin, President/CEO, Community Foundation for Monterey County The Citizenship Question April 2020 seems like a long way off, but from the standpoint of the 2020 Census, it’s just around the corner. The planning and effort that goes into the census is enormous. In any census year there are difficulties in gaining an accurate count, but given that we’re...
By Dan Baldwin, President/CEO Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) You’ve seen the YouTube videos. Young man or woman – generally in their mid-20’s – is in a job interview being asked standard questions. The applicant, holding their smartphone, interrupts to ask whether they’ll get time off to surf. Interviewer looks puzzled, then moves on. Applicant interrupts again to ask...
It seems that everywhere I go people are asking for an opinion on the impact the December 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have on charitable giving. The answer, unfortunately, is that no one actually knows. The primary question surrounds the large number of households that have always benefited from itemized deductions who will now utilize the standard deduction,...
By Dan Baldwin, President/CEO Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) Even as Monterey County Gives! celebrated the phenomenal $4.87 million raised through the generosity of 4,800 donors (breaking all the records Gives! established in 2016) uncertainty for the years ahead presented itself in the form of the recently passed tax bill. The nonprofit sector has historically been given less regard...
By Dan Baldwin, President/CEO Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) A Rough Year I imagine I’m just one of many who are trying make sense of 2017. Despite one’s political perspective, this has been a strange and at times difficult year. The constant churn in the news cycle, and the unsettling events we see and hear, has made it difficult...
Reflections of Place There is an adage in our field that goes, “If you’ve seen one community foundation, you’ve seen one community foundation.” As place-based centers of philanthropy, all community foundations will be different because they’re reflections of the donors, needs, geography and people of the communities they serve. In Monterey County, each item on that list has its own...
Leverage Your Year-End Giving Monterey County Gives! 2017 kicked off with a robust start of record challenge gifts. The campaign is a philanthropy-inspiring partnership between the Monterey County Weekly, the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation (MPF). Major supporters help further the cause of lifting nonprofits in this end of year giving campaign. They are...
The Autism Society of California, the Finnigan family and the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) proudly announce the names of three highly qualified California students who received Achievement Scholarship awards through the National Achievement Scholarship Program. Emma Blanck of Moorpark received the 2023 1st place scholarship award of $2,000. Clara Garcia of Riverside was awarded the 2nd place $1,000...
Building South County & Celebrating 10 Years of the SMCF (Scroll down for event slideshow) The Southern Monterey County Foundation (SMCF) celebrated 10 years of impact and launched their Campaign for the Future on Saturday, August 12, 2023. Advisory Board Members shared the impact of the SMCF to improve the quality of life in South County. So far, more than...
Women’s Fund Scholarship Recipient Laura K. Rivera Shares Her Story Laura Rivera, a Spanish and Political Science major and current Vice-President and Student Trustee of Hartnell College, is a recipient of the Girls’ Health in Girls’ Hands Scholarship of the Community Foundation for Monterey County. A first-generation Latina college student named 2022 Young Adult Philanthropist of the Year by the...
Monterey County, California — The Siembra Latinos Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County is proud to announce that Ernesto Vela, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for the Monterey County Office of Education, is the recipient of the inaugural Alfred Diaz-Infante Award. The award was established in 2023 to honor the late Alfred Diaz-Infante, a community leader and nonprofit...
If the Community Foundation for Monterey County is to be effective, if it is truly Inspiring Philanthopy; Strengthening Communities, it is because we’re a reflection of a powerful philanthropic landscape that stretches from Big Sur to Castroville, Salinas to San Ardo, and all points in between. It is truly an honor to be your community foundation. – Teri Belli,...
“She’s Brooklyn, I’m Bronx,” says Stuart Wells of his wife Daphne. Meeting as youth, they were “both shot by cupid’s arrow” at the same time and married after their first year of graduate school. They both deeply value education, having received free college tuition in New York state schools, and later became teachers themselves, each with a 36-year career. Daphne...
Brandon Le, a freshman at UCLA born and raised in Seaside, has always been fascinated by how things work. “I’m really interested in problem solving,” he told us. “Ever since I was a kid, I integrated myself into technology. I grew up liking electronics, and I always wanted to know: what’s behind all that?” Brandon enrolled in challenging computer science...
