We recently met John and Annette Romans on a warm afternoon in Greenfield at Annette’s childhood home where her mother still lives. John and Annette were both born and raised in Monterey County, attending Greenfield Elementary School and King City High School. Married 47 years, Annette was a school nurse in Greenfield and John farmed with others, including his father,...
Connecting for Good accurately reflects our role in 2021. We gained skills in many new areas, skills that will be used again and again. We are, after all, Here for Good. – Teri Belli, CFMC Board Chair We are proud to share with you our 2021 Annual Report. It is 40 pages of compelling stories showing the work the CFMC...
Benefit for Northern Monterey County Foundation – May 5, 2022 (Scroll down for event slideshow) We are grateful to all the generous individuals, families and companies that give back to their communities through the Northern Monterey County Foundation (NMCF). Thank you for ensuring that generations to follow will have the permanent, local resources to strengthen North County. Special thanks to Driscolls...
How can nonprofit organizations best support healthy, successful executive transitions? In the Guide to Leadership Transitions, rising leaders and veteran nonprofit board members share stories, strategies, and wisdom to support incoming or outgoing executives, boards of directors and nonprofit leaders during times of change. Look to your community and communicate with transparency throughout the search Embrace the moment of growth...
by Susie Polnaszek, Director, Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) The impact of Monterey County nonprofit organizations is essential to the quality of life in our communities: tending to the unsheltered among us, for example, offering support for the recovery journey or engaging the community with the arts. What makes this impact possible? An investment in people. Yet this is a...
Thanks to everyone who gathered to support the Fund for Homeless Women at The Club at Pasadera on April 28, 2022. It was great to see everyone and support this important cause. 100% of the proceeds will be used to benefit women without adequate shelter on the Monterey Peninsula. The Fund for Homeless Women is a field of interest fund...
What is SIEDI? SIEDI (Salinas Inclusive Economic Development Initiative) is a collective journey by nine community-based organizations with a shared commitment to build a more inclusive and equitable economy for the families and communities of the Salinas Valley. Each organization will receive mentoring and operational support over the three years. SIEDI is funded by a $3 million grant from The...
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...
How can nonprofit organizations best support healthy, successful executive transitions? In the Guide to Leadership Transitions, rising leaders and veteran nonprofit board members share stories, strategies, and wisdom to support incoming or outgoing executives, boards of directors and nonprofit leaders during times of change. Look to your community and communicate with transparency throughout the search Embrace the moment of growth...
by Susie Polnaszek, Director, Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) The impact of Monterey County nonprofit organizations is essential to the quality of life in our communities: tending to the unsheltered among us, for example, offering support for the recovery journey or engaging the community with the arts. What makes this impact possible? An investment in people. Yet this is a...
What is SIEDI? SIEDI (Salinas Inclusive Economic Development Initiative) is a collective journey by nine community-based organizations with a shared commitment to build a more inclusive and equitable economy for the families and communities of the Salinas Valley. Each organization will receive mentoring and operational support over the three years. SIEDI is funded by a $3 million grant from The...
The Spring 2022 Newsletter, Giving Matters, includes a message of gratitude from Community Foundation for Monterey County President/CEO Dan Baldwin and the latest news. Record $36 Million Granted VIDA Support Extended Monterey County Gives! success Donor story: A Great Idea – The Jett Fighter Fund Center for Nonprofit Excellence and LEAD Institute update New funds and board members CFMC 2022...
Although the CFMC could not hold its annual Women’s Fund Luncheon due to COVID-19, donor investment continues to generate impact. Thanks to recent donations in combination with the Women’s Fund endowment, the fund granted more than $100,000 to five organizations in March 2022. The power of these grants is evident. Shannon, an MPC student from Salinas and previous recipient, shared...
Simplify Your Gift Planning The CFMC “Create Your Legacy” Guide to Gift Planning reviews the benefits of different types of charitable gifts. It simplifies the many options available by explaining how donors can support the causes or nonprofits of their choice through vehicles including: Donor advised funds Gifts of appreciated stock or real estate Life Income Gifts Charitable Gift Annuity...
Jett Ramsey loved rainbows, the color green and his pet rabbit, Pepper Pancake. His grandmother, Debbie Harlan, speaks warmly of watching him ride around in his little green Jeep the months before he passed away, at age 5, of pediatric brain cancer. “He loved that Jeep….he rode it around just everywhere in his pajamas. He was always wearing his pajamas.”...
