Blog & Events

Neighborhood Grants Program – Small Grants, Big Impact

Gabriel Trujillo is only 18, yet the North Monterey County High School graduate has big ideas about wanting kids in his small community of Castroville to think big about higher education. As president of the Castroville Midnighters Car Club Youth group, Trujillo has helped organize car washes to raise money to take high school students on college trips. “We want...

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Scholarships Awarded to Girl Leaders

The Community Foundation for Monterey County has awarded $30,000 in academic scholarships as a part of the new Girls’ Health in Girls’ Hands (GHGH) scholarship program. This scholarship was created by the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County to help increase access to higher education for girls involved in the GHGH initiative. “I was so happy and grateful to have been...

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How to Help Orlando

Many are wondering what they can do in response to the mass shooting in Orlando on June 12. Here are two ways to offer your philanthropic support. To help victims and their families directly you can donate to the OneOrlando fund. To support nonprofits that are assisting the victims, you can contribute to the Better Together Fund at the Central Florida Foundation....

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Nonprofit Disaster Readiness

Will We Be Ready? Napa County, August 2014.  A 6.0 earthquake. 15 seconds of shaking. When the rumbling stopped, one person was dead, 200 were injured and Napa County was a broken community with no way of knowing the frustrations in store for recovery. The community had suffered ruptured water mains, a buckled bridge, power loss, and more than 2,000 damaged...

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4 Themes for Fundraising Success

What if long-term success in fundraising is less about tools and techniques and more about culture and systems, those day-to-day habits and practices throughout a nonprofit organization? Kim Klein and Jeanne Bell, authors of the 2016 research report, Fundraising Bright Spots, gleaned lessons from a diverse sample of nonprofit organizations who have been successful at a time when high levels...

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Thriving Communities by Julie Packard

When We Work Together, Our Communities Thrive Throughout my life I have been driven by the values of my parents who instilled in us a deep commitment to our local community. Through my own work and as a trustee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, I have been fortunate to see the positive change that happens when people work...

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Turning Your Ideas into Learning Opportunities

Earlier in the year, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence asked for your ideas through a survey and an in-person focus group.  We got great ideas, including some that are very different than what we’ve done in the past. While we received many suggestions, some trends include: Looking for other ways to support nonprofits, beyond workshops. (See our new program for...

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