Decision-Making Process

The goal of the Community Impact Grant Program is to increase impact and build strong relationships with our partners to help make a difference in our community. We have developed a thorough grant application review process to carefully consider each request.

Grant Committee

The grant committee, composed of board members, reviews the larger grant proposals (requesting over $20,000) and makes recommendations. These dedicated volunteers have opened up the grantmaking process to be truly community-driven and allow us to leverage the expertise of a larger group.

Staff’s role focuses on assisting grant seekers, staying in touch with nonprofit organizations and community issues, screening applications for completeness, and facilitating information between the grant committees and applicants.

2024 Grant Committee Members

Deneen Guss, Romero Jalomo, Kathleen Lee, Adriana Melgoza, Rene Mendez, Colby Pereira, Francine M. Rodd

Fund Allocations

Funding for the Community Impact Grants Program comes from a variety of field of interest and unrestricted funds managed by the CFMC. These funds are all endowed, meaning that the amount of funding available for CI grants is dependent on market performance in a given year.

Field of interest funds are established by donors who are interested in supporting a given area, such as education, health, culture, the environment, and or seniors. Donors also may limit grantmaking from their fund to a geographic area and/or client population.

The priority areas in the Community Impact Grants Framework were developed through a series of workshops with nonprofits and community members and are reflective of the variety of intentions with which donors established these funds. CFMC staff and grant subcommittees work to match the available funds in each priority area with effective program addressing critical community needs, while honoring the intentions of donors.