Foundation granted a record $19 million in grants and scholarships last year
Donor Advised Funds continued to make a local impact during a time of immense need
The Sacramento Region Community Foundation (Foundation), the region’s leading grantmaker, awarded a record $19,243,000 last year, topping the 2019 figure by $4 million. As in past years, the majority of the grants awarded were directed to organizations that serve the Foundation’s four-county footprint.
"So many in our community have experienced unprecedented hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its cascading impacts, and our region's donors continue to step up and demonstrate that philanthropy is a powerful force for good," said Linda Beech Cutler, the Foundation's chief executive.
The majority of the year's grants were directed to organizations that serve the four-county capital area; 2,402 philanthropic grants totaling $15.5 million were awarded from charitable funds at the Foundation to nonprofits in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties. In all, 29 new charitable funds were established by individuals, families, and businesses in 2020 to facilitate their philanthropy.
Half of the Foundation’s 2020 grants were directed by its donor advised fundholders, including the fundholders of its partner community foundations, Yolo Community Foundation and Lodi Community Foundation. Over a third were associated with the Foundation’s community initiatives — including Big Day of Giving, and our local and state-level leadership to achieve an accurate count during Census 2020 — and more than $840,000 was awarded in pandemic-related emergency relief.
The Foundation's scholarship awards were also remarkable, topping $1.2 million to support students pursuing their dreams, including over $370,000 to students in the Foundation’s Capital Area Promise Scholars program.
Sacramento Region Community Foundation has been the trusted steward of charitable assets, a community catalyst for meaningful change and the advocate for shaping vital impact through philanthropy since 1983. As the center of philanthropy in the Sacramento Region, the Foundation's mission is to transform our community through focused leadership and advocacy that inspire partnerships and expand giving.
SETTING THE STAGE FOR PIVOTAL CHANGE
By focusing on the root causes of local challenges, seeking solutions with long-term results, and supporting the organizations that tend to the vital needs of the capital area, we help create the conditions for meaningful transformation in the Sacramento region.