Sacramento Countywide Nonprofit Partnership Initiative
To strengthen the nonprofits addressing housing and food insecurity across Sacramento County, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation and the County of Sacramento are investing in the systems that help these organizations grow and serve more people.
SCNPI participants and partners
Stronger from the Inside Out
Across Sacramento County, nonprofits do the essential work of keeping people housed, fed, and connected to support. But sustaining that work takes skilled leadership, sound financial systems, and the organizational foundation to grow without burning out the people doing the work.
That’s the idea behind the Sacramento Countywide Nonprofit Partnership Initiative (SCNPI), a 20-month capacity-building partnership with Sacramento County that invests in mid-sized organizations advancing housing and food security that are ready to strengthen and scale what they’ve built.
What We’re Doing
Through SCNPI, participating organizations receive flexible grant funding, hands-on training, and mentorship from experienced nonprofit leaders — along with peer learning opportunities that connect them to fellow cohort members and County staff.
Each organization shapes its own path, guided by an assessment of where it’s ready to grow.
Together, these investments are:
Strengthening systems that keep services running reliably.
Why It Matters
Homelessness and food insecurity are among Sacramento County’s most pressing challenges, and demand for help keeps growing. One cohort organization saw the number of residents it serves climb from about 30,000 in 2023 to more than 46,000 in 2025.
When demand rises faster than a nonprofit’s internal capacity, something has to give. Staff stretch across too many roles, data systems fall behind, and fundraising takes a back seat to daily operations. Investing in organizational strength now means these nonprofits can meet growing need without sacrificing what makes their work possible.
How We Got Here
Demand for local nonprofits’ services keeps growing, but funding to strengthen the organizations behind those services is hard to find. Most grants pay for programs, not the financial systems, staff development, or planning that keep programs running well.
The Sacramento Countywide Nonprofit Partnership Initiative was designed to fill that gap. By pairing the County of Sacramento’s public investment with the Foundation’s community relationships and more than 40 years of nonprofit partnership, SCNPI puts resources directly into the organizational strength these nonprofits have long needed — so they can keep meeting the community’s needs, now and over the long term.
Our nonprofit partners are essential to delivering critical safety net services across the County. Through this initiative, we are investing in the capacity, tools, and resources nonprofits need to sustain and strengthen their impact.”
Chevon Kothari, Deputy County Executive, Health and Human Services Agency, County of Sacramento
Follow the Work
Read stories from the cohort as their work unfolds — and discover what these organizations are building, what they’re learning, and practical takeaways any nonprofit can put to use.
