The Community Needs Fund allows community members to donate directly to local nonprofits. Photo courtesy of Placer Community Foundation

PLACER COUNTY, CA (MPG) - In 2024, Placer Community Foundation took a bold new approach to community grantmaking. For the first time ever, the Community Needs Fund invited local nonprofits to request funding and invited the community to help make those grants possible. Donations can be made online at: placer.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1055

The response was clear: more than $96,000 in requests came in from nonprofits doing essential work across the county — and the community stepped up with $71,000 to add to the available $25,000 grant pool.

With help from generous donors, Placer Community Foundation funded 10 grants. These included scholarships for children to attend Boys & Girls Club summer programs, laptops to help Lighthouse counselors reach more clients during evenings and weekends and support for see MYchild’s 4th Annual Juneteenth Celebration. The fund also helped Placer Food Bank provide healthy food to thousands of families, supported foster youth through Child Advocates of Placer County, and backed infrastructure improvements at Auburn State Theatre and Placer Land Trust.

The Community Needs Fund is designed for this kind of flexibility. It allows Placer Community Foundation to respond to emerging needs — from education and mental health to animal welfare and cultural programming — without delay or red tape.

Because the fund is built on endowment earnings and community contributions, it will grow in its ability to meet these moments over time. This collective giving campaign showed not just how much need exists — but how much can be accomplished when a community says yes to meeting it together.