Tubbs Fire
$25,000 grant was made on May 22, 2019 to the Mark West Community Preschool to support renovations, due to the loss of their school in the fire.
We Are Passionate About Giving Back, Serving and Being There for the Sonoma County Community
Sonoma County Vintners Foundation (SCVF) is an accredited 501c(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1988. Its purpose is to consistently support local nonprofit organizations that address issues within the Sonoma County community. The Sonoma County Vintners Foundation cultivates a vibrant and diverse Sonoma County by elevating lives through charitable events and philanthropic giving. Our fundraising efforts have a direct impact in the areas of literacy, education, health & human services, the environment and arts & culture. With the Foundation’s many initiatives including the Emergency Relief Fund, we have the ability to impact all needs, ranging from the immediate to the long term.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to see how the grants we distribute in Sonoma County are used to elevate the work of our partners.
Give with Amazon Smile or Benevity
You may also support our initiatives by choosing Sonoma County Vintners Foundation as your charity on Amazon Smile. Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to our foundation.
Benevity platform users can select Sonoma County Vintners Foundation to make corporate donations or matching gifts.
“Thank you for the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation’s generous grant to Side by Side’s YouThrive and Community Counseling collaboration in Petaluma schools. By supporting our new three-tier mental health and early intervention project, you’ve helped us tighten the safety net for youth on the edge of or in crisis after over a year of COVID-19, distance learning, social isolation, and for many families, financial challenges.”
Sonoma County Wine Auction
Our signature fundraising event, the Sonoma County Wine Auction (SCWA), has raised $39 million to date and has been recognized as one of Wine Spectator’s Top Charity Wine Auctions in the United States. Community Grants, Fund-the-Future and Fund-A-Need programs are made possible by contributions from our vintners, donors and members of the community for their extraordinary generosity at SCWA and support of our vision and goals. Learn more about the Sonoma County Wine Auction.
We would like to extend our appreciation and gratitude to our wine community for their support and partnership in the Sonoma County Wine Auction.
We are honored to have had the following members of the wine community as our Honorary Chairs:
- 2017: Barbara Banke, Jackson Family Wines
- 2018: George Hamel, Hamel Family Wines
- 2019: Christopher Jackson, Jackson Family Wines & Gina Gallo, E. & J. Gallo Winery
- 2020: Clay Mauritson, Mauritson Wines, Jake Bilbro, Limerick Lane Cellars, & Mark McWilliams, Arista Winery
- 2021: The Jackson Family, Jackson Family Wines, George F. Hamel, Jr. and The Hamel Family, Hamel Family Wines, Dan Kosta, AldenAlli
“We are humbled that our vintners, affiliate members, event program sponsors and the general public continue to place high importance on supporting the extraordinary work of our Sonoma County beneficiary partners. The needs of the most vulnerable in our community have been magnified during the pandemic. We’ve been able to prioritize funds for immediate assistance while also continuing our commitments to help support nonprofits focused on education & literacy, health & human services, the environment, and arts & culture.”
Community Grants
The Community Grants program through the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation are broadly accessible, responsive grants that address the most pressing needs in Sonoma County. In the past five years grants have been distributed to 339 organizations dedicated to education & literacy, health & human services, the environment, and arts & culture.
Philanthropic Partner: Community Foundation Sonoma County
The Community Foundation Sonoma County, aids the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation in the grant application process and more, providing a valuable service to the community as a liaison for nonprofits.
Established in 1983, the Community Foundation Sonoma County helps individuals, families, business and nonprofit organizations create charitable funds. Since its inception, the Community Foundation Sonoma County and their donors have awarded $240 million in grants. It is their mission to connect people, ideas and resources to benefit all who live in Sonoma County. Community Foundation Sonoma County is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
Arts & Culture
Focuses on providing arts education and foster a love of learning and creativity for both youth and adults.
Education
Focuses on literacy, providing opportunities for workplace, career and post-secondary learning for youth, and supporting the well-being of youth impacted by trauma-related events through education-focused organizations.
Environment
Focuses on conservation and restoration of environmentally significant land, waterways and wildlife habitats.
“Ceres Community Project is deeply grateful for the partnership of Sonoma County Vintners Foundation as we continue to create positive change in our community through our core programs. In March, we served our one millionth meal…”
Fund-A-Need
The Fund-A-Need Paddle Raise featured at our annual Sonoma County Wine Auction addresses and aids in providing impactful assistance for children’s education and literacy while also addressing new educational challenges our county faces.
Fund-A-Need is the power of collective giving. There is strong evidence that this approach of collective giving can impact even the most challenging educational issues, such as early literacy and the digital divide.
Organizations that have benefited from our Fund-A-Need Paddle Raise include:
- Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley (Project Learn)
- Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County (AVANCE)
- Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County (Pasitos)
- Healdsburg Education Foundation (Accelerated Learning)
- Sonoma County Office of Education Technology Fund
- Sonoma Valley Education Foundation (Summer Literacy Academy)
- United Way of the Wine Country (Schools of Hope)
- Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin (Roseland Club Building Project)
“Thank you for your grant in support of our free after-school music training and social development program for underserved students, Simply Strings, in 2021-2022. As arts programs in the schools have declined, the Symphony has helped bridge the gap to reach 30,000 students a year…”
Sonoma County Vintners Emergency Relief Fund
The Sonoma County Vintners Foundation Emergency Relief Fund was established in 2017 to address the immediate needs of our local community impacted by a natural disaster and other emergencies in a timely manner. This Emergency Relief Fund was created to adapt to the needs of the Sonoma County community as unfortunate situations arise. Please consider making a tax-deductible charitable contribution today.
“Thank you for this grant and the opportunity to reduce impacts from the Walbridge Fire to keep our water clean. The Russian River is one of the most critical resources in our region, providing wildlife habitat, clean drinking water, recreational opportunities, and a place where people can connect with nature.”
Questions?
