PCF's Greatest Needs Fund

Sweet Coltsfoot flowering in February.
Disasters happen, also, spring returns. 

Our Greatest Needs Fund opened in 2014, to be a flexible, fast-acting source of grants to meet rising, unexpected needs. It is one of a larger strategy of four funds for emergencies, but unlike the other three, this fund is always open for donations. The others are active only in named emergencies. This matters because life and a livable environment are uncertain. Floods, windstorms, wildfires, pandemics, wars, economic upheavals:  who knows what the next shock to our culture and community will be? We may not know what will happen next, but we do know those challenges will come. 

This is an endowed fund, which means grants are made from income, not core capital invested for the fund. When the fund reaches $25,000, PCF will begin making grants of $1,000 per year from it. Today it has $14,500, with $10,500 to go. 

Two donors are already making recurring donations. With eight more donors, $100 per month, in a year this fund will be on its way to its initial endowment level, and planning its first grants. My personal pledge this coming year is to make recurring donations, $100 every month, to the Greatest Needs Fund so that it can begin deploying grants sooner rather than later. 

Want to join? Become one of the founding donors who help take this fund live? The link is here: https://spccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?funit_id=1008 

Kathleen Sayce, November 15, 2021

2021 Year End Grant Catalog: Call for Requests

Kathleen Sayce, October 22, 2021

Fall Arrangement courtesy of Nansen Florals, https://www.nansenflorals.com/ 

What a long, strange couple of years it's been! We are looking forward to a reopened community and helping local organizations with fundraising, donors with gifts and nonprofit education programs in 2022. The first step is our 2021 year end grant catalog, which opens to requests from local nonprofits, Monday, October 25th. 

To start this process October 25th to November 15th, go to  https://spccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list/request  and put in your organization's name. *

This link will open a sequence of boxes asking for information about your request, a short and long word description, amount, your logo or image, and with other information. 

Contact info@spccf.org to get a handout that details the information needed to fill the online form. It is handy to have it ahead of time. 

The site will be open for requests until November 15th, then close for ten days while we review all applications. 

The list will be open for public donations November 25th to December 31st. Follow your grant request's donations by looking at the list during this period: 

Go to our website, https://spccf.org/.  

Click on the Donate button, which takes you to:  https://spccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list/grant, where you can view the whole list of proposals and see how every one is doing. 

The promotion process is simple:  Every organization that participates spreads the word to its members, and asks them to promote/share the catalog link out among  their contacts. This multiplies the contacts and spreads the word about your proposal along with the rest.  This way everyone reaches more potential donors. 

Grant checks go to participating organizations in early January 2022. PCF waives its admin fee and covers the credit card fees for catalogs:  Every dollar donated to this catalog goes to the recipient organizations. Our permanent funds are also open for donations.

Grant catalogs raise thousands of dollars every year for local nonprofits. We hope your organization will be part of the 2021 Year End Grant Catalog. 

*NOTE: If your organization is not on this list of nonprofit organizations, please contact us (info@spccf.org) to have yours added:  Organization name, mission, address, EIN and lead contacts. 

Last year, Board Member Jerry Macy added all Pacific County organizations to our nonprofit list, but this list changes all the time. 

2020 in the Rearview Mirror – The Pacific Community Foundation looks back on 2020…and forward to 2021

Wreath designed by Todd Wiegardt

Philanthropy helps communities weather tough times.  Your financial support provides essential funds to local organizations when there are gaps between needs and services. 

In the year 2020, as community resources were being stretched beyond the breaking point, our friends and neighbors made the gifts that made the difference.

Pacific Community Foundation (PCF) Notables for 2020:

• Donations to the PCF in 2020 totaled $125,160.  This is a foundation record! Most of the donations this year went right back out to local organizations, rather than going to endowments. Endowments are our long term capital-building strategy. Of  $733,000, 80% is in endowments. In 2020, 57% of donations went right to the organizations that need this most. 

• 200 donors, of which 162 are new donors (both are foundation records!) gave their support to community organizations through PCF in the past year.

• Donations to the PCF Holiday Grant Catalog* totaled $31,070; nearly twice the amount the catalog received in 2019. Donations provided critical year-end funds to 11 participating local organizations.

• $40,336 was raised from March – December through PCF Critical Funds*. At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic PCF established seven Critical Funds. Donors fund services that keep our neighbors safe and in their homes, the local animal shelter operational, our community food banks open and more. 

Our seven Critical Funds REMAIN open and are accepting donations because the Covid-19 pandemic is still with us and the need continues to grow. Visit the PCF website for more information: Link: https://spccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list.

To the big-hearted individuals and the hard-working organizations in our community – there are not enough ways to say THANK YOU.  PCF is dedicated to doing our part to help our communities survive and be stronger in 2021 and for years to come.  

* PCF pays the credit card fees and waives the administration fees for our Critical Funds and bi-annual grant catalogs (Holiday and Spring) – so, every dollar raised via those activities goes to local organizations.