Yolo Community Foundation

For over 20 years, the Yolo Community Foundation has worked to inspire and support giving and provide philanthropic leadership in our diverse community. A gift to YCF is leveraged, because we use it to support and grow all of the nonprofits in the Yolo community, thus serving all Yolo residents.

Consider this: A couple who recently moved to Yolo County and wants learn about local nonprofits; The executive director of a small but growing nonprofit who needs peer support so she doesn’t have to go it alone; A regional organization with a great program and a local nonprofit with a community in need, both looking for partnership. These are examples of people and organizations that have asked YCF to be a springboard in their mission to serve Yolo County.  

When you contribute to YCF during this year-end giving season, you support all of Yolo County.  

Grantmaking 

In 2024, YCF donated $1.9M -  a record high. This includes over 250 grants to 150 different nonprofits, enabling them to serve our community. These organizations cover every corner and address every cause in Yolo County and beyond. Recipients include the Woodland Memorial Hospital Foundation, Davis Forest School, Friends of the Clarksburg Public Library, Winters Community Corazón, the Yolo Food Bank, and a wide range of other nonprofits. One recent grantmaking program was our Yolo Voter Education Grant, a $125,000 initiative supporting nine local nonprofits to educate low-turnout communities on how, where, and when to vote, targeting recent changes under the California Voter's Choice Act.  

Nonprofit Capacity Building 

This year, we launched Yolo NEON, a program to help small and medium-sized nonprofits improve their back-office operations. Working with subject matter experts, we are developing a robust, turnkey resource library combined with training and individual support for Yolo nonprofits. Yolo NEON complements our Yolo County Nonprofit Leaders Alliance, a partnership with the Yolo County Library and the Impact Foundry, where we host community-building and capacity-building workshops, like our recent corporate philanthropy panel and a nonprofit marketing seminar, in partnership with the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Through programs like these, we build local nonprofits’ tool chests, enabling them to increase operating efficiencies and their impact in our community.  

Philanthropic Leadership

One of the most powerful ways that YCF serves local nonprofits goes beyond our own grants and programs to the ripples of impact we inspire by encouraging donors and volunteers to support local nonprofits. We do this through events, like the Yolo Philanthropy Breakfast, and publications like our annual State of the Yolo Nonprofit Sector report. These resources educate local donors and decision-makers about the critical role nonprofits play in our community and what they need from all of us in order to serve community members who rely on them.  A significant way in which we inspire philanthropy is by celebrating and highlighting role models through the Yolo Philanthropy Awards event and publications. Every year, each nonprofit in Yolo County is invited to honor a donor or volunteer who has made a positive impact. In 2024, we had over 50 nonprofits submit honorees and 400 community members attend our annual event to celebrate them - double any prior year! 

Your support will enable YCF to continue to grow our capacity as a trusted partner, thought leader, amplifier, and springboard for anyone who wants to serve the Yolo County community. Every dollar you contribute translates to additional resources available to support the work of the many nonprofits serving our community. 

Please help us grow our impact this BDOG!