This testimonial was submitted by Lois Henry, CEO and Editor of Give Big Kern 2020 first-time participant SJV Water (sjvwater.org), a nonprofit news organization dedicated to covering water issues in the San Joaquin Valley. It helps to illustrate how Give Big Kern goes beyond helping nonprofits raise unrestricted funds, and actually assists them in achieving long-term sustainability by teaching them important skills and allowing them to make long-lasting networking and business connections. This is a true testament of the magic that happens when the entire community comes together in support of Kern’s hard-working nonprofits by setting aside “One Day to Celebrate the Giving Spirit of Kern County!” through Give Big Kern. Enjoy reading this story!
(Lois is on the right in the Zoom screen grab above. On the left is the main subject of her story, Mayan Lara.)
I had no idea what I was signing up for when Louis Medina, Director of Community Impact with Kern Community Foundation, encouraged me to get my nonprofit, SJV Water, involved with Give Big Kern (GBK) in late 2019.
When you’re neck-deep in all the things a nonprofit has to do, it’s hard to break out of the grind and dedicate the time to learning something new.
But what a huge help GBK has been to SJV Water.
It taught me the importance of maintaining a high transparency rating on GuideStar.org, which, in turn, helped me keep my funding and corporate information organized and accessible, which, in turn, helped me apply for other funding.
And yes, SJV Water earned some good money (over $3,000) during the GBK event in 2020.
The best part of GBK, however, was that it introduced me to Mayan Lara, then a college student at California State University, Bakersfield.
One of GBK’s benefits is that it teams students with nonprofits that sign up for volunteer help.
And I desperately needed help with social media/marketing/graphics, etc.
That’s how I met Mayan, via Dr. Kyung Jung Han’s Public Relations Management Class at CSUB.
Mayan really upped SJV Water’s profile, look and feel through the GBK event.
I came to rely on her skills so much, I worked out a deal to pay her on a contract basis so she could keep the social media-marketing train rolling through summer.
I applied for a grant through Southern California Edison with the express purpose of funding Mayan’s work through the fall and got it!
In subsequent fundraising and awareness campaigns, I let my readers know that part of their donations would go toward paying Mayan.
I got some great reactions from donors who enthusiastically supported giving a talented young person the experience and MONEY to get started in their career. They felt good about donating so they could help SJV Water help a young person.
Now, Mayan is gearing up SJV Water’s second GBK fundraising campaign and already has some great ideas for how to build awareness and educate donors about the importance of GBK.
She understands social media, takes time to understand what SJV Water is all about and has incredible graphic design skills.
Mayan is, of course, naturally talented.
But I also credit CSUB for giving Mayan a very strong foundation to start from.
And “muchas, muchas” credit to GBK for being the bridge to connect an upcoming marketing phenom with little old SJV Water!
Mayan is looking for full-time work, but has agreed to keep helping SJV Water until she lands her dream job.
Kern Community Foundation is proud to present its new Nonprofit Empowerment Center, an online resource hub to help Kern County’s 501(c)(3) Charitable Organizations strengthen their Visibility, Capacity, Sustainability and Resiliency during our current challenging times. We invite you to visit kernfoundation.org/empowerment to explore a robust offering that includes:
A Nonprofit Strengthening Events Calendar that features exclusively a wide array of learning opportunities for nonprofit organizations, including trainings, webinars, workshops and more.
About Foundation Directory Online
For serious grant seekers and fundraising professionals seeking to strengthen their nonprofit organization, the Foundation Directory Online (FDO) delivers quality funding prospects by combining exhaustive data with intuitive search functionality and informative data visualizations. Included in the directory are profiles of more than 166,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities, as well as profiles of more than 800,000 grant recipients and information on more than 16.8 million awarded grants.
FDO access through Kern Community Foundation’s website is FREE, but is reserved for 501(c)(3) nonprofits that are registered with KCF and are current on their GuideStar profile, having earned a seal of transparency at the Silver, Gold or Platinum level. Login access must be requested from KCF, which is now a member of Candid’s Funding Information Network.
Special Announcement No. 1:Nonprofits that have already been granted login credentials on kernfoundation.org to submit events for posting on our Community Events Calendar do not need to request separate FDO access. Simply use those same login credential to access FDO per the “click here” link above.
Special Announcement No. 2: While you are on the FDO access page of our website, be sure to read the announcement about two upcoming FREE webinars on how to use the Foundation Directory Online: On March 3 at 11 a.m., and On March 18 at 10 a.m.PERK: The March 18 webinar will be a live workshop customized especially for Kern County Nonprofits.
You will need to create a login account separately with Candid to attend these and other Candid Learning events, but it’s free.
Thank you for all you do to make our community a better place! We hope the Nonprofit Empowerment Center at Kern Community Foundation will help strengthen your endeavors.
GRANT ALERT! The application period for a Scotty K. Gifting Project Grant from the Scott Kirschenmann Family Foundation is now open through Noon on March 1.
Eligible applicants are Kern County educational institutions involved in the following areas:
Primary, secondary, and post-secondary education initiatives that create opportunities for our youth to succeed and pursue a better future.
Programs that provide relevant work experience and mentoring opportunities in the areas of agriculture and related industries to support the current Kern County workforce.
Agribusiness-related programs at all levels of education institutions.
These educational institutions will demonstrate a clear plan for the use of funds and will identify how said funds will benefit Kern County’s youth to persevere. Go to kirschenmannfoundation.org and click on “Grants and Scholars” to find out more and submit your application.
Jumpstart is a Fundraising Technical Assistance Competitive Grant Opportunity offered to Kern County nonprofits. It is a partnership among Kern Community Foundation, Network for Good and the County of Kern. Through Jumpstart, a small cohort of Kern nonprofits benefits from the use of state-of-the-art fundraising tools and individualized coaching for a 12-month period at a greatly reduced tuition cost. Via this unique private-public partnership, we, as a community, are working to improve nonprofit sustainability one agency at a time.
The Jumpstart 2021 Grant Application Period is open from Noon Wednesday, Jan. 27 through 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Eligible nonprofits serving Kern County that are registered with Kern Community Foundation, have a minimum Silver Transparency Rating on GuideStar.org, and have never participated in Jumpstart in the past will be able to apply.
In this Fifth Installment of our Growing Resiliency Virtual Training Series, presented in partnership with Candid, you will learn about how donor relationships are critical to fundraising success at all stages of the development cycle.
Workshop Description: You will explore eight steps successful fundraisers take to reach and surpass their goals. These steps represent proven techniques for connecting with donors, effectively communicating your cause and cultivating long-term relationships.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
Explain how selling your cause is a part of fundraising in the social sector;
Make the case for the value of donor relationships for fundraising success;
Assess your circles of influence to identify prospective new donors;
Draft a plan to improve relationships with your existing donors.
This training is ideal for:
Emerging to intermediate fundraisers
Advanced fundraising professionals who want to brush up on skills
Board members or prospective board members
ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED!
To reserve your spot, RSVP to info@kernfoundation.org by Noon Jan. 5, at the latest. Your RSVP MUST include:
Your Name
Nonprofit Agency Affiliation
Your Title
Your E-mail
BE SURE TO READ SOME IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS BELOW:
How to Attend
Maximum Capacity:
60 – First Come, First Served. Up to 2 representatives per agency may sign up to attend. A Zoom link will only be shared with those who RSVP per the instructions above.
Eligible Attendees:
Must be affiliated (staff, board member, volunteer) with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that a) serves Kern County, b) is registered with Kern Community Foundation, and c) has attained a minimum Silver Transparency Rating on GuideStar.org.
Expected Commitment:
Kern Community Foundation is providing this customized workshop at no cost to participants. However, once registered, failure to attend without prior written cancellation by Noon Monday, January 4 (as we understand emergencies do come up), will disqualify registrant from attending other subsidized workshops in this series.
From December 1, 2020, through March 1, 2021, graduating Kern County high school seniors who have a 2.0 GPA or higher and are planning to attend a two-year college, four-year university or accredited technical school, are welcome to apply for a scholarship from Kern Community Foundation. For the 2021-22 academic year, our scholarships range from $500 to $3,000.
Please visit the Scholarships page of our website for more information and to apply.
Feel free to download our flyer and help us spread the word. Click on the image below to download.
We are proud to introduce the 2021 Community Giving Guide from Kern Community Foundation, generously sponsored by The Aera Energy Fund and Bank of America.
The Guide was designed and printed in partnership with The Bakersfield Californian. It features 321 local nonprofit organizations that are registered with Kern Community Foundation–a 30% increase in listed nonprofits since the 246 featured in the last (2019) edition of the Guide. We make it easy for donors and volunteers to find their passion! Click here to download a copy.
Once you register, make sure you mark your calendar and log in on time on December 4 to attend the “virtual test drive” event.
After taking the vehicle tour, fill out a post-vehicle-tour survey, and $25 will be donated to Kern Community Foundation by Lincoln Motor Company for every survey completed by a virtual attendee! The more money raised, the more the Foundation will have to give away as competitive prizes to hard-working Kern County nonprofits in next year’s Give Big Kern!
It takes just “30 Minutes of your time to Give Big!” in support of Kern County nonprofits. Please join us. Register today!
Help us spread the word by sharing this information and the flyer below with your family, friends and networks.
The Women’s and Girls’ Fund, a Leadership Initiative of Kern Community Foundation, announces its Grant Cycle for 2020-2021, which begins today, Tuesday, Nov. 10. Approximately $60,000 will be awarded in Spring 2021 to nonprofits delivering education and training programs/services to women or girls in Kern County. The Maximum Award is $25,000.
The application process begins with the submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply for funding by 5 p.m. Nov. 24.
We encourage applicants to do the following:
First, learn about The Women’s and Girls’ Fund by visiting the WGF page on Kern Community Foundation’s website, kernfoundation.org/WGF.
Review The Women’s and Girls’ Fund’s Grantmaking Policy, which outlines qualifying criteria and our focus for 2021-2025 Grants: Education.
Grantees who received WGF grants in Spring of 2020 may not apply for WGF 2021 funding. Any previous awardees of WGF or other grants from the Foundation that have outstanding follow-up reports must complete those reports before they can apply for WGF funding. Agencies must also comply with Kern Community Foundation’s grantmaking guidelines, which include:
Being registered with Kern Community Foundation through the same Online Grants Platform that can be accessed via the hyperlink above; and
Having a Silver or higher transparency rating on GuideStar.org, the world’s largest database on nonprofits.
About The Women’s and Girls’ Fund
The Women’s and Girls’ Fund was launched in 2005 as a leadership initiative of Kern Community Foundation. It is primarily a volunteer effort guided by the leadership of the Vision Committee and Community Advisors. The assets of the Fund are professionally managed and invested by Kern Community Foundation, which also provides oversight of Fund grant decisions. Through grantmaking, members of The Women’s and Girls’ Fund become philanthropists and advocates of positive social change. Fund members rely on community research, data and the participation of community members to identify an area of focus each year. Issues of focus can range from women’s and girls’ health and economic concerns to safety and domestic violence, education, and more. Since its first grantmaking in 2008, The Women’s and Girls’ Fund has awarded 40 competitive grants, totaling $430,686, to nonprofits serving women and girls in Kern County.
About Kern Community Foundation
Kern Community Foundation is a vibrant nonprofit enterprise with a powerfully simple mission: “Growing Community. Growing Philanthropy.” For more than two decades, the Foundation has been in business to serve as a charitable resource for local donors and corporations, and to generate capital that provides philanthropic solutions to help make Kern County a better place to live, to work and to visit. Since its establishment in 1999, the Foundation has grown to hold more than 170 charitable funds, with assets nearing $29 million, and has awarded close to $25 million in grants and scholarships, ranking in the top two-thirds of the 100 most active grantmakers, nationwide, since 2013.
REGISTER TODAY to help Give Big Kern Sponsor Jim Burke Ford Lincoln raise money to support Kern Community Foundation’s GIVE BIG KERN 2021 efforts!
The Women’s and Girls’ Fund, a Leadership Initiative of Kern Community Foundation, announces its Grant Cycle for 2020-2021, which begins today, Tuesday, Nov. 10. Approximately $60,000 will be awarded in Spring 2021 to nonprofits delivering education and training programs/services to women or girls in Kern County. The Maximum Award is $25,000.
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