Archives
Categories

Support “Food for the Frontline Kern County”!

Food for the Frontline Kern County is a community effort to raise funds to support local restaurants and emergency room staff impacted by COVID-19.

Working with Kern Community Foundation, Food for the Frontline will provide meals prepared by local restaurants for Kern County emergency room staff. The meals will be purchased and delivered with the support of community donations. Every dollar raised will feed brave medical personnel who are on the frontline in the fight against Coronavirus, while providing assistance to small businesses and their employees impacted by the statewide quarantine.

Our goal is to provide as many meals as possible to staff members at county hospitals. Each meal will cost $20.00. All donations will go to the purchase of food and materials from local restaurants. These meals will be given directly to Kern County frontline medical staff. This will be an ongoing effort and we plan to make our first delivery on Friday, April 10th.

The entire month of April will be difficult for communities large and small as they struggle to combat COVID-19. You can social distance and join the fight by using this link to donate toward the purchase of a meal or more for our hard-working first responders. Whether you purchase one meal or ten, your effort will help us give back to the men and women on the frontline.

If you represent a local restaurant or catering company and want to participate, please email us at frontlinekern@gmail.com. Together, we can make a difference!

Give Big Kern Is Still On!

We at Kern Community Foundation know that our Nonprofit Community needs funding support now more than ever.
That’s why we’re STAYING THE ONLINE COURSE WITH REGARD TO GIVE BIG KERN!
Our B-i-i-i-g Giving Day is still going to happen on May 5, with the givebigkern.org platform going live to receive donations a month out, on April 5, and staying open till May 6.
Click here to read how close to 130 participating nonprofits are being encouraged to make Give Big Kern their online day of giving at a time when they can showcase their most dire needs to Kern’s giving community — because collectively, we can and will get through this crisis.
Please plan to support Kern’s nonprofits through Give Big Kern!

Kern Community Foundation’s 2019 Impact Sheet Hot Off the Presses!

In an effort to be transparent in all we do, Kern Community Foundation publishes an “Impact Sheet” during the first quarter of the year, detailing the previous year’s accomplishments in our two strategic initiatives, Educational Attainment and Nonprofit Strengthening. Our 2019 Impact Sheet is hot off the presses, and we think you will agree that our 20th Anniversary Year was one of many accomplishments, which are victories shared with all our fund holders, donors, supporters, partners and friends. Thank you! Click on the image to access a downloadable PDF copy.

Kern Community Foundation Seeks Community Network Coordinator

Kern Community Foundation is seeking the right candidate to fill an exciting new position. The Community Network Coordinator will report to the President and CEO and be part of a small team responsible for supporting the Foundation’s community convening work, in particular supporting day-to-day communications and logistics, community engagement and data function for each identified network.

Click here for a position description and information on how to apply.

Kern Community Foundation is a vibrant nonprofit enterprise created by and for the people of Kern County. Our mission Is powerfully simple: Growing community. Growing philanthropy. Today, thanks to the generosity of dozens of individuals, families and corporations, the Foundation has grown to hold more than 170 charitable funds with assets of more than $27 million and has awarded more than $24 million in grants and scholarships to the community. Learn more about the Foundation on our home page, kernfoundation.org.

Give Big Kern 2020 Sponsorship Opportunities

Hello, Local Philanthropists and Community-Minded Business Partners!

Here’s your chance to support Kern County’s ENTIRE nonprofit sector all at once by sponsoring Kern Community Foundation’s Online Day of Giving, Give Big Kern: One Day to Celebrate the Giving Spirit of Kern County!—winner of the 2019 Beautiful Bakersfield Award for helping to create “A Better Bakersfield.”

Coming up on its fifth year and held on the first Tuesday in May—which falls auspiciously on a fun date on the 2020 calendar: Cinco de Mayo!—this countywide crowdfunding event affords sponsors a highly impactful and visible way to practice philanthropy. You can be part of a Nonprofit Strengthening effort that increases the visibility, capacity and sustainability of over 100 local charities, giving them the means to raise unrestricted dollars while growing their donor and volunteer pools.

Your gift will allow Kern Community Foundation to empower participating charitable organizations with the following tools and services FREE OF CHARGE:

  • Access to their own fundraising page on GiveBigKern.org, an easy-to-use, state-of-the-art crowdfunding platform from GiveGab, an industry leader managing close to 110 giving days across 48 states;
  • Customized training on online fundraising, social media & email marketing, event planning, board engagement, and donor/volunteer cultivation;
  • Printed and downloadable marketing materials in English & Spanish to help them promote their giving day campaigns widely for maximum effect; and
  • Motivational cash prizes to encourage greater community engagement.

Two ways to help:

  1. Become a Monetary Sponsor at the $1,000 to $20,000 level. Click here to download our Four-page Sponsorship Pamphlet, which highlights Give Big Kern’s record-setting results in 2019 (close to $430,000 raised!) and outlines the benefits to you as a 2020 Sponsor. Sponsorships purchased before year-end 2019 may be claimed as tax-deductible donations in the current tax year (our EIN#: 77-0555874).
  2. Become a Promotional Sponsor by conducting, for example, the sale of a menu item and designating a portion of proceeds from sales to support Give Big Kern. Click here to download our Promotional Sponsorship Flyer.

Next year’s Give Big Kern theme is “Give Like It’s a Fiesta!” With your support, we can make it the most fun and festive Give Big Kern ever. Thank you for your kind consideration. We will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Contact Louis Medina, Director of Community Impact, at Louis@kernfoundation.org or 661.616.2603.

Give B-i-i-i-g!

 

 

Kern Community Foundation Announces 2020 Philanthropy on Tap Presenting Nonprofits!

Kern Community Foundation is pleased to announce the 2020 lineup of presenting agencies in our Nonprofit Showcase Series, Philanthropy on Tap, conducted in partnership with the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce and its Bakersfield Young Professionals (BYP) Program.

The purpose of Philanthropy on Tap is to introduce the work of a wide range of nonprofits to the greater community, and highlight opportunities for philanthropic and volunteer engagement with them. In a relaxed setting, over drinks and hors d’oeuvres courtesy of Kern Community Foundation, we are helping to expand strategic networking connections between our for-profit and nonprofit partners in the spirit of our mission:

“Growing community. Growing philanthropy.” 

In 2020, events will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the Tuesdays below at two popular Bakersfield locations:

  • Imbibe Wine & Spirits Merchant, 4140 Truxtun Ave.
  • Temblor Brewing Company, 3200 Buck Owens Blvd.

Congratulations to the 8 organizations selected from a competitive pool of a total 28 that applied!

  • February 4 at Imbibe: Junior League of Bakersfield
  • April 7 at Temblor: Southern Sierra Council, Boy Scouts of America
  • June 2 at Imbibe: Covenant Community Services
  • August 4 at Temblor: PathPoint
  • September 1 at Temblor: Double-Header Featuring Helping Animals Live Tomorrow (H.A.L.T.) Rescue & Strength of Shadow (S.O.S.) Dog Rescue
  • October 6 at Imbibe: Bakersfield Pregnancy Center
  • December 1 at Temblor: Be Finally Free

You can also view the current schedule of Philanthropy on Tap events through the end of 2020 at kernfoundation.org/events.

A Success Story to Inspire Nonprofits to Apply for Kern Community Foundation’s Jumpstart Fundraising TA Grant

“Jumpstart” is a competitive grant opportunity made available to Kern County nonprofits thanks to a public-private partnership between Kern Community Foundation and fundraising technology and training giant Network for Good (NFG), with generous funding support from the Kern County Board of Supervisors.

The program allows five Kern nonprofits–one from each County Supervisorial District–the opportunity to receive 12 months of fundraising technical assistance and easy-to-use software from NFG at a greatly subsidized cost.

Jumpstart is designed to help Kern’s nonprofits work smarter, not harder, by building upon the important fundraising work they have already begun through Give Big Kern and other efforts. The program weds the high-touch nurturing and cultivation of long-term relationships with individual donors to the high-tech use of donor development software, in order to help charities diversify and expand general operating dollars.

Our application period for Jumpstart 2020 is currently open through 5 p.m. Monday, November 25, 2019.

Click here to read a success story from 2019 participant, Independence Through GRACE, which more than doubled its Give Big Kern fundraising from 2018 ($20,000) to 2019 ($49,000) after they implemented lessons learned from their Jumpstart Fundraising Coach. In the article, you will also find useful links to a slide presentation on Jumpstart and to Kern Community Foundation’s Online Grants Platform so you can get started with your application. Questions? Please write to Louis@kernfoundation.org or call 661.616.2603.