Shasta Regional Community Foundation
The North State is home to scores of nonprofit organizations that pour their hearts into making this community a better place to live, work and play. That power is magnified exponentially by the Shasta Regional Community Foundation.
Concerned with the well-being of future generations in Shasta and Siskiyou counties, the Shasta Regional Community Foundation builds permanent endowments, addresses needs through grantmaking and demonstrates community leadership.
And the Community Foundation is currently celebrating the success of its annual North State Giving Tuesday campaign, which shattered last year's record, collecting more than $750,000 for 96 nonprofits in Shasta and Siskiyou counties — a 77 percent increase over year. More people participated, as well — the 4,504 gifts were a 64 percent boost from last year, and the average gift of $130 was up by $5.
"With the success we saw the first year, we knew this next year was going to be significant, but we had no idea just how significantly successful it would turn out to be," says Kerry Caranci, CEO of the Shasta Regional Community Foundation. "With the increase in nonprofits and the generosity of our community, we really shouldn't have been surprised. We live in such a caring and generous place."
Giving Tuesday is a national initiative that local organizations make their own, encouraging people to "give where you live." Donations were collected on Nov. 29, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick off the charitable giving season. This year's dollars went even further thanks to incentives of more than $80,000 provided by Shasta Regional Community Foundation's Knodel Family Endowment Fund. Outreach and business partners were hourly sponsors and active ambassadors during the drive, encouraging others to do their year-end giving online to benefit organizations they hold dear to their hearts.
The one-day event, with 96 nonprofits and their supporters spreading the word, made for an exciting day fueled by a sense of urgency. "To be able to refresh the webpage and see those dollars going up by hundreds and thousands — people want to be participating in that," Caranci says.
The Shasta Regional Community Foundation's services include gift planning, options for family philanthropy, administrative support to simplify giving and more. The Community Foundation continuously monitors the community to understand the nature of need, the forces of change, available resources and the capacity for growth.
"We always say, you don't have to be a millionaire to be a philanthropist. We can help anybody achieve their charitable goals," Caranci explains. "We are really able to do all of the work for our donors. We're more efficient and time effective than creating a foundation, so more dollars can go to the grant opportunities you wish to see rather than administrative costs.
The Shasta Regional Community Foundation's grant programs include the Animal Welfare Endowment Fund, Burney Regional Community Fund, Community Arts Endowment Fund, Community Disaster Relief Fund, McConnell Fund, Redding Rancheria Community Fund and The Women's Fund.
"We bring the expertise in administering funds, and convening grant panels to review the applications and work with the organizations to ensure the dollars are spent wisely and most effectively," Caranci says.