PAJARO COMMUNITY GRANTS: $1,893,000 AWARDED FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
MONTEREY COUNTY, CA – December 18, 2024
The Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) announced that 23 organizations will receive a total of $1,893,000 to help their communities become more resilient in response to the 2023 flooding and levee breach in Pajaro. Grants were awarded to nonprofit organizations working in areas including community health and dental care, business resiliency, digital equity, arts, farmworker advocacy, tenants’ rights, legal services, financial workshops, food insecurity and disaster preparedness.
California Assembly Bill 102 (AB 102) allocated $20,000,000 to the County of Monterey to support flood relief in the community of Pajaro. The County set aside a portion of those funds for a Pajaro Community Grant program to be administered by the Community Foundation for Monterey County. A volunteer grants committee comprised of a small business owner, a youth representative, two local government officials and two Pajaro residents worked with CFMC grantmaking staff to develop recommendations, which were finalized by the County of Monterey. The Foundation received 39 applications for the program.
“Pajaro is a resilient and vibrant community. We’re honored to be a trusted partner along with local residents to award these funds where they will be most effective,” said Community Foundation for Monterey County President/CEO Dan Baldwin. “These grants will provide resources for those most impacted by the storms to continue strengthening their own recovery.”
2024 Pajaro Community Grant Recipient Organizations – $1,893,000 Total Awarded
- ACTION Council of Monterey County – Pajaro Community Resources, Economic Development, and Language Access Program: $50,000
- Casa de la Cultura Center – Community Center Improvements: $100,000
- Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Monterey – Pajaro Resilience and Beautification Initiative: $93,000
- Center for Community Advocacy – Tenants’ Rights Advocacy and Education in Pajaro: $50,000
- Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueño – Building Indigenous Farmworker Resilience in Pajaro: $50,000
- Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc. (CAB) – ¡OrgullosamentePajaro!: $100,000
- Community Agroecology Network – CommunityFood Sovereignty: Food Aggregation and Distribution through Community Garden Renovation and Reconnection: $50,000
- Community Bridges – Pajaro Rising:$100,000
- Hijos Del Sol Arts Productions – Art for Pajaro: Creating Connections Through Community Mural & Workshops: $65,000
- Loaves Fishes & Computers – Digital Equity for Resiliency for Pajaro’s Business Owners & Seniors: $100,000
- Monterey Bay Economic Partnership – Pajaro Business Group Incorporation and Resiliency Project: $100,000
- Pajaro Rescue Mission – Pajaro Community Grants Program: $100,000
- Pajaro Valley Prevention & Student Assistance – Juntos Sanando Comunidad program (1st grant): $100,000
- Pajaro Valley Prevention & Student Assistance – Juntos Sanando Comunidad program (2nd grant): $100,000
- Pajaro Valley Unified School District – Revitalizing Health: Reopening PVUSD’s Healthy Start Center for a Resilient Pajaro: $100,000
- Salud Para La Gente – Expanding Access to Care in Pajaro: $100,000
- Salvation Army – Monterey Peninsula Corps, Watsonville Corps – Support to Pajaro’s unhoused population: $5,000
- Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County – Food for Resilient Children and Families in Pajaro: $100,000
- Teeth for Life Scholarships – Pajaro Valley Dental Relief Services: $50,000
- United Way Monterey County – United Way Monterey County, with partners Door to Hope and Community Bridges, will bolster the resiliency of families by increasing childcare capacity and by conducting family asset-building: $80,000
- Ventures – Familias con Mas: $100,000
- Watsonville Law Center -Pajaro Valley Legal Access: $100,000
- Watsonville Wetlands Watch – A Climate Resilient Pajaro Middle School Campus: $100,000
The mission of the CFMC is “to inspire philanthropy and be a catalyst for strengthening communities throughout Monterey County.” For more information call 831.375.9712.
