Grantmaking Reflections

$4.9 million – that was the total the CFMC granted in 2002, the year I joined the staff. (CFMC awarded grants totaling $41 million in 2023). At that time, grants were awarded in general areas, such as education, health and community services, that supported our mission statement – to improve the quality of life in Monterey County. Our main application-based program represented 40% of CFMC’s annual grantmaking, and staff’s work reflected that. We accepted grant requests via mail, facsimile, email and hand-delivery. In 2010, CFMC updated its mission statement, now “To inspire philanthropy and be a catalyst for strengthening communities throughout Monterey County” – and then, everything changed. Donors saw CFMC as their “design studio” for philanthropy. The number of designated endowment funds, field of interest funds and agency endowment funds grew. The CFMC’s board encouraged grantmaking to focus on results and impact. In 2012, we unveiled the Community Impact (CI) grant program with funding priorities that narrowed and clarified our interests. CI grants increased the board and community members’ role in reviewing and recommending funding amounts. Over the next 10 years, we sought feedback and implemented changes to streamline the grant guidelines and process. We experimented, we learned and we continued to make improvements. In more recent years, we have increased the number of two-year grants awarded and the number of operating grants.

Our values are at the core of our grantmaking.” – Janet Shing, CFMC Director of Grantmaking

Until 2015, our strategic plan and daily work were grounded in three goals: Community Impact, Philanthropic Leadership and Organizational Excellence. In 2015, the fourth goal of Community Leadership was added, which allowed CFMC to expand its grantmaking in unprecedented ways. The CFMC extended its leadership and grantmaking throughout the county via new place-based affiliate funds that work like a foundation within CFMC. Over the years, CFMC has reflected on local and national discussions on social justice and civil rights issues, listened to local nonprofit leaders, paid attention to community concerns and followed regional and national trends in grantmaking. Our values are at the core of our grantmaking – advancing positive change, being open and honest and operating with the highest standards that include a commitment to fairness and respect. We are in the process of a comprehensive assessment of our discretionary grant programs. I, for one, am excited to see what the next decade brings and how the CFMC will continue to evolve. To learn more, visit: cfmco.org/Grants https://www.cfmco.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/4_Janet-Shing-2012-mg_2579-e1722888350560.jpg https://www.cfmco.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/4_Janet-Shing-2012-mg_2579-e1722888350560.jpg