SACRAMENTO, Calif., February 4, 2013 - The Sacramento Region Community Foundation today announced that it distributed $4.1 million in community grants during 2012, bringing the total to $100 million invested in the community during its 30th year. According to CEO, Ruth Blank, "The Foundation has reached an impressive level of community investment over the past 30 years. It would be impossible to imagine the impact on every aspect of life in our region without the collective generosity of our fund holders and direct contributions of the Foundation."

2012 Grants Bolster Regional Nonprofits and Students

The Foundation houses over 500 charitable funds for individuals, nonprofits and corporations, each fund having a unique focus for its charitable giving. The Foundation also makes direct grants from its discretionary funding. In total, $4.1 million in grants during 2012 went to over 400 community organizations ranging from emerging groups to well-established regional institutions. The grant total includes scholarships that supported the education of more than 300 students pursuing degrees from trade schools and community colleges to 4-year universities.

Year after year, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation's grants have made it the largest benefactor of the local region, and strengthen its importance to both students and the nonprofit community during this time of shrinking public support. In addition to donor-directed grants, the Foundation continues in its commitment to offer financial support and leadership to focus on the underlying causes of community issues and collaboratively seek solutions for lasting impact. The four key areas in which the Foundation has been leading the change are:

• GiveLocalNow - inspiring regional residents to turn community pride into stronger financial support for the local nonprofit organizations that lift up lives, offer food and shelter, and create the civic amenities that often get taken for granted.
• Homelessness Prevention - offering funding and leading partnerships to strengthen the work of homeless providers and build an effective system geared toward preventing homelessness and its root causes.
• Advancing Sacramento Arts - fostering increased grantmaking, capacity building, community engagement and strategic partnerships to support our community's innovative arts organizations and entrepreneurial artists.
• Innovation in Education - supporting innovative, but proven approaches to education and youth development through funding programs like Grants Advisory Board for Youth (GABY), City Year and Any Given Child.