Community Building

10,000 Degrees is unlocking student success at scale by giving more students equitable opportunities for a quality college education and career success. After working with more than 60,000 students across 250 colleges over the past 43 years and awarding $105 million in scholarships, we have a clear viewpoint on what it takes to achieve student success at scale and break the cycle of generational poverty. Through our innovative program model we have achieved unmatched success rates: 80% of our students graduate (2x national average), 10% take out loans (vs. 69% nationally), and 92% are first in their family to go to college. Our comprehensive programs include college pathways preparation, college success advising, scholarships and financial aid advising, community college transfer support, career and graduate school readiness, alumni and career success, and more. Our graduates go on to make a positive impact on their families, workplaces and communities.

Association of Faith Communities (AFC) is an interfaith coalition made up of nearly 40 faith communities working to help end homelessness. Hosted by local faith organizations, over 75 people receive shelter or safe parking each evening, and more than two hundred volunteers offer their time, cooking skills, and a listening ear each year through our programs. 

https://www.afcsantacruz.org/

Founded in 1988, American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley is a regional network of diverse senior-level leaders across private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Graduates of ALF's one-year fellows program have created a network to use collaborative leadership skills to identify and deal with complex regional issues.

Ayudando Latinos a Soñar (ALAS) is a nationally recognized nonprofit rooted in love and justice, uplifting farmworkers and their families in Half Moon Bay. Offering free, world-class bilingual mental health care and innovative programs like the Equity Express Bus, ALAS brings vital resources directly to the fields. Through cultural arts programs that inspire pride and belonging, ALAS is creating a community of care while driving systemic change in housing and economic justice. In times of profound hardship—from the pandemic to a devastating mass shooting——ALAS has led healing and recovery efforts, earning the love and trust of the community. Link to our website: https://www.alasdreams.com/

The Azteca's Youth Soccer Academy reclaims the lives of at-risk youth that struggle with gangs, violence, poverty, and drugs in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Founder Gina Castañeda, who is a community organizer, probation officer, and soccer player, was convinced that a combination of consistent soccer training and mentoring would provide a bridge to success for at-risk youth on probation for gang/violent offenses. Building character, one goal at a time.

http://www.aztecasyouthsocceracademy.org

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula (BGCP) believes that all young people have the innate skills and talents to live fulfilling lives with a good education and fair paying jobs. For 62 years, BGCP has been a critical resource and trusted organization for youth in the under-resourced communities of East Palo Alto, East Menlo Park and North Fair Oaks in Redwood City. At BGCP, students first form positive relationships with caring adults, role models who help students believe in themselves and set goals for their future. They then deliver year-round academic enrichment, social-emotional learning and other programs that provide 2,400 K-16 students each year with the resources and opportunities needed to empower youth to overcome systemic inequities and reach their full potential. 

Breaking the Cycle is San Francisco's systemwide initiative to reduce homelessness and improve health outcomes for individuals with the highest and most complex needs by strengthening coordination across housing, behavioral health, and crisis response systems. The Breaking the Cycle Fund represents a $50 million commitment from private and philanthropic funders to support this work. The strategy prioritizes prevention, rapid connection from streets to appropriate treatment and interim housing, and timely progression through care toward stable exits. By aligning investments with demonstrated need, reducing reliance on emergency and crisis services, and promoting fiscal sustainability, Breaking the Cycle seeks to improve individual stability and accelerate progress toward public health and safety outcomes.

The Center for Farmworker Families promotes awareness about the difficult life circumstances of binational, farmworker families, while working to improve their lives in the United States and Mexico. The center offers programs to help families with educational advancement, financial independence, and nutritional well-being. The center also advocates for changes in federal and state legal structures that govern farm work.

CAB - Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County CAB's mission is to partner with the community to eliminate poverty and create social change through advocacy and essential services.

Community Bridges envisions a thriving community where every person has the opportunity to unleash their full potential. CB, the largest social services in Santa Cruz County, has been a catalyst for a brighter future by providing vital resources of local children, families, and seniors. Established in 1977, the non-profit has impacted the lives of more than 17,000 people. They deliver 10 different programs that focus on equitable access to resources, and advocate for health and dignity across every stage of life.

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County is a center for giving where people contribute to their passion for today's issues, support their community's future, and benefit causes beyond Santa Cruz County. Since 1982, the foundation and its donors have distributed more than $120 million in grants to nonprofits to meet local needs. At its core, the foundation aims to bring together people, ideas, and resources to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things — working to help all Santa Cruz County thrive, now and in the future.

Community Forward SF serves the homeless population of San Francisco by offering crucial programs that ensure effective services designed for each individual. These offerings include shelters, community-focused supportive housing, mental health services, case management, substance abuse treatment and domestic violence support.

The Department of Possibility is a refugee-led initiative in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda, dedicated to restoring hope, dignity, and the possibility of living well. Through community-led savings groups, skills studios, and peer support, DOP helps individuals build confidence, create income, and strengthen their sense of agency. Designed and led by refugees themselves, this work ignites resilience and expands what's possible for families across Nakivale.

Founded in 2014, Digital NEST unlocks the full potential of underrepresented youth: 14-24 years of age, in forgotten agricultural communities across California. The NEST, supporting more than 25,000 students, provides these young community members with an invaluable insight into the tech sector. The nonprofit connects these members to a skill-building community that molds and transforms them into professionals; leading successful careers, developing innovative solutions, and building prosperous communities. The NEST is working to level the playing field and bridging the digital divide by empowering youth, creating equal opportunity, and changing the face of the 21st Century workforce.

DignityMoves is trailblazing the widespread adoption of Interim Supportive Housing (ISH) to tackle California's unsheltered homelessness crisis. As a builder of ISH communities, DignityMoves employs an innovative model that utilizes temporarily vacant land, relocatable housing units, and emergency building codes to construct ISH quickly, cost-effectively, and at scale. By harnessing the power of public-private partnerships and tapping into private capital, land, and innovative funding strategies, DignityMoves accelerates municipalities' ability to implement housing solutions.

DignityMoves currently has 10 communities in operation across California, comprising more than 600 units and 700 beds, with an additional 1,000 units under development.

Dogwood Animal Rescue is a volunteer-led, non-profit animal rescue located in Sonoma County, California. Dogwood is foster-based, meaning animals are not held in a shelter but are cared for in the homes of volunteers until adopted. Dogwood is also laser focused on offering affordable spay/neuter to pet owners to help reduce our overpopulation crisis.

Dogwood's Mission: To support animals and the people who love them through rescue, rehoming, spay/neuter and education.

https://dogwoodanimalrescue.org/

Enneagram Prison Project (EPP) is on a mission to help people understand why we do what we do, using the Enneagram to inspire transformation - on both sides of the bars - through self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-compassion. At EPP, we do the work together. Based in the Bay Area and working around the globe, EPP delivers a compassionate, trauma-informed 8-module curriculum to residents of prisons and jails, including San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. As of 2026, EPP is delivering our compassionate programming in eight states and three countries. EPP Founder Susan Olesek delivered a powerful TEDx at Washington Square, and the project was featured in an Oprah Daily article. Learn more at www.enneagramprisonproject.org. 

Founded in 2007, FoodWhat?! is a youth empowerment and food justice organization. At FoodWhat?!, youth engage in relationships with land, food, and each other in ways that are grounded in love and rooted in justice. The nonprofit provides meaningful space where youth define and cultivate their empowerment, liberation, and well-being. Youth from Watsonville to Santa Cruz join the FoodWhat?! Crew through their Spring Internship, Summer Job Training and Fall Project Management programs. As a FoodWhat?! Crew, they grow, cook, eat, and distribute fresh, healthy food while also addressing local food justice issues. FoodWhat?! youth use organic farming, nourishing food, and loving community as vehicles to grow on their own terms and in lasting ways.

Founded in 2000, Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) is an award-winning nonprofit serving Bay Area youth impacted by the justice system. FLY serves more than 2,000 youth throughout the Bay Area each year and offers programs in five Bay Area Counties for young people 11-25.

 

Our programs connect young people with positive mentors and role models, promote their understanding of the law and their rights, and support them to become leaders among their peers and in their communities. We also participate in local and state level advocacy work to change policies and practices that sustain the pipeline to prison. Together with our young people, we also help our justice systems become more just, humane, and equitable. As a result, FLY increases safety and decreases the costs and consequences of crime. 

 

The Goodness Tour Foundation: Empowering Humans Facing Adversity Worldwide Through the Life-Saving Tools of Creativity and the Arts
The Goodness Tour Foundation is a nonprofit organization devoted to bringing the transformative power of music, art, and creative expression to communities facing adversity across the globe. From regions devastated by natural disasters to hospitals, homeless shelters, conflict zones, and treatment centers, The Goodness Tour stands alongside humans in their most vulnerable moments, offering healing, hope, and resilience through creativity and deep community connection.

At the heart of our crisis intervention programs are intermodal expressive arts therapy (EXA) techniques, scientifically grounded methods designed to counter the effects of severe trauma and acute stress syndrome. These sensorimotor activating creative processes support recovery by reducing stress hormones, increasing parasympathetic nervous system activity, and stimulating neuroplasticity to help rewire brain pathways impacted by trauma. Through music, movement, visual arts, storytelling, and film, individuals are gently guided out of survival states of fight, flight, and freeze into spaces of safety, empowerment, and renewed possibility.
Beyond immediate relief, The Goodness Tour workshops focus on community capacity building, inspiring the restoration of coherence while lifting overall quality of life through expression, authorship, and meaning. Our programs are designed to endure long after emergency response has ended, equipping local artists, youth, and community leaders with tools to continue healing and creative growth independently.

While it is imperative that physiological needs are met in times of crisis, it is equally essential to ensure that communities are not only fed, but truly seen, heard, and empowered to continue authoring their own stories. By nurturing both body and soul, The Goodness Tour helps transform moments of devastation into pathways toward resilience, dignity, and collective strength.
Together, through compassion, creativity, and science, we can move mountains.

Since 1989, Homeless Prenatal Project (HPP) has been dedicated to address an unmet public health need: prenatal care for unhoused pregnant women. Quality care for mothers and their babies would afford these families solid foundations critical to a strong, stable future. In response, HPP created a comprehensive Family Resource Center which provides a full range of services for low-income and homeless, pregnant women and families. 

Founded in 1986, Housing Matters partners with individuals and families in Santa Cruz County to create pathways out of their homelessness and into stable, healthy, and permanent housing. As the largest nonprofit in Santa Cruz County serving people experiencing homelessness, Housing Matters offers wraparound programs and services, including permanent supportive housing, emergency shelter, case management, housing navigation, and other supportive services. By meeting people where they are and advocating for the equal and just treatment of all individuals, Housing Matters advances its vision of making homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.

Latinas Contra Cancer was founded in 2003 to address inequities within the healthcare system for the Latinx community battling cancer. From language barriers to income loss, our community members are too often overlooked by the healthcare system. At Latinas Contra Cancer, we stand with those most impacted by inequity, ensuring they are seen, heard, and supported through every step of their cancer journey. We build the power of Latinos and their families to navigate, challenge, and transform the healthcare system. Through education, advocacy, and culturally rooted care, we are shaping a future where health is a human right, not a ​privilege. 

Metropolitan Education District (MetroED) is a regional provider of Career Technical Education (CTE) and Adult Education. We are the largest career-oriented education organization in Santa Clara County for high school & adult students.

Annually, MetroED provides 2,600 diverse students with the skills to help them be productive, income-earning and tax-paying contributors to Silicon Valley.

Miracle Messages is an award-winning nonprofit on a mission to end relational poverty and reduce homelessness by reconnecting unhoused individuals with their loved ones, building community through phone buddy programs, and advocating for basic income direct cash transfers. We envision a world where no one goes through homelessness alone, and no one feels helpless on this issue. Over the past 10 years, we have helped reunite over 1000 individuals with their loved ones. Through our innovative programs—like Miracle Friends, a volunteer phone buddy system, we've seen people rebuild their social support systems and overall way of life. And with the help of Miracle Money, a direct cash transfer initiative—we empower individuals experiencing homelessness with the support, dignity, and connections they need to get back on their feet. With thousands of families reunited and countless lives changed, we believe that everyone is someone's somebody. Learn more or get involved at miraclemessages.org 

Mobile Health and Learning (Mobile HeaL) is UCSF Fresno's mobile medical clinic that brings free health care services to local communities where it is needed most while providing learning opportunities for future health care providers. Mobile HeaL provides no-cost medical care to all communities in California's San Joaquin Valley, including rural communities, agricultural workers, unsheltered and unhoused populations, LGBTQ+ communities, and survivors of domestic abuse. Services include health screenings, prescription refills, wound care, immunizations, contraceptive services, and other primary care. Since 2020, Mobile HeaL has served more than 200,000 patients. The clinics also provide critical clinical outreach experience for many prehealth students, giving them hands-on experience required for admission to medical and health professions programs. For more information visit fresno.ucsf.edu/mobileheal.

New School is a fully WASC accredited high school program. Founded in 1994, we are proud to be the only Community Day School in our area, serving students who are expelled, referred by the School Attendance Review Board, or are otherwise at-risk. This model allows us to offer an extended instructional day with a challenging curriculum and individual attention. Our programs are designed to build prosocial skills, self-esteem, and resilience in our students. With low student-to-teacher ratios, every student benefits from dedicated support from our counselors, clinicians, and other staff. We also collaborate with local law enforcement, probation, and human services agencies to provide comprehensive support for our unique student population. Our school motto; "Never Give UP!"

Since 1983, Pájaro Valley Shelter Services (PVSS)  has addressed the needs of families, primarily single mothers, affected by homelessness in the greater Watsonville area. PVSS offers a full spectrum of housing and support programs; helping families with a path to stable, self-sufficient futures through short and longer-term housing and supportive services. The PVSS model centers on supporting families by building a foundation that addresses three pillars: Emotional Stability, Financial Stability, and Housing Stability. Each pillar consists of programs which address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Family Strengthening; Coordinated Economic Development and the Hope and Home Tenant Education Program.

Peninsula Bridge believes that a college degree transforms lives and families. Working in communities across San Mateo and Santa Clara counties they empower over 960 highly motivated, first-gen, low-income students to achieve college and career success through individualized support and transformational educational opportunities. Scholars in their program receive 13 years of academic support and programming, personalized advising, socio-emotional development, tutoring, career exposure, and 1:1 mentorship. With high quality teaching staff, engaging curriculum and a long-term commitment, Peninsula Bridge prepares first-gen students to meet the challenges of academic success. Their holistic program model equips first-gen students to thrive, developing the whole child through academic support, socio-emotional learning, mental health wellness, and parent education. 100% of Peninsula Bridge scholars graduate from high school and matriculate to college and 97% graduate from college in 4-6 years.

The Public Safety Development Group, a nonprofit public benefit corporation, was established in August 2021. Our mission is to provide exceptional education / training, consulting and charitable services to law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services and their communities. We are proud to facilitate several training programs in the areas of leadership, hard skills and wellness, including an innovative, proactive approach to resilience for law enforcement through the Warrior Development Program.

Rancho Cielo is a comprehensive learning and social services center located in Salinas, CA.  Established in 2000, Rancho Cielo is a safe place for students who can thrive in other type of school settings. Each day, 125-150 students aged 16-24, work towards obtaining a WASC-accredited high school diploma and vocational certificates in agriculture, culinary, or construction. The nonprofit invests in youth facing challenges by providing them with education, training and counseling. Rancho Cielo's goal is for program participants to leave the campus as productive community members and successful contributors to the workforce.

ReWork the Bay is a community-led workforce innovation intermediary that transforms traditional grantmaking into strategic, high-impact partnerships. Instead of pass-through funding, we invest in incubating, testing, and scaling modern workforce development models that respond to today's economy and are grounded in the lived experience of workers. By deeply resourcing and convening frontline organizations and cross-sector coalitions, ReWork the Bay turns direct service into a driver of systems change—generating evidence, shifting practice, and influencing how workforce investments are designed and scaled. For funders, ReWork the Bay offers a high-leverage opportunity to share risk, accelerate learning, and advance an inclusive economy by investing in proven innovation with field-wide impact.

As the largest animal rescue organization in the county, the open-admission Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter serves over 7,500 animals and 22,000 people annually.  The Shelter partners with our nonprofit, the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter Foundation, to ensure crucial services continue for the community.  The Foundation's mission is to support the Shelter through fundraising and advocacy.  It helps to cover the costs for core services such as safe housing for strays and surrenders, intervention in animal abuse cases, and low-cost spay/neuter.  The Foundation is also proactive in tackling root causes of animal overpopulation and suffering by offering prevention programs, exceptional medical care, humane education and community outreach.

scanimalshelter.org

scanimalshelterfoundation.org

Santa Cruz Gives is a holiday giving program that raises funds during the last six weeks of each year for more than 60 nonprofits that benefit Santa Cruz County. The online platform at SantaCruzGives.org is the key to success. Donors can learn about local nonprofits on one site, donate via a convenient shopping cart, and track the progress of favorite groups on a leaderboard in real time. 

https://santacruzgives.org/

Silicon Valley Community Foundation advances innovative philanthropic solutions to challenging problems. SVCF partners with families, individuals and corporations to manage and facilitate their philanthropy. The foundation connects donors' interests to the most pressing needs, whether in Silicon Valley or around the globe. SVCF shapes critical public policy issues, partners with nonprofit groups and institutions advancing the best ideas and directs resources swiftly and strategically toward unforeseen needs.

Song for Charlie (SFC), is dedicated to education kids, parents, caregivers and communities about the risks of self-medication and drug experimentation in the deadly era of fentanyl. As the leading family-led national nonprofit, located in Pasadena CA, we are focused on the nexus of mental health and the new chemical drug landscape. We empower students to learn and share knowledge by providing research tools and promoting peer-to-peer learning programs to save young lives.

Students Rising Above (SRA) is a college access, college persistence, and career success organization that empowers students facing systemic barriers to define and find success through education, career, and in life.  SRA's programming consists of four main pillars: the flagship Rising Stars program, the Students Online Achieving Results (SOAR) program, the online SRA Hub, and the recently launched Alumni Association. SRA envisions a world in which every person can achieve economic and social equity. Taking a multifaceted approach in delivering these pillars, SRA bridges formal educational gaps, equips students with the resources and support that are critical for success, and empowers them to dynamically transform the trajectory of their lives.

 

Through its Canines Teaching Compassion (CTC) program, UnChained pairs dogs in need of training and adoption with students in need of self-esteem, compassion, and empathy. Students train dogs in basic skills, and good manners, helping place the dogs into adoptive homes while the youth develop values of patience, respect and responsibility for themselves and others, through the trust and relationship building with their program dogs. Licensed therapists in the classroom add an important dimension to the work by ensuring every aspect of the student's mental health needs are met.

Valley Health Foundation (VHF) is the nonprofit partner to Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, working to advance health equity and support the well-being of the whole community—not just those who receive care in the public health system. VHF brings people and resources together to strengthen essential services, spark innovative programs, and uplift the frontline teams who care for vulnerable and underserved neighbors across the county. Through this collective effort, VHF helps build a healthier, more resilient Santa Clara County for everyone. Website: https://valleyhealthfoundation.org/