Ventura County
Rapid Response Fund
Ventura County Community Foundation
RESPONSE TO COVID-19
Thank you to the Amgen Foundation for contributing $300,000 in matching funds to VCCF’s Rapid Response Fund! And thank you to our donors who helped us reach our $600,000 goal to meet the needs of our community! We are profoundly grateful to YOU and to the Amgen Foundation for your continued generosity in supporting the COVID-19 relief efforts.
About the Rapid Response Fund
Impact Stories
Since its founding in 1983, Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County (HFHVC) has helped 72 hardworking, low-income families become first-time homeowners. When COVID-19 hit our community last year, HFHVC conducted a COVID-19 needs assessment survey with all of HFHVC’s homeowners across the county and found that many had lost their jobs or hours and some were worried that they wouldn’t be able to make their monthly mortgage payments. To date, HFHVC has been able to provide direct mortgage assistance to nine of its homeowners, with support from the Rapid Response Fund. That’s nine families who were able to stay current on their mortgages, remain in the homes they worked so hard to build and purchase, and weather the financial challenges that happened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Safe Passage was in a position to respond immediately to vulnerable micro-communities who were more at risk to the pandemic because of their limited access to services. We had the staff, the volunteers, and the ability, but lacked financial support. Because of the Rapid Response Fund we were able to:
- Provide emergency food relief to families who were stricken with COVID-19 and/or suddenly left unemployed
- Deliver over 140,000 meals to children
- Disperse over 60,000 diapers to families
- Deliver over 100,000 pounds of groceries to keep families healthy
- Issue more than 300 emergency utility grants for persons of color who have children in their household and were unable to pay their utilities
- Ensure weekly COVID testing in micro-communities of color
The Rapid Relief Fund, in a true sense, is the engine for nonprofits to be able to respond more quickly in emergency situations.
– Tim Hagel
Safe Passage
“VCCF’s Rapid Response Fund helped Turning Point at a time of great unknowns to prepare our programs for the COVID health and safety protocols adopted by the County of Ventura to continue operating as an essential business.
The fact that VCCF continues to take care of our community organizations at what is a worrying and difficult time for us all, speaks volumes of their kindness and feeling for those that are struggling. I believe that that is the generosity of spirit is the bedrock of what is good about our community and will be what helps us all get through this crisis together.”
– Suki Sir
Turning Point Foundation
“Thanks to the VCCF’s Rapid Response Fund, Cabrillo EDC been able to continue to provide programs and services to our residents while keep everyone safe. The donations enable us to purchase what we needed to provide PPE our staff and residents, and also distribute PPE to farmworkers in Ventura County. Many of our residents are essential workers: the farmworkers, grocery clerks, and caregivers working hard to keep all of us safe.”
– Denise V. Bickerstaff
Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation
News & Updates
- Creating Lasting Impact in Our Shared World: An Impact Report Speaker Series
Grants Awarded to Date
The Ventura County Community Foundation has granted more than $1,476,175 since the start of the response to COVID-19, including:
- Boys & Girls Club of Greater Conejo Valley — $25,000
- Boys & Girls Club of Greater Oxnard & Port Hueneme — $10,000
- Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark & Simi Valley — $10,000
- CAREGIVERS — $18,750
- Casa Pacifica — $30,000
- Catholic Charities — $25,000
- Economic Development Collaborative — $50,000
- FOOD Share — $100,000
- Future Leaders of America — $27,002
- Give An Hour — $25,000
- Habitat for Humanity — $3,800
- Harbor House — $5,000
- LightGabler — $300
- Lockwood Animal Rescue Center — $5,000
- Lutheran Social Services of Southern California — $10,000
- Mercy House Living Centers — $25,000
- Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project — $40,000
- Nyland Promise — $5,000
- Safe Passage Youth — $11,775
- Secure Beginnings — $10,000
- Senior Concerns — $25,000
- The Kingdom Center (Gabriel’s House) — $2,500
- Turning Point Foundation — $15,000
- Ventura County Family Justice Center Foundation — $25,000
- Villa Esperanza — $10,000
- Westminster Free Clinic — $75,00
- Women of Substance Men of Honor — $5,000
- Women’s Economic Ventures — $75,000
- Adelante Comunidad Conejo — $5,000
- Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation — $5,000
- California Lutheran University —$5,300
- Channel Islands YMCA: Ventura Family Branch — $10,000
- Conejo Valley Senior Concerns — $28,000
- Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County — $95,000
- FOOD Share — $210,000
- Future Leaders of America —$265,000
- Give An Hour — $25,000
- Gold Coast Veterans Foundation — $21,000.
- Help of Ojai — $15,000
- Humane Society of the United States — $5,000
- Interface Children and Family Services — $20,000
- Manna Conejo Valley Food Distribution Center — $11,000
- Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) — $40,000
- Nyland Promise — $5,000
- Project Understanding — $28,000
- Rescue Mission Alliance — $5,000
- Safe Passage Youth Foundation — $10,050
- Santa Barbara Foundation — $37,500
- Spirit of Santa Paula — $28,000
- Women’s Economic Venutres — $125,000
- Southeast Ventura County YMCA — $145,000
- Personal Protective Equipment for Hospitals — $734,954
In August 2020:
$7,000 to the Center for Nonprofit Leadership to cover training of our region’s nonprofit sector by bringing in an expert consultant to train local organizations on how to fundraise during and after a period of a disaster.
- $326,000 to Interface Children Family Services with $50,000 to cover the cost of translating 2-1-1 Ventura County data and terms into Spanish ensuring that all community members have equal access to resources that support their health and well-being and to help keep them safe in times of crisis, $10,000 to cover staff time to manage outreach and case management for direct financial assistance to Thomas Fire survivors, $201,000 for financial assistance to families to bridge the gap in rent payments, finding rentals in appropriate price range, rebuilding, and home repairs, moving costs, replacement of furniture, $60,000 for funding for facilitation of Long-Term Disaster Recovery Group, and $5,000 for administrative expenses to distribute funding to households impacted by the Thomas Fire.
- $50,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County to be used for repairing homes in the Ventura community that were made uninhabitable by the Thomas Fire.
- $25,000 to Boys & Girls Club of Ventura to be used for a teen leadership program that will focus on disaster relief efforts and leadership opportunities, using the tragedy of the fires to build on their training of teens to volunteer and be involved in the community.
- $2,279.77 to Downtown Ventura Organization for Thomas Fire relief.
$500,000 to Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project for the 805 UndocuFund. - $18,500 to California-Pacific Annual Conference, UMC, Justice & Compass with $8,500 to support the Camp Noah Program and its presentation to 50 children who were impacted by the Thomas Fire and $10,000 to support half the cost of the purchase of a used trailer and truck for victim of the Thomas Fire. The other half of purchase will be supported by the Salvation Army.
- $10,000 to Ventura County Civic Alliance with $5,000 to support the State of the Region Report for Ventura County and $5,000 to support two “Making It Forum” series events to assess current and long-term needs of the artist community related to the Thomas Fire; activities include information sharing and data gathering as well as engagement of the arts community with long-term recovery efforts.
- $37,640 to Jewish Federation of Ventura County for Jewish Family Services to provide mental health counseling and disaster case management for fifteen (15) Thomas Fire survivors for one year.
- $183,700 to Give An Hour, California for the Ventura County Stronger Together program.
- $40,000 to Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County with $5,000 for project management and oversight for convening the CEDS Committee, support in outreach and convening stakeholders, relationship management with EDA and funders, and for getting the project filed and accepted by EDA, and $35,000 as reimbursement for commissioned work by VCCCD, for scope of work in developing the content of the report, plus the development of a 16 page “Executive Summary.”
- $80,000 to Ventura County Arts Council to assist artists impacted by the Thomas Fire.
- $49,000 to Totally Local VC Agricultural Education Foundation for financial assistance to families to bridge the gap in rent payments, finding rentals in appropriate price range, rebuilding and home repairs, moving costs, replacement of furniture.
- $270,000 to the American Red Cross of Ventura County (Red Cross) with $150,000 for an Emergency Response Vehicle, $115,000 for Ventura County Recovery Coordination, and $5,000 for administrative expenses to distribute funding to households impacted by the Thomas Fire.
- $25,000 to 911 At Ease International in support of funding operations and direct services to first responders.
- $20,000 to support the 805 UndocuFund
- $140,917.46 in direct assistance to those impacted by the Thomas Fire.
In November 2020:
- Conejo Free Clinic — $2,000
- Conejo Valley Senior Concerns — $10,000
- FoodShare — $10,000
- Safe Passage Youth — $10,000
In January 2021:
Habitat for Humanity — $1,800 — To cover mortgage payments for Habitat homeowners.
In April 2021:
- 911 At Ease International — $25,000 — To support funding operations and direct services to first responders in Ventura County who are serving the frontlines of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
- Give An Hour — $9,900 — in support of extending the Spanish-speaking support line for Give an Hour in California in response to the COVID-19 pandemic