From December 1, 2020, through March 1, 2021, graduating Kern County high school seniors who have a 2.0 GPA or higher and are planning to attend a two-year college, four-year university or accredited technical school, are welcome to apply for a scholarship from Kern Community Foundation. For the 2021-22 academic year, our scholarships range from $500 to $3,000.
Please visit the Scholarships page of our website for more information and to apply.
Feel free to download our flyer and help us spread the word. Click on the image below to download.
We are proud to introduce the 2021 Community Giving Guide from Kern Community Foundation, generously sponsored by The Aera Energy Fund and Bank of America.
The Guide was designed and printed in partnership with The Bakersfield Californian. It features 321 local nonprofit organizations that are registered with Kern Community Foundation–a 30% increase in listed nonprofits since the 246 featured in the last (2019) edition of the Guide. We make it easy for donors and volunteers to find their passion! Click here to download a copy.
Once you register, make sure you mark your calendar and log in on time on December 4 to attend the “virtual test drive” event.
After taking the vehicle tour, fill out a post-vehicle-tour survey, and $25 will be donated to Kern Community Foundation by Lincoln Motor Company for every survey completed by a virtual attendee! The more money raised, the more the Foundation will have to give away as competitive prizes to hard-working Kern County nonprofits in next year’s Give Big Kern!
It takes just “30 Minutes of your time to Give Big!” in support of Kern County nonprofits. Please join us. Register today!
Help us spread the word by sharing this information and the flyer below with your family, friends and networks.
The Women’s and Girls’ Fund, a Leadership Initiative of Kern Community Foundation, announces its Grant Cycle for 2020-2021, which begins today, Tuesday, Nov. 10. Approximately $60,000 will be awarded in Spring 2021 to nonprofits delivering education and training programs/services to women or girls in Kern County. The Maximum Award is $25,000.
The application process begins with the submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply for funding by 5 p.m. Nov. 24.
We encourage applicants to do the following:
First, learn about The Women’s and Girls’ Fund by visiting the WGF page on Kern Community Foundation’s website, kernfoundation.org/WGF.
Review The Women’s and Girls’ Fund’s Grantmaking Policy, which outlines qualifying criteria and our focus for 2021-2025 Grants: Education.
Grantees who received WGF grants in Spring of 2020 may not apply for WGF 2021 funding. Any previous awardees of WGF or other grants from the Foundation that have outstanding follow-up reports must complete those reports before they can apply for WGF funding. Agencies must also comply with Kern Community Foundation’s grantmaking guidelines, which include:
Being registered with Kern Community Foundation through the same Online Grants Platform that can be accessed via the hyperlink above; and
Having a Silver or higher transparency rating on GuideStar.org, the world’s largest database on nonprofits.
About The Women’s and Girls’ Fund
The Women’s and Girls’ Fund was launched in 2005 as a leadership initiative of Kern Community Foundation. It is primarily a volunteer effort guided by the leadership of the Vision Committee and Community Advisors. The assets of the Fund are professionally managed and invested by Kern Community Foundation, which also provides oversight of Fund grant decisions. Through grantmaking, members of The Women’s and Girls’ Fund become philanthropists and advocates of positive social change. Fund members rely on community research, data and the participation of community members to identify an area of focus each year. Issues of focus can range from women’s and girls’ health and economic concerns to safety and domestic violence, education, and more. Since its first grantmaking in 2008, The Women’s and Girls’ Fund has awarded 40 competitive grants, totaling $430,686, to nonprofits serving women and girls in Kern County.
About Kern Community Foundation
Kern Community Foundation is a vibrant nonprofit enterprise with a powerfully simple mission: “Growing Community. Growing Philanthropy.” For more than two decades, the Foundation has been in business to serve as a charitable resource for local donors and corporations, and to generate capital that provides philanthropic solutions to help make Kern County a better place to live, to work and to visit. Since its establishment in 1999, the Foundation has grown to hold more than 170 charitable funds, with assets nearing $29 million, and has awarded close to $25 million in grants and scholarships, ranking in the top two-thirds of the 100 most active grantmakers, nationwide, since 2013.
In this Fourth Installment of our Nonprofit Strengthening Virtual Training Series, we feature a VIRTUAL LIVE WORKSHOP by Candid: “Your Board and Fundraising”!
Workshop Description: While engaging board members in fundraising is something that often proves challenging to many Executive Directors and Development Professionals, this hands-on workshop will help attendees learn:
The role of your board, including fundraising responsibilities;
Why some board members may be reluctant to fundraise and how to overcome these concerns;
Ways your board can participate in fundraising activities, including online fundraising;
Tips for strengthening your FUNDRAISING BOARD!
Materials will include such sample handouts as:
Board job description;
Board contract;
Board audit.
At the end of the training, attendees will have a better understanding of:
How build fundraising as an expectation/role/responsibility for existing and incoming board members;
How to help your board to fundraise;
How to better recruit and orient board members to your organization;
How to ensure 100% board participation in Kern County’s Online Day of Giving, Give Big Kern, which will take place Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
This training is ideal for Executive Directors, Development Directors, Board Members and Potential Board Members.
Meet the Trainers
Elizabeth Madjlesi, Program Manager – Northeast Candid
In addition to delivering training courses on nonprofit management and fundraising best practices, Elizabeth organizes special programs and networking events on topics related to philanthropy and the social sector. She has more than a decade of experience in education/ training, fundraising and program management in the nonprofit sector. She received her MA in Teaching from Belmont University and holds a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Management from Georgetown University.
Tracy Kaufman, Program Manager – Candid
Tracy is responsible for building Candid’s public and education programming, including stakeholder and networking events for New York City’s social sector at both professional and community-based levels, producing and moderating more than 40 public educational events each year. She is a Lead Instructor for Candid’s three-day Proposal Writing Boot Camp and teaches a popular workshop on Outcomes and Measurement. She also handles marketing and communications for Candid’s New York region. Tracy has been with Candid for 13 years. She has a BA from John Hopkins University. A frequent public speaker, Tracy has presented at numerous conferences and even the United Nations!
Date & Time: 9 a.m. to Noon Wednesday, Dec. 2
ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED!
To reserve your spot, RSVP to info@kernfoundation.org by Noon Wednesday, Nov. 25 (the day before Thanksgiving), at the latest. Your RSVP MUST include:
Your Name
Nonprofit Agency Affiliation
Your Title
Your E-mail
BE SURE TO READ SOME IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS BELOW:
How to Attend
Maximum Capacity:
60 – First Come, First Served. Maximum of 2 representatives per agency may sign up to attend AND FOR THIS WORKSHOP, WE RECOMMEND INCLUDING ONE STAFF AND ONE BOARD MEMBER WHENEVER POSSIBLE.A Zoom link will only be shared with those who RSVP per the instructions above.
Eligible Attendees:
Must be affiliated (staff, board member, volunteer) with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that a) serves Kern County, b) is registered with Kern Community Foundation, and c) has attained a minimum Silver Transparency Rating on GuideStar.org.
Expected Commitment:
Kern Community Foundation is providing this customized workshop at no cost to participants. However, once registered, failure to attend without prior written cancellation by Noon Monday, November 30 (as we understand emergencies do come up), will disqualify registrant from attending other subsidized workshops in this series.
Only the Best for Our Nonprofit Partners!
Here’s what some of your peers are saying about the previous Growing Resiliency workshop we offered in partnership with Candid, “Outcomes Thinking & Management”:
“I would like to say ‘Thank You’ for collaborating with Candid Learning in presenting an excellent webinar regarding SHIFTING THE FOCUS from activities TO IMPACT for grant writing and organizing our thoughts. It was amazing, enlightening and very informative. I’ve been writing grants now for five years and you can get in a rut or mode of writing the same thing over and over again, and after yesterday’s training, I’m so pumped–Knowing the ‘Why’ and presenting it in my proposals has me on a high! Last night all I could think of is the proposal I’m getting ready to write with excitement. So watch out, America, here I come!”
Lilly J. Parker, Executive Director, Bakersfield Senior Center
“Thank you to everyone who made this training available to the community! Thanks so much, Elizabeth and Tracy, for such an impactful training! I have learned about logic models many times and have experience creating them but this was honestly the best way that I have seen the subject presented. I really got a lot out of it and truly appreciated the opportunity to attend.”
Lauren Loza, Vice President of Community Engagement, PathPoint
“Thank you for reaching out and inviting us to the Zoom Training, which was very helpful. As a new Grant Writer, I found this to be a wonderful experience and am looking forward to gaining more knowledge and enhancing our relationship with Kern Community Foundation.”
Johanna Valencia, Administrative Assistant/Grant Writer, The Salvation Army Service Extension
In this Third Installment of our Nonprofit Strengthening Virtual Training Series, we feature a VIRTUAL LIVE WORKSHOP by Candid: “Outcomes Thinking & Management: Shifting Focus from Activities to Impact”
Workshop Description: Funders increasingly want to invest in a nonprofit’s impact, not activities–especially in times of crisis like our trying COVID-19 era. In this in-depth, three-hour workshop, learn how your nonprofit can develop frameworks for tracking the outcomes and impact of your work, and how to successfully articulate that to funders. Learn to create your own logic model as the outcome framework for program management, grant proposals and stakeholder communications. This workshop is ideal for fundraising and development staff, grant writers at all levels of professional development, program directors and program staff.
Meet the Trainers
Elizabeth Madjlesi, Program Manager – Northeast Candid
In addition to delivering training courses on nonprofit management and fundraising best practices, Elizabeth organizes special programs and networking events on topics related to philanthropy and the social sector. She has more than a decade of experience in education/ training, fundraising and program management in the nonprofit sector. She received her MA in Teaching from Belmont University and holds a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Management from Georgetown University.
Tracy Kaufman, Program Manager – Candid
Tracy is responsible for building Candid’s public and education programming, including stakeholder and networking events for New York City’s social sector at both professional and community-based levels, producing and moderating more than 40 public educational events each year. She is a Lead Instructor for Candid’s three-day Proposal Writing Boot Camp and teaches a popular workshop on Outcomes and Measurement. She also handles marketing and communications for Candid’s New York region. Tracy has been with Candid for 13 years. She has a BA from John Hopkins University. A frequent public speaker, Tracy has presented at numerous conferences and even the United Nations!
Date & Time: 9 a.m. to Noon Wednesday, Oct. 28
ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED!
To reserve your spot, RSVP to info@kernfoundation.org by end of business Friday, October 23, at the latest. Your RSVP MUST include:
Your Name
Nonprofit Agency Affiliation
Your Title
Your E-mail
BE SURE TO READ SOME IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS BELOW:
How to Attend
Maximum Capacity:
60 – First Come, First Served. Maximum of 2 representatives per agency.A Zoom link will only be shared with those who RSVP per the instructions above.
Eligible Attendees:
Must be affiliated (staff, board member, volunteer) with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that a) serves Kern County, b) is registered with Kern Community Foundation, and c) has attained a minimum Silver Transparency Rating on GuideStar.org.
Expected Commitment:
Kern Community Foundation is providing this customized workshop at no cost to participants. However, once registered, failure to attend without prior written cancellation by Noon Monday, October 26 (as we understand emergencies do come up), will disqualify registrant from attending other subsidized workshops in this series.
The County of Kern and the City of Bakersfield know that many local charitable organizations have incurred additional expenses in responding to greatly increased community needs, at the same time that they have experienced significantly reduced funding streams due to the COVID-19 crisis.
To help our hard-working nonprofits weather this unprecedented storm, the City and County have partnered to make grant funding available to support agencies that:
Have been financially impacted by COVID-19, and
Have not received funding from the Kern Recovers Forgivable Loan Program. (Agencies that have received other Federal or State support might still be eligible to apply.)
Funding for the Kern Recovers Nonprofit Grant Program comes from Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Relief Funds allocated by the Bakersfield City Council and Kern County Board of Supervisors.
Individual grant awards are $5,000, $10,000, or $20,000.
To help potential applicants navigate the application process, Kern Community Foundation will host an hour-long Informational Webinar on Monday, Oct. 5, at 12 Noon.
With participation from knowledgeable City and County Personnel, the webinar will address:
General information about the application process and qualifying criteria;
Detailed information about required documentation;
Testimonials from recent recipients of this funding;
Information about additional technical assistance opportunities Kern Community Foundation will offer at least through the end of this year as part of our Nonprofit Strengthening Initiative;
Q&A.
The application period for this grant program has been extended to Thursday, October 15, after which all applications will be reviewed for funding and grant awards will be made.
To RSVP for this webinar:
Please write to info@kernfoundation.org by NOON Friday, Oct. 2nd. A Zoom link will be shared only with those who RSVP. Please include your Name, Title, and the Agency you represent.
In response to the urgent needs expressed by Kern’s nonprofit community in a recent survey conducted by Kern Community Foundation, we are offering a Nonprofit Strengthening Webinar Training Series called “Growing Resiliency”to help sustain our nonprofit partners through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. The second installment of our series introduces a unique capital access program chaired by the California State Treasurer that encourages banks and other financial institutions to make loans to small businesses (including nonprofits) that might otherwise have difficulty obtaining financing. Since 1994, CalCAP has been furthering community and economic development in a number of ways: 1) CalCAP helps small businesses, including nonprofits, that create jobs and improve the economy. The program insures loans for land acquisition; construction or renovation of buildings; start-up costs; capital projects; collateral support; and working capital. 2) Run by the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA),CalCAP offers specialty financing programs targeted toward creating more charging stations for electric vehicles; helping at-risk small businesses with federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance; assisting small businesses and property owners with seismic retrofit financing; and enabling small fleet owners to purchase trucks that are California-emissions compliant. 3) It helps lenders by providing up to 100% coverage on certain loan defaults. Lenders that participate in CalCAP have available to them a proven mechanism to help meet the financing needs of California’s small businesses. Janae Davis, CPCFA Deputy Executive Director, will share information on CalCAP for both potential borrowers and lenders–as the program is seeking to expand assistance to small businesses as well as its network of lending institutions in Kern County during these challenging times.Nonprofit Partners: Click here to access the “CalCAP for Small Business” informational one-sheet.Local Lenders: Click here to access the simple, one-page “CalCAP Financial Institution Application.”
This hour-long webinar (taking place from 11 a.m. till Noon on Wednesday, Sept. 30) is FREE, but you must RSVP by close of business Friday, Sept. 25, by writing to Louis Medina, Director of Community Impact, at Louis@kernfoundation.org. Be sure to provide your name, title, and the name of your agency. A Zoom link will be sent to your e-mail address prior to the webinar.
For a combined 88 years, Foundation Center and GuideStar worked separately to provide the nonprofit sector with crucial information. In 2019, the two organizations combined to become a new organization, Candid, which still powers GuideStar.org. Candid has been very active in “pivoting” their services to assist nonprofits facing the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis. Click here or on the image to access a one-sheet that is literally FULL of FREE online resources for nonprofits, including a series of web-based trainings (No. 5 on the one-sheet) lasting through December 2020, and offered by Candid Learning. You need to create a Candid Learning account before you can register for these trainings, but it is free to do so. Have fun learning with Candid Learning!
REGISTER TODAY to help Give Big Kern Sponsor Jim Burke Ford Lincoln raise money to support Kern Community Foundation’s GIVE BIG KERN 2021 efforts!
The Women’s and Girls’ Fund, a Leadership Initiative of Kern Community Foundation, announces its Grant Cycle for 2020-2021, which begins today, Tuesday, Nov. 10. Approximately $60,000 will be awarded in Spring 2021 to nonprofits delivering education and training programs/services to women or girls in Kern County. The Maximum Award is $25,000. 
In this Third Installment of our Nonprofit Strengthening Virtual Training Series, we feature a VIRTUAL LIVE WORKSHOP by Candid: “Outcomes Thinking & Management: Shifting Focus from Activities to Impact”
The 
In response to the urgent needs expressed by Kern’s nonprofit community in a recent survey conducted by 
stations for electric vehicles; helping at-risk small businesses with federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance; assisting small businesses and property owners with seismic retrofit financing; and enabling small fleet owners to purchase trucks that are California-emissions compliant. 3) It helps lenders by providing up to 100% coverage on certain loan defaults. Lenders that participate in CalCAP have available to them a proven mechanism to help meet the financing needs of California’s small businesses. Janae Davis, CPCFA Deputy Executive Director, will share information on CalCAP for both potential borrowers and lenders–as the program is seeking to expand assistance to small businesses as well as its network of lending institutions in Kern County during these challenging times. 
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