Tipping Point Community Releases Additional $3 Million to North Bay Groups for Fire Relief
New Investment Brings Tipping Point Emergency Relief Fund Grant Awards to More Than $5 Million to Date
SAN FRANCISCO (November 27, 2017) — Tipping Point Community has released more than $5 million to community-based partners supporting low-income communities hit hardest by the fires in the North Bay. The Tipping Point Emergency Relief Fund, launched four days after the fires broke out, has raised over $23 million including $17 million from the Band Together Bay Area benefit concert. To date, $5.09 million, or 22%, has been allocated to ten community-based partners in the North Bay.
Today’s announcement includes a $2.5 million grant to Santa Rosa Community Health to help support patient care while the organization rebuilds its largest facility, the Vista Campus, which was destroyed in the fires. 24,000 of the 50,000 patients served by Santa Rosa Community Health received care at the Vista Campus. Santa Rosa Community Health provides primary care to a quarter of all Santa Rosa residents. Nearly 90% of their patients live below the federal poverty level, earning less than $24,300 for a family of four. Tipping Point’s grant will provide the funding to support temporary medical facilities and infrastructure.
“We know that the lack of access to healthcare contributes to the cycle of poverty,” said Tipping Point CEO and Founder, Daniel Lurie. “Tipping Point’s Emergency Relief Fund was created to help fill critical gaps so the community can focus on rebuilding for the future.”
“Our mission is to provide excellent healthcare for the people who need us the most — no matter what,” said Santa Rosa Community Health Executive Director, Naomi Fuchs. “Tipping Point has generously and thoughtfully responded in support of people who have great need as we recover from this crisis. We are grateful that this grant enables us to continue serving some of our community’s most vulnerable families.”
An additional $200,000 will go to North Coast Opportunities and an additional $300,000 will go to the Community Foundation of Mendocino County. This is the second grant from Tipping Point’s Emergency Relief Fund to the Community Foundation of Mendocino County. North Coast Opportunities, a new Tipping Point grantee, provides a safety net of emergency assistance, employment, and training services for low-income individuals and families in Lake and Mendocino counties.
To date, Tipping Point has awarded Emergency Relief funding as follows:
Santa Rosa Community Health — $2,500,000
Redwood Credit Union Community Fund Inc. — $750,000
Community Foundation of Mendocino County — $400,000
Napa Valley Community Foundation — $250,000
Community Foundation of Sonoma County — $250,000
Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa — $250,000
Jewish Family & Children’s Services — $250,000
North Coast Opportunities — $200,000
On The Move — $150,000
Gateway to College at Santa Rosa Junior College — $9,000
ABOUT THE NORTH BAY FIRESTORM
The firestorm was the most destructive and deadliest disaster in California history, burning an estimated 200,000 acres and 6,500 homes in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake Counties and displacing thousands of residents. Damage estimates are in the billions of dollars and rising, and the cleanup and recovery efforts will be the largest and costliest in California history. Low-income and vulnerable communities will have the steepest climb back to recovery; poverty rates in Lake County are at nearly 25%, more than 20% in Mendocino, 11% in Sonoma County, and 10% in Napa County.
ABOUT TIPPING POINT EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND
Established in response to the 2017 fires in Northern California, the Tipping Point Emergency Relief Fund supports low-income, vulnerable communities impacted by this crisis, including vineyard workers, immigrants, displaced young people, and students. For the last 12 years, Tipping Point has worked to find and fund the most effective poverty-fighting organizations in our region. Tipping Point will call upon this expertise to identify and invest in partners that can deploy capital rapidly and effectively. Tipping Point intends to distribute all Emergency Relief funds by December 2018.
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ABOUT TIPPING POINT COMMUNITY
Tipping Point Community fights poverty in the Bay Area. They screen non-profits rigorously to identify and invest in the most effective education, employment, housing, and early childhood development organizations. In addition, Tipping Point looks for opportunities to partner with the public sector to leverage its impact for the common good. Since 2005, Tipping Point has raised more than $150 million and helped put 23,000 people on the path out of poverty in the last year alone. Its board covers 100% of operating costs, so every dollar donated goes where it’s needed most.
To learn more, visit www.tippingpoint.org/relief. For information about Tipping Point’s grant process, please contact info@tippingpoint.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Marisa Giller, 314.630.4123 mgiller@tippingpoint.org
