Grants and Awards

The Grants and Awards Committee has, thanks to another successful ArtFest, funded 14 nonprofits for a total of $15,000, and 5 scholarships for a total of $12,500.

We received a record number of grant applications this year: 42. That number is almost five times the applications we received last year, which underscores the large need which exists in our community. We are lucky to have such a wide variety of organizations which align with our goals of serving women, children, education, and the community:

• CASA Sacramento’s Making Memories Program, which provides funds to foster children for extracurricular activities to help them learn social skills, build confidence, and provide the relief of getting to be a young person among peers.
• Generation Great, a nonprofit tutoring organization for elementary school students at Title 1 Schools created and run by local high school students. Their mission is to help those students who need extra attention to time to work on basic academic skills. The program not only helps the younger students but enhances the skills of high school volunteers.  
• Single Mom Strong, a nonprofit with a mission to empower and create a community for single mothers and their children through enrichment, encouragement, and educational programs. Single Mom Strong focuses on addressing psychological needs through community, improving outcomes using practical tools, improving accessibility of preschool and childcare.  
• Sacramento Family Justice Center, which weaves together high quality, committed partners in a safe, collaborative center to provide integrated services to victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, dating violence, elder and child abuse.
• Sacramento Loaves & Fishes, whose mission is to sustain an environment of welcome, hospitality, safety, cleanliness, to all who seek survival services. They provide comprehensive services to adults and children living in extreme poverty or homelessness. 
• Food Literacy Center, whose mission to improve children’s knowledge, attitude, and behaviors toward healthy eating to create a lifetime of healthy habits and prevent diet related chronic health problems, by teaching students’ nutrition, gardening, and active play. 
• Wellspring Women’s Center, whose mission is to address needs of women and children experiencing challenges that stem from poverty. Core programs include: nutritious meals program, children’s corner, safety net services program, women’s wellness program, art of being program.
• Women’s Empowerment, which educates and empowers women experiencing homelessness with the skills and confidence necessary to secure a job, create a healthy lifestyle and regain a home for themselves and their children, including an 8-week employment readiness and empowerment program.  
• Folsom Cordova Community Partnership, which brings together resources and programming in a family resource center and job center to create a “one stop” experience for families. Focus on preventing child abuse through parent education, support, resources, free family activities as well as assisting youth and families in achieving self-sufficiency.  
• Sisters of Nia, Inc., whose mission is to empower socially and economically disadvantaged girls (grades 6-8) by providing cultural and educational programs designed to instill strong social skills, leadership development and academical excellence. 
• Fitrah, who targets children and young adults ages 16-25 that are aging out of foster care to act as a safety net, giving skills, improved self-esteem, and hope so that they can enter adulthood successfully.
• Child Abuse Prevention Council of Sacramento, whose mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect.
• Runnin’ for Rhett, whose mission is to help youth in the community learn to make healthy choices, including both nutrition and activity, runs Northern California’s largest FREE afterschool youth fitness program.
• El Hogar Community Services, Inc., who provides services that contribute to the mental health and emotional well-being of individuals and families in the community.

We received so many wonderful scholarship applications as well, from applicants attending McGeorge, UC Davis, Santa Clara, and Lincoln. These scholarship honor notable women of our profession including Frances Newell Carr, Margaret A. Flynn, Karen Pedersen Stevens, Virginia S. Mueller, and Grace Wiley. Applicants fall into categories such as:

• Advancing the position of women in law;
• Working to expand opportunities for historically disadvantaged persons;
• Those who have an interest in working in family law and/or starting their own family law practice;
• Have engaged in exemplary community service benefitting women and children, and/or
• Have overcome personal adversity.

These applicants are the future of our profession, women we hope join us in the practice of law and maybe even service on our board someday (names are withheld for privacy purposes).
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Looking forward, we will meet to discuss the Frances Newell Carr award. This prestigious award is given yearly to an outstanding lawyer, judge, or scholar in the Sacramento community in celebration of the awardee’s professional achievements, commitment to furthering legal opportunities for women in the law, and contribution to the lives of women and children in our community.