Chico, California (October 26, 2009) – The results of the Annie B’s Community Drive were announced on October 21. From their efforts between August 1st to September 30th, 194 participating organizations received a total of  $894,559. The donations came from 2672 individual donors, very close to the number of donors last year. During the 2007 Annie B’s Drive, $869,000 was raised. This brings the total for the three years to more than $3,000,000.

This year each organization has received 7% in additional grant funds from the 2009 Annie B’s Grant Pool through North Valley Community Foundation. A complete list of organizations and funds received is available at www.nvcf.org.

“Considering the state of the economy, we were cautiously optimistic,” states Alexa Valavanis, CEO of North Valley Community Foundation. “However, the community came through! This confirms our belief that this community is capable and willing to support local nonprofits, in spite of the economic downturn. This is solid evidence that our community deeply values the services of our nonprofits, and understands it role in sustaining them.”

Starting August 1 and ending September 30, the 194 participating organizations in Butte, Glenn, Tehama and Colusa counties were actively seeking donations from their supporters.  All local nonprofits were eligible to get involved. Donors were encouraged to give with the incentive of grant funds as a percentage match for donations made through the Annie B’s Community Drive. One hundred percent of all Annie B’s donations go directly to participating non-profits.

The Annie B’s grant funds are made possible through a donation of $250,000 (over five years) from anonymous donors.  The Community Foundation was able to add an additional $20,000 this year to the grant pool, through the support of local businesses.  This year’s Co-Challengers and Supporters included, Holbrook’s Furniture Clearance, P,G&E, Matson and Isom Accounting, Smucker’s Quality Beverages, Strategic Investment Group (Stewart Murrray), Rolling Hills Casino, Tittle & Co Accounting, Safor Corporation, Soroptimists International of Chico, the Noon Exchange Club of Chico, Lundberg Family Farms, Wells Fargo Bank, Nantucket Home Store, Dick Molin, Attorney, Denny Forland, Attorney, and Aaron Stewart, Attorney.

“Our Co-Challengers and Sponsors make the Annie B’s Drive possible,” according to Valavanis. “These individuals and firms made contributions, all of which are distributed to the 194 participating organizations in four counties, through the grant pool. It is the incentive of the grant pool that mobilizes nonprofits to ask and their donors to give.”

This is the third year for the Annie B’s Community Drive, with North Valley Community Foundation challenging our region with $500,000 in percentage grants (over five years) for local nonprofits. The Annie B’s Community Drive is designed to encourage giving to local nonprofits, thus helping these organizations move towards self-sufficiency.
In addition to increasing support for local nonprofit organizations, the goal of Annie B’s Community Drive is to help organizations fulfill their missions in sustainable ways and to increase support from donations. Many participating organizations will use this opportunity to create and/or increase their endowment funds at NVCF.  
NVCF is a nonprofit, philanthropic organization that builds financial resources to meet community needs through grants and programs primarily for residents in the Butte, Colusa, Glenn and Tehama counties.  With net assets of over $5 million, NVCF provides financial and administrative services to donors, professional advisors and nonprofit organizations with the goal
of enriching the quality of life for community members. Since 1986, over 200 individuals, families, businesses, and community groups have established funds at the Foundation.  

North Valley Community Foundation is one of approximately 700 community foundations throughout the United States that provides similar services. Each is dedicated to increasing philanthropy and improving and enriching the lives of community members in a specific geographic area.

The NVCF office is open Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm and by appointments on the weekends. NVCF is located at 3120 Cohasset Rd., Suite 8 in Chico, California, (530) 891-1150. Visit the NVCF website, www.nvcf.org, to learn more about programs and services.