Sacramento Region Community Foundation

📢 LAST CALL!

These two grant opportunities close soon!

➡️ DEADLINE EXTENDED: The Bike Safety and Awareness Grant will support programs that educate the community on bike safety and bike and vehicle coexistence. A Foundation donor created this opportunity to honor his late wife, Maggie, and her passion around bike safety and advocacy. New deadline: June 5!
➡️ The Neighborhood Fund was created from one local philanthropist's desire to support impactful organizations providing critical services in Sacramento's Del Paso Heights neighborhood.

Apply here: https://www.grantinterface.com/Opportunity/Catalog?urlkey=srcf

We were honored to join the Sacramento Business Journal last night to celebrate our Director of Operations, Doni Allen, as a 2026 40 Under 40 honoree!

In the short time Doni has been with the Foundation, she has led the charge in a completely new position, making changes to improve efficiency across the board. She has led office safety trainings and ushered in new systems, both in our use of technology and our processes. She has even stepped in to share our efforts on news channels. Outside of her work with the Foundation, Doni most recently served as the Board Chair for Next Move Homeless Services, supporting unhoused individuals and families with critical resources such as shelter, housing assistance, and employment support.

Congratulations to Doni and all of this year's honorees for this well-deserved honor! 🎉

Read more on the Sacramento Business Journal website: https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/40-under-40

Yesterday, members of our team attended the Community Food Hub's ribbon cutting event!

Formerly known as the Rancho Cordova Food Locker, the Community Food Hub is reimagining what food access can look like—moving beyond the traditional pantry model toward a dignified, grocery store-style experience where guests choose foods that reflect their household needs, cultural preferences, and dietary requirements.

Serving more than 1,500 households each week, the organization is now transitioning into a more expansive and community-centered model that integrates edible food recovery, wraparound service connections, and a welcoming physical space designed to reduce stigma and build belonging.

"For neighbors and community members, this will be a more reliable and dignified food access experience, and a replicable model that demonstrates what community-centered food infrastructure can look like at scale," our Director of Community Impact, Monica Haulman, shared.

Congratulations to the Community Food Hub for this amazing achievement!

For Dr. Maggie Mejia, giving back isn’t something she learned later in life. It’s something she grew up with.

"I remember our home was very close to the railroad tracks," she recalls. "We would hear a knock on the back door, and my grandmother would always prepare food to give to whoever showed up." That early example of generosity shaped a lifelong belief in helping others, a value she carried into her career as an educator and, eventually, as the first Latina superintendent of Sacramento City Unified School District.

In 2023, Dr. Mejia established the M. Magdalena Carrillo Mejia Charitable Fund to continue that legacy. Focused on education and the Latino community, her giving reflects both her professional journey and her personal story. "I have always tried giving to each community I am part of," she says, "and it’s so rewarding to know that what I’m donating is going to organizations that support our Sacramento community."

Through her Donor Advised Fund, Dr. Mejia approaches philanthropy with intention by supporting causes that uplift students, immigrant families, and future leaders. She is especially passionate about expanding access to education, from K-12 to scholarships for law students, ensuring the next generation has opportunities she knows can be life-changing.

Just as her grandmother influenced her, Dr. Mejia is now passing those values on to other family members. Whether encouraging her grandson to donate toys or working alongside her son, who is now a donor himself, she sees philanthropy as a family legacy in motion. Giving, she says, is deeply personal. "I feel extremely blessed to be able to help others, and when more abundance comes to me, then I can give to others." Through her fund, Dr. Mejia continues to invest in Sacramento’s future, one act of generosity at a time.

Our Neighborhood Fund was created from one local philanthropist's desire to support nonprofits providing critical services in Sacramento's Del Paso Heights neighborhood. Since it was established in 2021, the Neighborhood Fund has awarded over $200,000 to 25 organizations serving Del Paso Heights.

Applications for the Neighborhood Fund are due by May 29. Apply here: https://www.grantinterface.com/Opportunity/Catalog?urlkey=srcf

During , 300 organizations received donations from Donor Advised Funds held by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation or our partner, Yolo Community Foundation! We thank all of these generous donors for supporting local nonprofits during Big Day of Giving. 💙

The Philanthropy Summit offers inspiring opportunities to learn, network, and celebrate with others dedicated to fostering a thriving local philanthropic ecosystem.

We're looking for speakers for this year's Philanthropy Summit . If you have knowledge about philanthropy, nonprofit capacity, and community building, learn more and submit your proposal by June 8 on our website: www.sacregcf.org/summit

Our Report to the Community for Big Day of Giving 2026 is here! This snapshot highlights all of the work that went into making a success—from donor statistics, nonprofit highlights, Mentor information, sponsor contributions, and more.⁠
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Some interesting data points to shout out:⁠
🌟 51% of Big Day of Giving donations were $50 or less.
🌟 123 nonprofits participated in Big Day of Giving for the first time this year.
🌟 ⁠In the days following May 7, donors gave an additional $255,919 to nonprofits on the website. While these donations aren't added to leaderboard tallies, they illustrate the residual impact of nonprofits' Big Day of Giving outreach — and donors' enduring generosity!
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See the full report here: https://www.sacregcf.org/big-day-of-giving-2026-report-to-the-community/

A donor created the Maggie O'Mara Bicycle Safety Award in honor of his wife, Maggie. The two met at Caltrans, where Maggie worked diligently to incorporate bike safety as its bicycle safety coordinator. Through the Bike Safety and Awareness Grant, the donor celebrates her memory and her legacy by giving back to causes that promote bicycle and vehicle coexistence.

The Bike Safety and Awareness Grant is open now for applications. Apply by May 29 here: https://www.grantinterface.com/Opportunity/Catalog?urlkey=srcf

Thank you to the generous people in our region partner with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation to turn their good intentions into reality. We're honored to have welcomed these charitable funds so far this year:

Alliance Française de Sacramento Charitable Fund
Animal Outreach of the Mother Lode Paws of Hope Fund
Ann T. Watson Fund
Boutin Jones Charitable Fund
Carson Campbell Foundation
McLeod & Straine Family Fund
TBMT Family Fund