Chico, California (October 15, 2007) -  The completion of the first annual Annie B’s Community Drive was celebrated on Saturday, October 13, on the grounds of Bidwell Mansion. The highlight of the event was the announcement that 127 participating nonprofits raised $787,000, during a two-month community drive. It was also announced at the event, that an additional 14 percent will be given as grants to each nonprofit by North Valley Community Foundation from funds raised from donors, Co-Challengers and sponsors. 

Approximately 200 people attended. Displays and booths representing many of the participating organizations were also present with information on their programs and services. The event also included performances by a quintet from the North State Symphony Orchestra and the 45 members of the Chico Children’s Choir.

In addition to announcing the total donations collected, each organization was presented with their totals. The top donation totals were announced as follows; Boys and Girls Club $51,360, North Valley Catholic Social Services $23,240, Notre Dame School $25,000, PATH (Poor and the Homeless Tehama County) $26,225, Sunshine Kids Club $13,860, Tehama Local Development Corporation $26,000, Jesus Center $27,050, Blue Oak Charter School $17,894, Catalyst $15,880, Torres Shelter $14,702, Children’s Center for Hope $30,595, and Colusa Regional Medical Center $13,400.

Awards were also given to North Valley Catholic Social Services for Excellence in Fundraising, Community Collaborative for Youth for the Spirit of Annie B’s, and to both the Torres Shelter and Blue Oak Charter School for Outreach, each having obtained donations from more than a hundred individuals.

“We are overwhelmed by the response from our community members and nonprofits. This year was wildly successful and this is only the beginning!” states Alexa Valavanis, CEO of the Community Foundation

Starting August 15, over 100 local nonprofits sought donations from the community through the Annie B’s Community Drive. North Valley Community Foundation offered $100,000 in matching grants as an incentive to donors and to participating organizations. Each organization receives a percentage of this total, depending upon the amount of their donations.  All local nonprofits in Butte, Glenn, Tehama and Colusa Counties were eligible to participate.

 “During this two-month campaign, we received over $787,000 in donations, from over 2000 individual donors. Gifts ranged from $100,000 to $5. Participating organizations are working in all segments of the charitable sector, and donors demonstrated they were ready to make generous contributions. It took a great deal of publicity, outreach and public education to introduce this entirely new concept to our community. We expect future years will attract much greater contributions. We have made a commitment to increase our grant pool to $250,000 next year in order to have a percentage match closer to 20%.”

The $100,000 in grants is made possible through generous gifts to North Valley Community Foundation. The project originated with a gift of $250,000 (to be used over five years) from a local anonymous donor. This has been supplemented with large gifts from Co-Challengers, including New Urban Builders, the Safor Corporation, Prudential California Realty, Norcal Waste Systems, Phyllis and Rollie Berger, Stuart Murray of Merrill Lynch and several anonymous donors.  Additional donors include Tittle & Company, and Harvest Accounting and Management Systems, Soroptimist International Of Chico, Stoner and Jeffords Accountancy,  Holbrook’s Clearance Center, and Modern Building.

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 $4 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 1989, hundreds of individuals, families, businesses, and community groups have established funds at the Foundation. 

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.  For questions regarding the Annie B’s Community Drive contact NVCF Program Officer Lee Laney at extension 23 or visit www.nvcf.org.