Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund

In response to several major Napa County fires that started burning the night of October 8th and have displaced thousands of area residents thus far, Napa Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) has mobilized its Disaster Relief Fund.

The Fund was established in response to the South Napa Earthquake of 2014 with a $10 million lead gift from Napa Valley Vintners, and ultimately helped provide services to more than 12,000 earthquake victims, and cash aid to 1,400 of those hardest-hit by the last declared disaster in the region.

The Governor declared a state of emergency for the fires in Napa County on October 9 and the federal government declared it a major disaster on October 10th.

Within 48 hours after the fires started, we began convening decision-makers from the nonprofit sector and local government to assess urgent needs, identify short term gaps and gather information that will inform longer-term recovery efforts. NVCF is doing this work in collaboration with Napa Valley Community Organizations Active in Disaster (aka, Napa Valley COAD), a grouping of community service organizations brought together by the Foundation following the South Napa Earthquake to improve coordination and communication among nonprofits — and between local government agencies, the charitable sector, faith communities and the private sector — following a disaster. Read more in our October 10 press release here.

On October 13th, the Foundation distributed immediate response grants to a targeted list of local nonprofitsthat were pre-approved to receive such grants following the 2014 earthquake. All of these nonprofits received intensive technical assistance from NVCF to boost their capacity to respond to events such as the Napa Fire Complex. The Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund’s pre-qualified grants to nonprofits have been providing immediate relief and recovery services to those affected. These services may include: food; shelter; childcare; transportation; health and mental health; resource/referral and case management; legal/advocacy services; and, human and social services. Read more in our October 13 press release here.

On October 15th, the Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund funded and coordinated nonprofit partners to begin providing a host of relief services at the Local Assistance Center (LAC), including: gift card distribution for emergency needs; food distribution; cleaning supplies; mental health; intake for emergency financial assistance; and, other wraparound case management services.

On October 27th, the Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund began distributions from its Disaster Relief Fund totaling $3 million to help local workers facing serious financial hardships because of the economic slow-down brought about by the devastating fires of recent weeks in Napa Valley. Cash aid is now available for low-to-moderate income Napa County workers who need financial assistance, as a result of the fires, to help pay for: rent or security deposits; utility and phone bills; auto loans; childcare; or healthcare expenditures. At this time, the Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA) program is taking applications until November 9. Read more in the October 27 press release here.

Tax-deductible contributions to the Fund are welcome in any amount.