Five Coachella Valley nonprofits were awarded grants of $10,000 each in a Match Challenge through the Todd Barajas Legacy Fund, totaling a gift of $50,000! Now all five groups have successfully raised a total of $114,000 thanks to the generous gift from the Fund.
“There are so many great reasons why I enjoy what I do at IECF,” said Joe Staley, Jr., IECF Charitable Giving Officer for the Coachella Valley. “Partnering with fundholders, and introducing them to nonprofits in the Coachella Valley that fulfill their philanthropic goals has to be my favorite and most rewarding.”
Established in 2016, the Todd Barajas Legacy Fund is a fund at IECF that was created for broad and general charitable uses and purposes.
Meet the organizations serving the Coachella Valley below:
FIND Food Bank is the only regional food bank serving eastern Riverside and southern San Bernardino Counties in southern California. They distribute 12+ million pounds of food assistance annually to an average 90,000 individuals each month across their service area. They do so through their 22 FIND Mobile Market Distributions and a network of 66+ community-based partners whose programs include food pantries, soup kitchens, after-school and summer care, senior centers, faith-based organizations, and homeless shelters.
Loving All Animals are active rescuers of cats and dogs that are currently in animal shelters. Through their Mobile Mutts Service and they Whiskers and Purrs program, they make every attempt to rescue dogs and cats living on the streets, and provide help for them. They strongly support the ongoing effort to create a No Kill Coachella County.
Animal Samaritans promotes the healing power of animal-human connections, creating healing curricula that offer animal companionship as a form of treatment and bringing specially trained animals to hospitals, group homes, correctional facilities, to senior homes and more.
Martha’s Village & Kitchen is one of the largest providers of homeless services in the Coachella Valley and Riverside County. In Indio, CA, Martha’s Village offers unique life-changing programs based on the nationally-recognized “continuum of care model” breaking the cycle of homelessness.
Well in the Desert provides clothing, showers and a cooling center 7 days a week, plus nutritious hot meals 5 days a week. They offer emergency food assistance, weekly supplemental food distribution and a wide array of services through advocacy to those affected by poverty, including the working poor, in the western end of the Coachella Valley.
For more information on how you can start your fund at IECF, contact Joe Staley, Charitable Giving Officer for Coachella Valley at 760.534.2444.