Community Grants
Community Grants
Periodically, Soroptimist International Sacramento, Inc. (S.I.S.) selects one or two local organizations to support as a major project(s). The funds may be generated by fundraising events held throughout the year or through the endowment funds bequeathed by Blanche Edgar Girot and Shirley Godfrey. In 2021-22, grants were made from the Blanche Edgar/Shirley Godfrey funds to My Sister’s Treasures ($10,000 for bathroom and office remodel); and to SAVA ($2,500 to provide a washer and dryer for the use of financially challenged students). (See more about these endowment funds below).
We are currently not accepting Requests for Funding for community organizations/non-profits, but if you would like to be added to the email contact list, please contact Karen Smith at kmsmith22@gmail.com.
Organizations We Support
In 2019-2020, Soroptimist International of Sacramento raised over $50,000 through fundraisers. With additional endowed funds from a legacy of member giving, we were able to provide $20,000 in grants to local community non-profits, award $20,000 in Dream Scholarships to female college students, and give $6,000 in Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for women, who have overcome enormous personal obstacles, to help offset costs associated with additional education or training. Our club coordinates a Soroptimist Dream It Be It: Career Support for Girls mentoring program, which delivers interactive sessions aimed at empowering high school girls to break cycles of poverty and abuse and pursue their dreams. Other service projects throughout the year address focused needs.
2019-2020
| CASA | $10,000 | |
| Our $10,000 grant to Court Appointed Special Advocates’ pilot program will provide additional training to serve 15 girls in the juvenile justice system. Click here to visit their website |
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| Single Moms Strong | $10,000 | |
| We gave a $10,000 grant to Single Mom Strong for their preschool program. Click here to visit their website |
2018-2019
| Reading Partners | $15,000 | |
| Reading Partners places community volunteers in low-income schools to help kids master basic reading skills, using a one-on-one tutoring model that empowers students to succeed in reading and in life. Click here to visit their website |
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| Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento | $15,000 | |
| The Boys and Girls Clubs is a place where kids can feel safe, connect with others and build the skills and confidence to build great futures. Their mission is to inspire and enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens. Click here to visit their website |
Past Recipients: |
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| Boys and Girls Clubs (plus 2000 volunteer hours) | $25,000 | |
| Fantasy Theatre For Low-Income Schools | $20,000 | |
| Saint John’s Program for Real Change | $15,000 | |
| Roberts Family Development Center | $15,000 | |
| Tubman House, A Program of Waking the Village | $15,000 | |
| Waking the Village’s (Tubman House) The Doorway | $10,000 | |
| Food Literacy Center | $10,000 | |
| Folsom Cordova Unified School District | $10,000 | |
| Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center | $10,000 | |
| Junior Achievement of Sacramento | $10,000 | |
| Sunburst Projects | $10,000 | |
| Sierra Forever Families – Camp Wonder | $10,000 | |
| Guardian Scholars Program for Foster Youth at C.S.U.S. | $10,000 | |
| Sacramento County’s Independent Living Program for Foster Youth | $10,000 | |
| Sacramento Children’s Receiving Home’s Independent Living Program for Foster
YOUTH |
$7,500 | |
| The Lillliput Children’s Services Emergency Kinnect Program | $7,500 | |
| My Sisters House House’s Shelter | $6,000 | |
| Save the Clunie Community Center | $5,000 | |
| Residential Therapeutic Recreation Program at Sacramento Children’s Home | $5,000 | |
| Sierra Adoption Services | $5,000 | |
| Sacramento Child Advocates (Helps foster children navigate the court system) | $5,000 | |
| C.C.H.A.T (Children’s Choice for Hearing and Talking) | $2,500 | |
| Sacramento Crisis Nursery | $2,500 |
Blanche Edgar/Shirley Godfrey Funds
For more information, contact Mary at marywordlaw1@gmail.com
The club evaluates requests and administers funds bequeathed to the club by these two former members, whose contributions follow. These funds are used to help pay for “hardscape” capital projects (not program expenses). Some examples of projects funded have included:
- materials for the Old Schoolhouse Museum in Old Sacramento;
- renovation of the Clunie Clubhouse in McKinley Park;
- fencing and irrigation system for a community garden in Del Paso Heights;
- a meeting room in the Teichert Boys and Girls Club at 12th & G Streets;
- a “ball wall” at a Title I school;
- a kitchen for a safe house at “My Sister’s House” (a domestic violence shelter);
- a mini-van for W.E.A.V.E. (Women Escaping a Violent Environment)
Blanche Edgar Girot: Over the years, many prominent members of the community have been a part of SIS. However, one very noteworthy citizen was Blanche Edgar Girot. Blanche was president of SIS in 1930, but her contributions to our club touch SIS and the Community to this day. She chartered 104 clubs throughout the world. Her motto was “Attendance is the price of membership and service is the means of enjoyment of that membership.” She gifted some land to SIS in 1965 and the proceeds of the sale have allowed SIS to fund the construction and current upkeep of the School House in Old Sacramento, the Pirate Ship in Fairy Tale Town, and the Arts and Crafts Room at the Thomas P. Raley Boys and Girls Club to name a few.
Shirley E. Godfrey: (9/7/1920-4/25/2002). Shirley was the absolute model of a true and devoted Soroptimist. She began as a “Venture Girl” around 1946 and became a Soroptimist in 1957 when she joined SIS. She became president of SIS in 1969. Shirley retired from the Sacramento County Superior Court as court clerk to set aside enough time in her life to become the second Governor of the newly formed Sierra Nevada Region from 1978 to 1980. Prior to that time, she served as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Southwestern Region. Shirley left a large portion of her estate to SIS when she passed away in 2002. The funds are used variously to pay for “concrete” projects and scholarships for young and re-entry women.
Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment.