Why Catalyst?
Sonoma Valley is a remarkable place beloved by a community of change-makers asking, “How do we care for what we love about Sonoma Valley while coming together to meet its greatest challenges?”
There is a growing disconnect between the scale, interdependence, and complexity of the challenges in Sonoma Valley—ranging from chronic issues like housing affordability, the urgency of food access for our 8,000 food-insecure community members, and emerging threats like ICE raids and federal funding cuts.
This growing disconnect between the scale of the challenges and the capacity of our current systems calls for something new. Catalyst exists to bridge that gap. Catalyst is not another program, nor a duplication of effort. It is a new kind of philanthropy designed to:
Mobilize new funding that goes beyond traditional philanthropy and makes generosity go further—expanding not just how much we give, but how smartly and strategically we deploy our resources as a community.
Fuel innovation by supporting solutions that are bold, collaborative, and scalable—going upstream to address root causes, not just symptoms.
Strengthen Sonoma Valley’s whole nonprofit sector by providing the connective tissue, capacity-building, and shared infrastructure our nonprofits need.
Be proactive and respond with agility to chronic needs that require sustained investment and emergent challenges that demand rapid, flexible action.
Catalyst is how we meet the moment. It is how our community ensures that Sonoma Valley’s generosity matches the Valley’s challenges—with the additional resources needed to build long-term solutions alongside urgent needs.
At the same time, we have a nonprofit sector that is deeply committed but stretched thin—working hard towards their missions but needing additional resources to adapt to the rapidly changing national context and meet immediate needs while addressing the root causes of those needs.