Community-Centric Fundraising

United Way adopted Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) principles to transform local philanthropy and nonprofit management. CCF promotes fundraising grounded in equity and social justice, emphasizing collaboration over competition and advocating for the holistic well-being of communities. We aim to shift from competitive and extractive practices to racially, economically, and socially equitable norms by engaging in deep conversations with nonprofits, funders, businesses, and political leaders to raise understanding and support for CCF. Ultimately, our goal is nothing short of transforming how we do fundraising and community investment in Sonoma County. 

Our approach includes building relationships with community-based organizations, especially those led by people of color, raising and providing flexible funding, and investing in the capacity-building needs of our organization and our partners’. We are also advocating for policies and practices that promote equity and inclusion in philanthropy and nonprofit management.