CDP Week of Gratitude: North Valley Community Foundation

This week, as people across the United States look forward to a day of giving thanks, CDP is highlighting a small number of stories of impact and expressing our gratitude to a small subset of our partners and donors who have made the work we do possible. Stay tuned to this space as we update it throughout the week.

Impact Partner: North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF)

California’s Camp Fire in 2018 was one of the most deadly and destructive natural wildfires in history, killing at least 85 people and displacing roughly 54,000 Butte County residents from their homes in a region near Paradise, north of Sacramento. As part of the recovery effort, CDP awarded a $500,000 grant to NVCF to provide staff support, training, counseling services and capacity building across Butte County schools. CDP also offered advice and support to NVCF to prepare them for what was ahead in the fire’s early days.

Kim DuFour, NVCF program officer: “CDP’s advice made a huge difference with organizations such as ours and other funders who said don’t spend all your money right away. Our hearts were so broken. It was hard not to give it all away. We’re in it for the long haul.”

After the fire, suicide, substance abuse and behavioral and mental health issues became major concerns amid a lack of counseling resources. CDP’s grant helped fund school-based counselors in conjunction with the Butte County Office of Education to support trauma response and recovery.

David Little, NVCF’s executive vice president, programs & communications, said, “It’s incredible how far we’ve come because of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and other organizations who found us. People who stood up and said, ‘You need help.’ We thought people in our community would step up, but people stood up from across the country for this little community they’ve never heard of. For a little while, in one November, the world was looking at us. It’s still bad, but we’d be so much worse off without the outside help. Our community is so grateful.”

Thank you, NVCF, for the work you are doing to help those impacted by the Camp Fire and to all of the donors who have supported the CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund. You have made a significant impact.

Read the full story of how NVCF is leveraging CDP’s grant to rebuild a stronger Paradise community.