In more than two decades of philanthropic partnership with the Community Foundation of the North State, the Redding Rancheria Community Fund has granted out over $4.6 million dollars. Seeing the ripple effect of this financial support is one of the things Rancheria CEO Tracy Edwards said she’s most proud of.
“Supporting a diversity of groups has been so impactful,” Edwards said. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, we make sure that we give to the entire community.”
As the Tribe has grown, so too has their focus on philanthropy. Edwards said she initially didn’t understand how challenging the business side of philanthropy can be. The vetting, processing, and grant making mechanics are the backbone of the function of a community foundation, so when the Redding Rancheria decided to move their fund to the Foundation in 2001, this helped the Tribe streamline their giving. Edwards served on the Foundation board from 2003 to 2009 and gained valuable insight into the Foundation’s role.
“Sometimes people think giving away money is all fun, but it’s actually hard work,” said Edwards. “It does good, but there is a lot of need out there, so when you’re sitting in a meeting and trying to determine the best place for a limited amount of money to go, that can be really hard and really heart-tugging.”
In the 24 years since establishing the Community Fund, the Rancheria has been able to award over 2,100 grants to organizations across the North State — and focus on initiatives around youth services, community enrichment, infrastructure, Veterans support, and health care.
Future projects promise more philanthropic dollars.
“We’re on the precipice of doing some big projects that will enable us to put more money back into the community,” Edwards said. “One thing in our culture is that if you have an abundance of something – in our traditional times if I have too much corn, I’m going to give you my corn because it’s not going to do me any good — so we can translate that to dollars in the modern sense. When we are doing well, we want to give back to the community.”
Edwards said she’s enjoyed seeing the Fund and the Foundation grow over the past two decades.
“Over the past 25 years, the Community Foundation of the North State has shown incredible dedication to making our communities stronger,” Edwards said. “Their leadership and generosity have helped create a brighter future for everyone who calls this area home. They do a wonderful job of connecting donors with the causes they care about, turning compassion into real results that improve life for everyone in our region.”
