By admin 
Over four decades, The Sacramento Bee’s Book of Dreams program has helped thousands of people in need. In most cases, participants requested very specific “dream” items — clothes, laptops, cribs and more — and Bee readers dug into their pockets to make those dreams come true. In the early days, we celebrated these dream-fulfillment stories by presenting them between two covers, a literal “book of dreams.”
Read more El Dorado Hills leaders demand changes to controversial lighting district assessments
This year, in partnership with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, we’re still dreaming. But we’re updating our approach.
We’ve also dreamt up a new name: the Sacramento Bee Dream Big Fund.
Rather than have people or organizations submit individual dreams, we’re asking our readers to “dream big for small nonprofits” by taking a short survey to identify charitable topics that matter to them most. We’ll announce the survey results and then huddle with our Sacramento Region Community Foundation partners to identify three emerging organizations whose work dovetails with the causes readers select.
Why small nonprofits? A tenet of journalism is to amplify voices who need to be heard. With thousands of nonprofits within the community foundation’s coverage area of Sacramento, Yolo, Placer and El Dorado counties, it can be tough for deserving new groups to get to the podium, let alone the microphone. The Dream Big Fund continues our tradition of letting our readers play a role in whom we help. And like Book of Dreams, we’ll tell the stories of the groups benefiting from the program and the people they help.
Our goal is to raise at least $60,000 — or $20,000 per organization.
If the above is enough to move you to support us right now, you can do so at sacregcf.org/dreambig. If not, you’ll have plenty of time to make a tax-deductible donation in the coming months.
The Dream Big survey
You can find our survey at bit.ly/sacbee-dreambigsurvey; pick one charitable topic from the following:
• Education & Youth Development, including literacy
• Health & Wellness, including mental health and senior citizen services
• Housing & Homelessness, including senior housing
• Environment
• Arts & Culture
• Community Improvement & Workforce Development, including job training programs
We’ll close the survey on Sept. 1 and announce the three topics that got the most votes shortly thereafter.
From there, we’ll work with the community foundation to identify the three emerging nonprofits whose work falls into those categories. (Some might wonder why “food insecurity” isn’t on our list. The holidays typically yield a host of donations for organizations that feed the hungry, and we’re exploring other ways to help such groups next year.)
We’ll announce the nonprofits in early October. Then, we’ll spotlight their work through stories and videos through the end of the year.
Our hope is that our journalism not only increases the overall amount of money we raise but also underscores our mission of helping emerging organizations collectively grow their reach.
Read more Road rage killers sentenced. Top Sacramento stories this week you may have missed
To that end, all donations to the Dream Big Fund will be split equally between the three nonprofits. We’ll close the donation period at the end of the calendar year and distribute proceeds to the organizations in January.
What’s a ‘small nonprofit?’
To qualify for Dream Big funding, nonprofits must:
• Have an annual operating budget of $1 million or less;
• Have at least 1 full-time employee;
• Be up and running for at least one year, meaning at least one IRS Form 990 has been filed; and
• Have a profile on GivingEdge, the community foundation’s platform that helps people find local nonprofits they can trust.
A note for nonprofits: there won’t be a formal application process. If you’re in the GivingEdge database and meet these criteria, you’ll qualify automatically for consideration.
If you’re a nonprofit representative or potential donor with questions about the program, email [email protected].
Otherwise, please take our survey. And, in the coming months, help us dream big.
Credit card donations — the fastest and easiest way of giving to the Sacramento Bee Dream Big Fund — can be made via sacregcf.org/dreambig. Credit card donors will receive an emailed gift acknowledgment confirming their donation.
Checks should be made out to “Sacramento Region Community Foundation,” with “Dream Big” noted in the memo and mailed to: Sacramento Region Community Foundation; 955 University Avenue, Suite A; Sacramento, CA 95825. Donors will receive a mailed gift acknowledgment for their donation.
To donate appreciated assets, or to initiate a wire or ACH transfer to the Fund, please reach out to Chelsea Fahr, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s Sr. Director of Philanthropy, at [email protected] for instructions.
Read more Forest Service kidnapping dredges up legacy of violence toward federal land employees