Must Charities invests over a half million dollars into the community
–Last year, following rigorous vetting processes, Must Charities invested over $580,000 into local organizations to address the most critical needs in the community from homelessness to workforce development to youth mentorship to meeting the immediate economic impacts of the pandemic. Similar to venture capitalism, Must Charities utilizes a “venture philanthropy” approach that combines “data-driven analysis while harnessing the community’s collective giving potential.”
Must not only finalized projects with El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO), CASA of San Luis Obispo County, and Boys and Girls Club; but also, embarked on three new collaborations:
- COVID Community Response Project
- Must Charities Community Kitchen & Workforce Development Center
- Camino Scholars at Rolling Hills Apartment Complex owned and managed by People’s Self-Help Housing.
The COVID Community Response Project encompasses more than just financial relief. Through a rigorous screening process, case managers identify families who have been directly impacted by COVID and ensure applicants’ success and well-being in the program with an action plan, wrap-around support, and follow-up case management. In its infancy, the project has already kept over 100 people housed – people who would have otherwise lost their homes.
In 2020, $350,000 was invested in the Must Charities Community Kitchen & Workforce Development Center, a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen at ECHO in Atascadero. The project will provide a much-needed supply of potential employees trained in the culinary & hospitality fields and includes a component for social enterprise, in which job skills can be developed, and the organization will have the ability to create revenue from an end product.
Camino Scholars is a site-based learning program and the first site of its kind in Templeton that supports educational growth and enrichment for low-income families at Rolling Hills Apartments, a People’s Self-Help Housing property. In its first month, the onsite learning center already has 15 resident children paired with mentor-educators – math and literacy scores are rising and parents have access to resources and children.
“What we experienced last year was a community coming together, fueled by an intrinsic desire to take care of each other,” says Becky Gray, Executive Director of must! charities. “Because our Executive Board pays for all of our operating expenses, 100% of what the community donates, goes directly into these projects. I think that resonates with people now more than ever.”
Must! charities uses an investment-minded approach to social initiatives. They identify the most critical community needs, vet organizations that are serving those needs, then invest in their infrastructure so they are well-positioned to create positive, measurable change for years to come.
To find out more visit mustcharities.org or call (805) 226-5788.
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