Emergency Relief in Nevada County

The Nevada County Relief Fund was created in 2020 through a partnership between the County of Nevada, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, Sierra Business Council, Center for Nonprofit Leadership, and the Economic Resource Council.

On April 14, 2020, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors unanimously allocated a $100,000 “challenge grant” to the newly formed Nevada County Relief Fund. On July 14, 2020, the Board of Supervisors allocated $250,000 in State of California Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to the Nevada County Relief Fund to support “safety-net” nonprofit organizations and small businesses struggling to keep their doors open.

These funds inspired generous community giving many times over to fill the gaps not met by federal, state, or local government. The Relief Fund offered:

• Flexible grants to community-based nonprofit organizations in both Western and Eastern County focused on the rapid deployment of safety net services to the elderly, people with disabilities, and families struggling to find access to food, shelter, childcare, and other critical needs, with the ability to respond to other community needs as funds are available.
• Resilience micro-grants to small business owners ordered to shut down and those struggling to survive. This program, managed by the Sierra Business Council, helped establishments cover some of their key expenses until they could reopen or resume normal operation.

Motivated by the ongoing need for support and inspired by the community’s generosity, the Relief Fund raised over $1.3 Million, with nearly half the money raised coming from individual donations from community members.

When the Jones Fire hit in August 2020, followed by the River Fire in August 2021, the Relief Fund launched the Wildfire Recovery and Relief Fund to get over $400,000 in cash donations quickly to our neighbors impacted by those wildfires.

Today, we have a single “Emergency Relief Fund” to provide relief to Nevada County residents following the official declaration of a local emergency.