NorCalPCA Grants Program

Projects Funded in 2025

Read about all of the projects we have funded since 2013 or take a look at just a few of the projects that we have recently contributed to around the world!

The NorCalPCA Grants Committee received 12 qualified requests for funding in 2025. Following intense discussion, the committee and the Board was able to support nine proposals for a total of $36,900. Read more about these fantastic projects below, and special thanks to everyone who generously donated to our grants program this year!

Burkina Faso: $5000 to the Sonder Project, which was founded in 2015 and works to provide rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa with the opportunity to access resources and opportunities for economic empowerment through programming that is focused on access to clean water, education, and sustainable agriculture. Burkina Faso’s reliance on handpumps (boreholes with manual handpumps, i.e. wells) is among the highest in Africa, and since 2015, The Sonder Project has drilled 42 wells in the country in partnership with local mayors and contractors. Ensuring long-term functionality of these wells is crucial, because without timely repairs, communities can go weeks without clean water. In 2024, the organization piloted a successful pilot program that trained 12 mechanics across six communities – ensuring 1,800 people were able to access clean water. By training 16 more mechanics, eight more communities will be served, ensuring an additional 2,400 people have reliable access to clean water. Funds will cover costs associated with training 16 additional mechanics including: community mobilization & coordination, trainer and trainee transport and lodging, tool kits and printing materials, and training venue and food. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Chad Zibelman.

Côte d’Ivoire: $5000 to the Karat School Project, which works to break the cycle of poverty through education for women and children, ensuring that underserved communities can thrive across generations. KSP’s Period Equity and Sexual Health Program at its Abidjan campus is a vital program that has reached over 9,000 adolescent girls, providing sustainable menstrual kits (which last several years), menstrual health education, and empowerment programming. KSP seeks to expand the program’s curriculum by adding a new module on sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS prevention, which will replace the outdated abstinence-only approaches with evidence-based, consent-driven, and culturally sensitive education. This expansion will engage with girls, parents, and teachers to ensure that the curriculum reflects lived realities and community priorities while also being scientifically accurate and shame-free. By training more teachers, they will be equipped to host these crucial education sessions while also serving as classroom instructors and facilitators for KSP’s after-school empowerment clubs, where their training will informally carry into everyday teaching and interactions. NorCalPCA funds will cover: the training stipends for four new teachers; the trainer fee and classroom materials; the development of a new STI/HIV prevention curriculum; costs related to having community listening sessions with girls, parents, and teachers to ensure the curriculum reflects local realities; and monitoring and evaluation activities to track student knowledge and attitude. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Roy Kornbluh.

Kenya: $4800 to Jiwo Paro, which means “Let’s Do It Together” and is an organization that combines market-led employability skills training and a microfinancing model to promote financial inclusion for women and youth working in the textile value chain in Kenya. Designed around the Grameen Bank’s model, Jiwo Paro’s system of training, group lending, and on-going support brings accountability and practical assistance that enables rural Kenyan women to achieve economic independence. These beneficiaries are recruited through the local administration, faith-based organizations, referrals, and other community-based organizations, and they are trained by established tailors within markets that have the demand and distribution potential for tailor-made products. To date, Jiwo Paro has extended affordable services to over 1,200 seamstresses, who are mostly unbanked women in western parts of Kenya. NorCalPCA funds will provide 40 sewing machines to seamstresses when they complete their sewing and entrepreneurship training and are ready to set up their own businesses. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Regina Dettmer.

Mexico & Honduras: $4000 to International Safe Shelter Foundation, which works to remove systemic, social, psychological, and financial barriers for domestic violence victims and empower survivors to create a violence free life. It currently supports four domestic violence shelters in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Region – two in Mexico, one in Honduras, and a new shelter in Jamaica will open in January 2026. While immediate shelter services are essential, many shelters do not offer transitional or economic support, and the women exiting these shelters face the daunting challenge of navigating the process of securing housing, employment, childcare, and emotional support on their own. This financial insecurity significantly increases the risk of women returning to their abusers out of desperation or lack of options. ISSF’s Pasos Seguros (Safe Steps) Transitional Shelter program will expand support for women during the high-risk transition period after shelter residency. NorCalPCA funding will help support 60 families through Paso Seguros, addressing immediate needs such as emergency transitional funding (rent, utilities, basic supplies), school and work supplies, cleaning and hygiene products, transportation subsidies, and information and referrals to local employment and government support. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Rick Kaye.

Nepal: $3400 to Engineers Without Borders Nepal (EWBN), which is dedicated to empowering communities by improving infrastructure, education, and livelihoods by advancing sustainable development through engineering solutions. Many young people in Nepal face unemployment and underemployment as a result of limited opportunities and outdated curricula that do not adequately prepare graduates with practical and industry-relevant skills that would make them competitive in the modern workforce. To address this need, EWBN established the iLab Initiative, which is an educational innovation program run by professional trainers that provides students with access to collaborative learning environments and real-world industry connections that will bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and practical skills. iLab allows students to cultivate resilience, empathy, and global citizenship while also gaining essential soft and hard skills. To date, the iLab initiative has been implemented in eight schools across seven districts of Nepal, and it seeks to expand with additional training for more professional trainers as well as comprehensive electronic and software supply kits for students to use for hands-on innovation. Costs covered include: mentoring, workshops, and training; the set up of a makers space; and external evaluators and structured reporting. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Steven Bosiljevac.

Nicaragua: $5000 to GRID Alternatives, whose mission is to build community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy. It has a proven track record of serving more than 33,600 households and 278 community facilities throughout California, Colorado, the Mid-Atlantic region, Puerto Rico, Tribal Nations across the United States, and internationally in Nepal, Mexico, and Nicaragua. In the Nicaraguan municipality of Ciudad Darío, Totumblita opened its first small store (pulpería), giving its community members easier access to basic goods without needing to travel 40 minutes to the nearest town. However, the community is off-grid and does not have an accessible energy source to power refrigeration equipment, which means that perishable foods like dairy, cheese, and meats are unavailable to meet the community’s nutritional needs. To address Totumblita’s need for enhanced food security and access to a more varied diet, the community is planning a new, off-grid solar photovoltaic system with battery storage that will power the refrigeration and the lighting in the store. Funding will cover the cost of solar equipment, tools, and related project expenses. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Jenean Smith.

Peru: $5000 to Stray Animal Project. Peru has one of the highest stray animal populations per capita in Latin America, with over 12 million stray dogs and cats in a country of 33 million people. In Cangallo, a remote district in the Peruvian highlands, stray animals contribute to growing public health issues. Childhood rates of anemia remain alarmingly high at over 40%, and studies show that parasitic infections, which are often spread through animal contact and poor sanitation, can exacerbate this issue for up to 30% of cases. The large number of stray animals that are sick and breed uncontrollably are an overlooked risk factor that the organization seeks to mitigate. NorCalPCA’s support will help fund Stray Animal Project’s partnership with a mobile veterinary team that will care for stray animals through spaying and providing treatment for sick animals, in addition to ongoing community outreach through door-to-door education, local radio, and ongoing feedback sessions with community members. Funding will cover spay procedures and treatment for ~131 dogs and cats. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Lila Holzman.

South Sudanese Refugee settlements in Northern Uganda: $2600 to South Sudanese Leadership & Community Development (SSLCD). Last year, NorCalPCA provided support to SSLCD to start a microeconomic Sewing Co-operative in two South Sudanese refugee settlements in Northern Uganda through the purchase of shared sewing machines. In just a year, the project has gained great success, and there are now currently 60 women who sew each day, primarily sewing school uniforms, which are mandatory in Uganda. School uniforms are one barrier to access to education, as families who cannot afford uniforms are not able to send their children to school. In addition to sewing uniforms, these women also offer mending and alteration services to those who need it. Ugandan neighbors have expressed interest in the Sewing Co-Operative, hoping to purchase clothes that the Co-op will eventually sell in the markets. Coupled with the success of the project and local interest in buying their wares, the Co-op is expected to become self-sufficient in the next six months, allowing participants to purchase their own sewing machines. Funds will be used on 20 additional sewing machines to expand this program. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Nancy Paul.

Togo: $2100 to the Alayi-Kondji Village Elementary School. Alayi-Kondji is a small farming village in Southern Togo that has a population of 400 people. This village has not been fortunate enough to have a school built by the state. To demonstrate the need and work toward recognition by the Ministry of Education, it created its own school by constructing buildings, hiring teachers, purchasing books, raising money to pay its teachers, and doing everything else it could to demonstrate that it warrants public support for a formal public school. It has been self-operating for about 8 years, but because of inflation, the community is struggling to raise all of the necessary funding for its teachers’ salaries and the students’ needs. The Ministry of Education has a requirement that each student have a school supply kit (notebooks, colored pencils, pens, ruler, etc), and while the school has raised $400, it needs additional support to supply kits for 180 students. The project was recommended by NorCalPCA member Mike Cushing.