Yolo Community Foundation details grantmaking, YoloNeon plans and new executive director

Carolina Valverde, interim executive director of the Yolo Community Foundation, briefed the Yolo County Board of Supervisors on April 14 about the foundation’s grant programs, scholarship awards and capacity‑building work with local nonprofits.

Valverde said the foundation distributed approximately $1,400,000 in grants for the prior year and listed a range of programs, including a youth scholarship award, an air‑quality grant, voter‑education grants and a multi‑year employment program for people with mental‑health conditions. She said the foundation’s assets were $16,000,000 at the end of 2025 and later stated assets were currently at $18,000,000 and growing.

Valverde described YoloNeon, an initiative the foundation supports to provide cohort training and workshops for nonprofits. She said the foundation wants to build a professional learning platform (Phase 2) that would host recorded 5–10 minute videos tied to resources and be free to Yolo County nonprofits; the foundation has applied to local funders to support that development.

Supervisor remarks welcomed incoming executive director Stacy Frerichs, who introduced herself and said she looks forward to working with the county. Board members thanked YCF for supporting nonprofits, noted interest in sustaining YoloNeon programming and asked about potential phase‑2 funding and earned‑revenue models for long‑term sustainability.

Why it matters: the presentation highlighted philanthropic support that supplements county services and nonprofit capacity during a period of constrained public budgets. The YCF learning platform could extend training to more nonprofits at lower marginal cost.

Next steps: the board received the presentation (non‑action). YCF said it will provide a fuller report on YoloNeon and that scholarships and grant rounds have timelines for award distribution in coming months.