2025 Give!Guide sheds spotlight on 91 Napa nonprofits
SpiritHorse and Soroptimist Club highlighted
The season of giving is upon us, and as people look to make charitable donations to local nonprofits for the holidays, the CanDo Give!Guide is here to assist.
The guide was created in 2013 to connect the community to local organizations. It has since grown to become one of Napa Valley’s largest end-of-year fundraising campaigns. This year, the Give!Guide will benefit 91 nonprofits — the most in its 13-year history.
Two of those are local to American Canyon: SpiritHorse Equine-Assisted Services and American Canyon Soroptimist.
“I look at it as kind of a directory of nonprofits in our county,” said Give!Guide volunteer Julie Spencer. “There’s no other publication in the county that has that robust learning opportunity for anybody to hop on and understand the variety of nonprofits that are serving our community. It’s pretty exciting.”
American Canyon Soroptimist was founded in 2018 and has grown to more than 40 members. It’s a local chapter of the national Soroptimist organization. Each city’s Soroptimist club is run by women, and centers on women’s issues through fundraising and regular meetings.
“Soropotimists literally translates to ‘best for women,’” said Kasama Lee, a founding member of the local chapter. “One of our causes is seniors in isolation. Another is raising awareness around human trafficking.”
Lee added they also “raise money to offer scholarships to female students and women,” specifically those supporting families who also want to further their education, via a program called Live Your Dream.
Locals are probably familiar with the constant neighing at the start of Wetlands Edge Trail. The stables there belong to SpiritHorse, founded in 2012 to promote healing through the powerful bond between people and horses. Programs are available for youth, veterans, seniors and anyone seeking recovery from trauma.
One family found that, within the first few weeks of riding, their 13-year-old son with aAutism had “a notable increase in his communication, coordination, his ability to focus, eye contact, increased muscle tone, and most importantly a significant decrease in anxiety. While Jerehmeel has difficulty bonding with others, his bond with horses is amazing,” wrote Patty Bigornia in a testimonial for SpiritHorse.
Since the Give!Guide was founded, 154 Napa County nonprofits have received more than $7.3 million through the program. Last year alone, the Give!Guide raised $1.14 million for 67 participants.
Every dollar donated goes toward supporting nonprofits that have been screened by a CanDo team of volunteers to ensure the organizations are well-established in the community and in good standing with the IRS.
“We think that’s worth a lot,” Spencer said. “That’s something we offer the community when they are looking to the Give!Guide; they have that confidence that the nonprofits they’re considering to support have been vetted.”
This year, nonprofits have faced increased financial challenges. Since January, sweeping federal funding freezes of grants, loans and other aid, left the nonprofit sector vulnerable, disrupting services and increasing competition for alternative funding sources. Those disruptions, Spencer said, likely led to this year’s considerable spike in Give!Guide nonprofits, which includes 17 first-time participants.
“Certainly, with the way our economy is and with the huge cuts to nonprofits, most are looking where they can, to expand their outreach into the community for support,” she said.
In past years, single donations have spanned the minimum $10 to upward of $100,000.
A major selling point for the Give!Guide is that donors are able to contribute tax-deductible donations to multiple charitable organizations through a single website, which serves as a conduit between donors and nonprofits.
“We know the energy and the dollars are finite and the needs are great,” Spencer said. “The nonprofits in our county have this culture of collaborating with each other to strengthen outreach.”
She said CanDo envisions families or businesses pooling their resources and coming together to explore the list of organizations featured in the Give!Guide and choose a few they’d like to contribute to before the year’s end.
“Napa is rich with nonprofits –– it’s a healthy, happy place to live because of the diversity of the nonprofits,” Spencer said. “The Give!Guide is a great way to home in on a lot of the strengths that make Napa County so special.”
As of Nov. 24, this year’s guide hads raised approximately $200,000 from more than 500 donations.
Give!Guide donations will be accepted until midnight on Dec. 31. To learn more or to donate, visit www.CanDoGiveGuide.org/.
