Humboldt Area Foundation honored as non profit of the year in Sacramento

Today the Humboldt Area Foundation (HAF) was honored as a Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblyman Jim Wood (D- Healdsburg) at the State Capitol in Sacramento.

“Nonprofit organizations are vitally important to the economy and well-being of California, but too often nonprofits are hidden in plain sight.” Assemblyman Wood said, “The Humboldt Area Foundation has been a tremendous force for good in Humboldt, Trinity, and Del Norte Counties for over 40 years, I am proud to call them one of ours.”

Since its founding in 1972, HAF has distributed nearly $80 million in grants and scholarships, and in recent years has grown to over $100 million in assets thanks to the many generous donors on the North Coast.

The foundation is known as much for its leadership and community work as its grant making. It supports the Cascadia Center for Leadership, now in its 16th year of training new community leaders. HAF is also sponsors the Native Cultures Fund, which supports the renaissance of California Native American arts, culture, sacred sites, and cultural transmission between generations.

The award recipients visited the Assembly Floor and then were honored at a luncheon at Sacramento’s Sheraton Grand Hotel, with presentations from former Senate President Pro Tempore [and Sacramento Mayor-Elect] Darrell Steinberg, Assemblymember Rich Gordon, and Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits.

Executive Director Patrick Cleary thanked Assemblyman Wood for the award, “This reflects the enormous generosity of our donors, the great work of our nonprofit community, and the tremendous efforts of the HAF staff.  We are humbled by the recognition and will continue to work hard to make our region a better place to live and work and enjoy.”