Thanks to a better-than-feared budget picture, the City of Scotts Valley was able to portion-out $45,000 in funding to local nonprofits on March 18.
While the elected officials had earmarked $5,000 for autism certification grants, only the local UPS Store had opted to tap into this diversity resource—asking for and securing $2,878—meaning the rest could be deployed to fulfill some more of the $157,200 in other requests.
“Makes me proud of my community,” said businessman and Councilmember Greg Wimp, who was appointed to the Scotts Valley City Council largely because of his reputation for assisting with outreach programs in town.
Wimp was reflecting on the parade of officials making their case for dollars during the regularly-scheduled evening meeting.
Initially this year, the City had been uncertain if it would be able to fund the Community Grant Program, as the Trump Administration’s federal cuts sent shudders through municipal finance departments across the country.
However, thanks to positive sales tax news, government reimbursements for infrastructure work and hotel tax updates that showed the community has been outperforming neighboring Los Gatos, Scotts Valley officials felt they were in a position to move forward with assisting struggling community members through its signature social services grant scheme.
“It was difficult,” said City Manager Mali LaGoe, describing the process involved in scoring the 13 grant proposals that arrived. “I will say that the scores were tight. It was not a huge spread.”
During public comment, Ann Bennett Young, of Damians Ladder, said they had completed 175 repairs for seniors in the area in the past couple of years.
“We know that what we do makes a difference,” she said. “That’s why we do it.”
They ended up getting just what they’d requested—$7,000.
Jody Cramer, of the Assisted Living Project, explained that they operate a 3,500-square-foot house for middle-aged men with disabilities.
“Love and support is the answer,” she said. “We’re not an institution. We’re not a facility. We’re not a nursing home. We’re a house.”
They didn’t quite get the $2,500 they’d sought, but Council did approve $2,000.
Sookie Ramos, a community impact coordinator at United Way of Santa Cruz County, described how they would deploy cash from Scotts Valley toward programs targeted at the younger generation.
“We’re impacting and creating safe spaces,” Ramos said. “When we invest in our youth, we are investing in the long-term health of our community.”
United Way asked for—and got—$7,000.
Jennifer Merchant, executive director of Grey Bears, said they’re trying to expand their commercial kitchen to serve the growing population of seniors.
“I just want to thank you for considering us today,” said Merchant, stating they help out 400 households in Scotts Valley alone, such as by providing 8-10 pound deliveries of produce. (They also have a crew of 40 volunteers from Scotts Valley, she added.)
Grey Bears was ultimately earmarked $5,000, a third of what they’d asked for.
Darshana Croskrey, the municipality’s Senior Center coordinator, was there speaking on behalf of the Scotts Valley Multicultural Fair (a request submitted in partnership with the Scotts Valley Education Foundation).
“Your grant would be essential in helping to continue this joyful celebration,” said Croskrey, retelling how the colorful festivity has grown from a small event at Vine Hill Elementary School to one of the highlights of the cultural calendar in the community.
And while they didn’t quite get the $11,900 they’d asked for, they did end up with $7,500 of the total pot available—the second-most, just behind the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Cruz County (which ended up with $13,622 of $15,000 requested).
Andy Cunningham, the BGCSCC representative, said they’d committed to tackling the problem of poor transportation options for students between Brook Knoll Elementary School and the local clubhouse.
“Our impact is really what we see from our kids,” he said, adding 89% of them get A’s and B’s in school. Research shows these students learn to do what’s right, even when no one is watching.
In 2025, the Club worked with 1,200 individuals across Santa Cruz County—and 600 just in Scotts Valley.
On Jan. 21, a Council member had encouraged the Arukah Project to submit a proposal this year to support their work to support survivors of human trafficking.
The Scotts Valley-based group requested $25,000 and ended up receiving $5,000.
“Thank you for standing with us,” said Loreal Weitzel, Arukah’s co-founder and executive director. “We are so grateful.”
Proposals from Monarch Services, Cabrillo College Stroke & Disability Learning Center, another from Scotts Valley Educational Foundation, Senior Network Services and Community Bridges fell a little short in the eyes of Scotts Valley tabulators.
In an interview after the vote—which was moved by Derek Timm and seconded by Wimp—Ramos said they were already prepared to spring into action, with a meeting coming up in a few days to play three empowering events for youth.
“I really enjoyed it,” she said of getting to hear about all the cool stuff local nonprofits are doing during the meeting.
Emil Schultz, the 17-year-old youth president of their Pathways to Possibility program, said this additional support from the City will further a positive spirit that has already been fostered amongst Scotts Valley youth.
“It’s really exciting,” Schultz said. “It’s good to see the program move forward like this.”
