It tends to get buried under all the news about budget woes and partisan politics, but there is some good news we’d like to bring to your attention. A lot of it, in fact.

Chances are almost everyone reading this newspaper knows someone who works at one of our community’s 470 nonprofit organizations, whether as a staff member, volunteer or donor. Chances are also good that almost every person reading this newspaper knows someone in need.

Soon, the Weekly will help bring those two groups a little closer together – and we’d like your help to determine which nonprofits are most deserving of our funding. Nine years ago, we established the Monterey County Weekly Community Fund to raise money and awareness for local nonprofits. Thanks to your contributions, monies from foundations and matching grants from the Packard Foundation, we’ve raised and contributed over $350,000 since 2000.

YOUR DONATION WILL GO TO THE ORGANIZATION(S) OF YOUR CHOICE, AND MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY COMMUNITY FUND WILL MATCH DONATIONS UP TO $100,000.

This year we planned to donate up to $100,000 to local nonprofits, and called for proposals for programs to improve life in our community. More than 70 local organizations responded in August and submitted many new ideas and inspiring programs. Collectively, they were seeking $2,073,949.

That’s right, more than $2 million.

Frankly, the number and quality of proposals, and the amount of money needed, blew us away. So instead of choosing just one, we came up with a different idea. We want you to be involved, choose your favorite programs, add to the money we already have in our fund, and support as many of the groups as possible.

We’ve published brief summaries of all 73 proposals. They’re hyper-local, like the organizations behind them (and the Weekly). There’s a range of projects focused on such diverse areas as healthy foods, youth mentoring and sustainability.

Please take the time to read them. Choose one – or many – that you believe are most deserving of support. The form on the next page can assist you. Fill it out and mail it to our office, addressed to the Community Fund, 668 Williams Ave., Seaside, 93955. Or go online at www.monterecountyweekly.com/ communityfund.

Your donation will go to the organization(s) of your choice, and Monterey County Weekly Community Fund will match, up to $100,000.

In addition, in order to move the needle, so to speak, our Community Fund committee will choose where to invest up to $50,000. Plus, we’ll send an extra $1,000 bonus to the group that receives donations from the largest number of readers, as of Dec. 31, 2009.

Because we believe it’s important that younger people in our community become engaged in civic life, we’ll also send a $1,000 bonus to the organization that has the most contributions among readers under the age of 35.

Working together, we’ll double our efforts and can move boulders. Join us to create change through charity.

Thank you. And happy Thanksgiving.

Bradley Zeve, CEO | Erik Cushman, publisher | and the entire staff and families of the Weekly

Donation Form, Click Here