Rebuild Paradise Foundation receives funding for two more years

The Butte Strong Fund announced on December 7th, 2022 that it has committed $400,000 in a grant to the Rebuild Paradise Foundation to fund most of the organization's operations for two more years.

Rebuild Paradise has two major grant programs for families: one helps with the cost of rebuilding septic systems, while the other, called the Missing Middle grant program, helps low-income and middle-income families with pre-construction costs. Rebuild Paradise has awarded 482 grants to individuals totaling $1,687,759.

The Butte Strong Fund has been a big financial supporter of Rebuild Paradise, with $750,000 in grants committed for the Missing Middle program and $875,000 for the septic grants.

In addition to the grants to individuals, Rebuild Paradise offers a library of approved floor plans for dozens of homes. It also uses a donated drone to help engineers do site planning for lots, which comes in handy on the ridge’s hillside lots.

With the latest grants, North Valley Community Foundation has funded $56,914,436 through grants and projects since the Camp Fire on Nov. 8, 2018.

Other Butte Strong Fund grants awarded in the past two months include:

• $145,000 to support the Love Gives program operated by Paradise Adventist Church, which distributes free furniture and other household items received from large retailers. Over the previous 12 months, Love Gives distributed more than $1,354,000 worth of mostly new furniture and household items to more than 1,100 adults and 475 children in the fire footprint.
• $18,520 to continue to provide a mental health counselor at Spring Valley School near Concow. The on-campus counselor supports staff and students with healthy strategies to cope with trauma.
• $12,000 to Integrative Medical Clinic Foundation to provide its Imagine You training in Spanish. The training is for second responders and community members.
• $25,000 to Magalia Community Church for operational costs to continue distributing food, clothing, furniture, and other donated items. The network of organizations and businesses that donate to the church includes World Vision, food banks, Trader Joe’s, Grocery Outlet, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• $22,300 to Ridge Quilters’ Guild to expand the quilt-making and distribution, as well as provide more displays, shows, and community outreach.

Organizations interested in applying for Butte Strong Fund grants can visit nvcf.org/buttestrongfund to see if they qualify for funding. Donations to the fund can also be made on the web page.