MCF Donates $446K to Truckee/North Tahoe Community

Read the front-page feature in Truckee's Sierra Sun

November 12, 2021 – TRUCKEE, CA – The Truckee/North Tahoe community is about to be infused with donations! On November 17th, members of the Martis Camp Foundation will hit the road to hand deliver nearly 30 grant checks to deserving community nonprofits in the Truckee/North Tahoe community. In total, $446,000 will be donated to 43 organizations, making 2021 the most generous year in the MCF’s 11-year history. The average grant is $10,619. “We support groups doing impactful work in the areas of youth development, education, human services and recreation. We are helping these organizations expand, touch more lives and ultimately thrive,” says MCF Executive Director Wendy Damonte.

The money donated into the MCF comes directly from people who live in the Martis Camp community. “We are so pleased that we’ve been able to contribute to the success of these great organizations,” says Liz McDermott, chair of the MCF Community Grants Committee. “We know that these organizations do great work for our community, and we are happy to support them.”

Adventure Risk Challenge is a multiyear recipient of MCF grants. ARC Executive Director Sarah Ottley says the last 18 months have been extremely challenging and support from organizations like the MCF are allowing them to continue their work. “I continue to be grateful for our values alignment, and MCF support over the last several years is absolutely one of the reasons we have been able to grow our Tahoe/Truckee programming!”

Visit our Community Grants page to view the list of organizations that received funds from the MCF.

MCF Awards Over $200K in Scholarships to Truckee/North Tahoe Students

Read the story in Truckee's Sierra Sun

June 16, 2020 – TRUCKEE, CA – Eight graduating seniors from Truckee High School and North Tahoe High School will be headed to college this fall, thanks to more than $200,000 in funds granted from the Martis Camp Foundation (MCF). The MCF, the charitable arm of the Martis Camp community, has been awarding scholarships to deserving area students since 2010. In total, the Foundation has awarded over $2.2 million to local non-profits and high-achieving high school students. The final scholarship choices for 2020, made from more than 120 applicants, were made after much deliberation on financial need, academics, extracurricular activities and the quality of the student essays.

“We are so pleased to help these amazing students pursue their academic dreams. Some scholarship winners are the first in their family to attend college and Martis Camp members are extremely happy to be able to help these motivated students. We are thrilled to bring this good financial news to these scholarship recipients during these very uncertain times,” stated Ann Burchill, chair of the MCF Scholarship Committee.

MCF is pleased to announce these 2020 Scholarship Recipients:

• Nicole Heredia, $60,000 MCCF Scholarship. Attending UC Santa Cruz, where she will study human biology and work toward getting a degree as a Physician Assistant. Her biggest dream is working for Doctors Without Borders.
• Octavio Diaz, $24,000 MCCF Scholarship. Attending Santa Clara University to study structural engineering, business and mathematics. An exceptional candidate, Octavio received significant funding from Santa Clara University but the MCCF felt he was deserving of additional funds to enable him to cover all his expenses.
• Ilse Ruiz-Castro, $20,000 Ambition Scholarship. Headed to CSU Long Beach and planning to major in journalism.
• Anaka Hudson, $20,000 Ambition Scholarship. Majoring in psychology at California Baptist College, Anaka hopes to work with children and animals together as a therapist.
• Jaquelyne Velazquez-Gutierrez, $20,000 Ambition Scholarship. The first in her family to attend college, planning to major in biology at CSU Long Beach and study to become a veterinarian.
• Chloe Schaecher, $20,000 Ambition Scholarship. Involved in environmental volunteerism since childhood, Chloe will continue on this path at UC Davis.
• Jayda Walsh, $20,000 Denise Martinez Scholarship. Attending UC San Diego, working toward a teaching credential in chemistry.
• Benito Gonzalez, $20,000 Denise Martinez Scholarship. Headed to UC Davis, majoring in
• engineering.

“MCF donations enhance local quality of life and support the region’s year-round sustainability,” said Trocki. “Our community grants and scholarships positively affect not only the organizations and individuals receiving them but also the many people connected to the recipients through business, community and family relationships.”

MCF Contributes $430K to Truckee/North Tahoe During Pandemic

May 7, 2020 – TRUCKEE, CA – The Martis Camp Foundation, the philanthropic, member-funded foundation of Martis Camp families, has donated over $430,000 to the Truckee/North Tahoe community in March and April. Monies have been directed towards the hospital, human services, small business, and college scholarships.

“Covid-19 has a disproportionately negative impact on communities whose main industry is tourism,” stated Linda Trocki, Chair of Martis Camp Foundation. “Most Martis Camp families do not live in Truckee full time, but all of us love the community and want to do whatever we can to help.”

“Martis Camp families have responded quickly and generously to our plea for immediate help for Truckee,” continued Trocki. “Our generous members are helping the communities where they live full time, but also want to help the community where they spend their vacations, their summers and where many hope to retire. We love Truckee and North Tahoe and want to do whatever we can to soften the impact of the pandemic on the businesses, workers and citizens who give so much to us.”

In early April, MCF distributed $110,000 in grants to the Tahoe Forest Hospital System Foundation, the Sierra Community House, the Boys and Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe, and the Emergency Warming Center.

On April 24, the MCF board approved granting $100,000 to the Resilience Fund – Sierra. This unique fund, the brain-child of a Martis Camp member, will directly lend to small businesses located in the Truckee Tahoe Airport District to help them with employee payroll and business continuity and other urgent needs during the pandemic. The fund will be administered by the Sierra Business Council. For more information on the fund and to donate, please visit: https://resiliencefund.org

Also during the MCF board meeting last week, over $200,000 in college scholarships were approved to be awarded to accomplished Tahoe Truckee High School and North Tahoe High School students. More information on the scholarship winners will be announced soon.

“We are so pleased to help these amazing students pursue their academic dreams. Some scholarship winners are the first in their family to attend college and Martis Camp members are extremely happy to be able to help these motivated students,” stated Ann Burchill, Chair, Scholarship Committee, MCF. “We had over 120 worthy applicants and we are thrilled to bring this good financial news to these scholarship winners during these very uncertain times.”

MCF Mobilizes to Help Regional Organizations

APRIL 7, 2020 – TRUCKEE, CA – The word of the day is “WOW!” As shelter-in-place became reality in California, the Martis Camp Foundation Board mobilized to help regional non-profits working in health and human services. An appeal for funds went out to Martis Camp Members electronically as well as by mail. Response has been phenomenal! By the first week of April — less than two weeks after our “ask” — we were able to award the following grants:

The Tahoe Forest Health System Foundation, $50,000
These funds supplied by MCF (and matched by the Lahontan Community Foundation) will support purchase of personal protective equipment, patient ventilators, and other medical supplies/equipment for treating Covid-19. The funds will help with the Covid-19 Drive By Clinic as well as address emergency staffing.

The Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe, $25,000
With funding granted by MCF, the B&G Club is gearing up to make grab-and-go dinners for kids who rely on free dinner programs previously offered by nonprofits that are now unable to operate under the quarantine.

Sierra Community House, $25,000
SCH is a combination of 4 nonprofits that have consolidated the local food bank, prevention and treatment of domestic violence, and legal and psychological counseling. Their goal with these MCF funds is to expand off-site contact with domestic violence and child abuse victims since walk-in appointments are not possible at this time. They also are providing housing assistance funds for families who have been furloughed earlier than the seasonal norm.

Truckee’s Emergency Warming Center, $10,000
At a time when they would normally be closed, the Emergency Warming Center will use MCF funds to continue to provide showers, food and aid to the chronically homeless and people who are losing their homes. They are expanding beyond just cold weather options through some innovative thinking and using other town facilities that are currently shut down.