Each year, California State Senators and Assemblymembershonor a nonprofit as California Nonprofit of the Year. As Chair of the Senate Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector, Senator Limón has had the honor of speaking to hundreds of honorees in Sacramento for the annual Nonprofit of the Year Luncheon.
2024: Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV)
Women’s Economic Ventures is dedicated to the economic empowerment of women – cultivating the power within each woman to realize her dreams, achieve financial independence and succeed on her own terms. WEV is a business resource network for anyone looking to start a business, grow a business, or improve their business skills. WEV provides small business consulting, funding, and classes, as well as financial empowerment and professional development programs and networking opportunities in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
2023 Los Amigos de Guadalupe
The missions of Los Amigo de Guadalupe is to enhance and develop the capacity of the City of Guadalupe, community organizations, local businesses, and community members through community development plans and actions that support the City of Guadalupe.
2022: Mother's Helpers
Mothers’ Helpers is dedicated to supporting mothers in need by connecting them with essential items like strollers, cribs, blankets, and more that are critical in caring for a child. Mothers' Helpers, Inc. was founded by Robin Unander-La Berge and Dan La Berge of Santa Barbara in October 2009. The organization connects community members in need with gently used baby items. What started as helping out one single mother find a crib for her newborn, has turned into a community of parents and mothers helping to support mothers throughout Santa Barbara County.
2021 Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)
California is home to an estimated 170,000 indigenous migrants from the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Michoacán, including Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Purépechas. These indigenous populations face unique challenges including language barriers, as they often only speak their native pre-Hispanic indigenous languages. They also have deep-rooted and unique cultural practices and beliefs that often create barriers and isolate them from other Latino populations. The mission of MICOP is to support, organize and empower the indigenous migrant communities in California’s Central Coast.
2020: Community Environmental Council (CEC)
CEC builds on-the-ground momentum to reverse the threat of the climate crisis transforming the systems that fuel it, and safeguarding the community from its impacts. The CEC also innovates and incubates real life solutions in areas with the biggest impact on climate change – most notably energy, transportation and food systems.
2019: Alzheimer’s Association California Central Coast Chapter (Assembly Honoree)
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in the world for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. The California Central Coast Chapter provides services in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties.
2018: Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura
Five days a week, hundreds of youth from Ventura and its surrounding cities, stream through their doors, and are able to benefit from fun and engaging activities and programs that provide academic success, good character and citizenship and healthy lifestyle skill building. They benefit from a sense of belonging, usefulness, influence and competency and build the self-esteem that is so necessary for making good choices in life.
2017: Leading from Within
Leading From Within was founded in 2008 when Ken Saxon and Kim Stokely launched the Courage to Lead program to invest in renewal, leadership development and peer community for experienced nonprofit executive leaders. Since then, more than 60 Executive Directors have participated in this year-long professional development program.