Several nonprofit organizations based in the Poway and Rancho Bernardo area are hoping to raise money for their philanthropic work during the fourth annual San Diego Gives campaign.
They are among the 179 nonprofits in the county’s largest fundraising campaign that kicked off on July 25 and will conclude on Sept. 5.
There are three-Poway based organizations registered — Blissful Seeds, Shyne San Diego and Villa de Vida Inc. In addition, ME/CFS San Diego is based in ZIP code 92127 and the TransFamily Support Services and Travelers Aid Society of San Diego are registered under ZIP code 92128.
The nonprofits are grouped on the campaign’s website tinyurl.com/SDGives24 under 11 categories. They are adult mental health; affordable housing; animal welfare; arts and culture; child/youth mental health; climate change, environment and wildfires; education; employment; homeless, human services and hunger/poverty; public safety and racial justice.
This is the second year Blissful Seeds is participating in San Diego Gives. It gives young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities an opportunity to earn money by making and selling products such as soaps, candles and jewelry through its website, at community events and in its store at 14777 Pomerado Road, in the same shopping center as Target in Poway.
Founded by Rita Saliba in 2020, Blissful Seeds began when she was looking for an activity for her son Michael Nasrallah, now 14, to do early in the pandemic. They made soaps in their Poway home, which friends said were good enough to be sold. She also started hosting workshops in her garage, providing craft-style activities for others with disabilities at the request of their parents.
“Distance learning was not working for these kids who do constant movement, who needed hands-on activities,” she said.
Initially the items they made were sold at farmers markets and craft fairs. As the organization expanded, online sales and a storefront became reality.
“Seventy percent of the proceeds go back to the artists,” Saliba said. “The small amount of money we keep does not pay all of the (store’s) rent so we do a lot of fundraising to keep the store open, to pay the rent, utilities and what is needed to stay in business.”
Saliba said because those with autism need a more controlled environment, it was difficult for the artisans to staff a booth at farmers markets and outdoor craft fairs. However, the store gives them the environment in which they can work and interact with customers directly.
Seven work in the store and they are among the 30 who create items for consignment, she said.
“The majority are autistic, but some have Williams or Down syndrome and other disabilities,” she said. The majority live in Poway, Scripps Ranch, Ramona and adjacent communities.
Last year Blissful Seeds raised $2,500 through San Diego Gives and was able to double the amount due to a matching grant from the Copley Foundation. This year, the goal is to raise $5,000 which the foundation has pledged to match as well, Saliba said. The money will go toward the store’s operating expenses. Learn more at blissfulseeds.org.
Cynthia Luvlee is the founder and CEO of Shyne San Diego. The Poway resident of 18 years said she was inspired to start the nonprofit in 2018 after a loved one became the victim of sexual assault a couple years prior.
“(The case) went to the courts and the predator was incarcerated,” Luvlee said. “The experience led to a passion and purpose ignited in me to end sexual violence in the community.”
She decided to help those who have escaped sex trafficking rebuild their lives by equipping them with the knowledge and tools to gain employment. Often, those trafficked have themselves ended up incarcerated and Luvlee said this can make it difficult for them to apply for and obtain jobs. However, if they start their own businesses that hurdle is eliminated.
Through business coaching, classes and access to capital they are given the starting blocks to entrepreneurship, she said. Even if they do not ultimately start a business, the lessons learned on how to be a leader, the CEO and a decision maker help them be better job applicants.
Shyne San Diego has assisted over 100 trafficking survivors not only locally but across the U.S. It has also started to have global reach because during the pandemic it had to shift operations online. This has resulted in survivors being helped in Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom and Australia, Luvlee said.
This is the first year Shyne San Diego has participated in San Diego Gives and its fundraising goal is $2,500, according to Luvlee. The money will go toward paying its interns who are working on a fundraising event this fall in Solana Beach.
“They are the event managers, doing the marketing and creating a live fundraising event,” she said.
Learn more at shynesd.org.
San Diego Gives has raised more than $1.3 million last year and its goal for the current campaign is $1.5 million, officials said.
It is presented by the North County Philanthropy Council. The idea is that by uniting the nonprofits, the campaign can expand their visibility and funding opportunities. Many of these organizations are often overlooked by community members, officials said.
Since the San Diego Gives campaign began in 2021, it has “harnessed the collective power of San Diego philanthropy to raise more than $2.9 million for over 500 local nonprofits,” according to a press release. “The campaign has seen a steady increase in donors each year, starting with 2,385 donors in 2021 and reaching more than 4,300 donors in 2023.”
To be included in the campaign, the nonprofits must have 501(c)(3) status, be located in and serving San Diego County, in good standing with the Franchise Tax Board and Attorney General of California, and have paid a registration fee based on their annual operating budgets.
Donors have the option of giving money to a specific organization or give to the “Love Them All” fund, which will equally distribute contributions among all of this year’s participants.
Source: The San Diego Union Tribune
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