The 2025 Santa Cruz Gives campaign was a milestone for Santa Cruz County and for our beloved San Lorenzo River. This past year’s SC Gives campaign raised over $2.1 million for Santa Cruz County nonprofits, a 30% increase over the year before. Here at CWC we feel proud to be part of something that remarkable.
For us, the momentum was personal. 
We began the campaign with $54,100 in challenge gifts secured from deeply intentional relationships with dedicated river champions. We ended the campaign with a total of $73,750 from 84 donors, including funds matched by sponsors of SC Gives – shout out to our river neighbor Good Times!
Throughout the campaign, the message we shared with the community was one we feel every day in our work: the San Lorenzo River isn’t just scenery. It’s our primary drinking water source, a diverse wildlife habitat, and an oasis of nature running through the heart of downtown.
During this extraordinary moment of change along the San Lorenzo, our community is beginning to rediscover a natural treasure it’s had all along and CWC is here to make sure that relationship deepens and lasts.
Making a measurable local impact
As the river continues to transform, the foundation of our work remains:
Leading volunteers to improve the river’s biodiversity through regular River Health Days and habitat restoration projects
Empowering youth to discover and protect their watershed through hands-on education programs
Serving as a voice for the river as Santa Cruz develops and grows, ensuring this central figure is protected and celebrated
SC Gives campaign funds raised are already being put to work. With each volunteer who shows up, each student who wades into environmental science for the first time, and each resident who pauses on the Riverwalk to watch the water flow by, we see a collective vision taking shape.
If you’ve walked the Riverwalk recently, you might have seen it: people stopping to watch birds migrate, families looking more closely at the edge of the path to investigate a native wildflower, river neighbors meeting each other for a lunchtime walk.
That’s what transformation looks like. Not all at once, but through consistent community stewardship, education, and care
Looking Forward
Santa Cruz Gives connects people who want to make a difference with organizations doing essential work. It creates a moment when the whole community comes together around shared values. CWC is grateful to be a part of it.
The funds raised by our incredible community continue to provide the resources needed to keep transforming the San Lorenzo River and, by extension, our relationship with the natural world – one project, one volunteer, one inspired young environmentalist at a time.
Our deepest thanks to every donor, every volunteer, every organization, and every sponsor who made this campaign possible. Together, we’re not just raising money, we’re building a better future for people and the planet.
To learn more about ways to give to support the transformation of the San Lorenzo River, visit coastal-watershed.org/donate. To explore all the amazing nonprofits that participated in Santa Cruz Gives, visit santacruzgives.org.