photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCB

A new group of West Sonoma County residents are coming together, they say to "plug the gaps" in funding for local organizations.

They're called the Sebastopol West 100, and it's not just federal funding cuts that have Craig Boblitt concerned.

Shrinking budgets and receding services at the state, and as he noted, especially local level are being felt just as much.

"The city needs to support these entities that in many cases are city park and rec entities, but in Sebastopol they're not," Boblitt said.

Boblitt is part of the new charitable giving group Sebastopol West 100.

He said the idea began to percolate last fall, well before the high profile slashing and burning of federal agencies by DOGE.

Boblitt said he and fellow Sebastopol West 100 member Craig Litwin, "decided we would try and refund the nonprofits in Sebastopol that lost their funding from the city."

They hope to step in and provide desperately needed cash for organizations like the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center.

Boblitt said, "we know there's money in the West County, and you know, we don't want to disrupt the current funding that these nonprofits are getting. Is there a way that we could get people to give in bigger chunks?"

The recently organized philanthropic circle is a fund of the Sonoma County Community Foundation. That means they are leveraging the foundation's existing administrative infrastructure.

Organizers said the focus is on charitable giving within the West County communities of Sebastopol, Graton, Forestville, Occidental, and Freestone.

Co-president Kenyon Webster said the goal isn't to upstage, or directly takeover municipal or community services, but support groups like the Sebastopol Area Senior Center through turbulent times.

Plus, Webster said, "it's a way for people to participate, especially those that maybe currently aren't that connected, aren't sure of where to direct their money, maybe don't have a lot of history as to what has been going on in their community. Perhaps they're new."

Webster and Boblitt said the group has already secured at least $125,000 in pledged donations to distribute to West County nonprofits.