We need your help TODAY
to keep our programS
OPEN TOMORROW
your help TODAY
keepS our programS
OPEN TOMORROW
BBSVC is in a cash flow crisis, and we need your help to close our funding gap by December.
A gift of $250 keeps a mentoring match active. $5,400 (or $450/month) joins our President's Council as a collaborator in this county-wide work. A gift of any amount gives youth in Ventura County the opportunity to connect with a mentor who unlocks their individual potential.
Why now
Beginning January 2025, a long-standing funding partnership was paused multiple times due to changes at the federal level, and two other partners had to step back with their own budget cuts. The Center for Nonprofit Leadership at CLU recently released a report detailing that overall private giving in Ventura County is at only one-third of state and national averages, with a declining trend in broad-based individual donor participation. This has created a gap that BBSVC is now struggling to close.
What's at stake
Without new support, BBSVC will have to make the kind of cuts we've worked hard to avoid: pausing new mentoring matches, closing existing matches, reducing Youth Room hours...all as more young people are asking for guidance, support, and mentorship more than ever.
BBBS Littles are 20% More Likely
to enroll in post- secondary pathways
98% of BBSVC HS SENIORS
graduate with a post-secondary plan for college, career, military, or apprenticeship!
BBBS Littles Earn 15% More
over their lifetime
BBSVC’s Mentor Academy has equipped nearly
120 YOUTH across 5 COHORTS
with skills that are critical to life and career!
Being a BBBS Little Closes 2/3
of the Economic Gap
In 2025, BBSVC programs served
OVER 450 LMI HOUSEHOLDS
connecting families with professional case
management and wraparound resources to thrive!
A letter from our CEO
Who was the person who believed in you when you needed it most?
A teacher who saw something in you before you saw it in yourself. A coach who pushed you past what you thought you were capable of. A neighbor, a friend, or someone who simply kept showing up until you knew you mattered.
Almost everyone can name that person. Few of us got where we are entirely on our own.
At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County (BBSVC) we match local youth, many of whom are navigating serious adversity, with caring adult mentors who show up for them. It is simple in concept and profound in practice, but it changes the trajectory of a young person's life for the better.
I am writing to ask you to help make mentorship possible for another young person in Ventura County: as I shared earlier this year, BBSVC has been facing a very serious cash flow crisis in 2026. Although we have worked to reduce our operating costs, I have personally taken a pay decrease, and we have prioritized protecting every mentoring match and every family we serve without interruption, the funding gap remains. Solving this problem depends on this very community. If we can’t close this gap, many of our programs will have to close and youth will have to be turned away.
This is where you come in. Just as someone once mentored you...
Will YOU invest in young people who are waiting for that same chance today?
A gift of any size helps keep a mentoring match active, keeps our programs running, and ensures that a young person in Ventura County has the same opportunity you once had, to connect with someone who shows up for them.
The alternative is that our programs must close, and we must turn away some of our most vulnerable community members - youth who have come to rely on us and trust us for guidance.
Please consider making a gift today. Think of the person who stepped up for you, and help BBSVC continue to be that person for someone else.
With gratitude,
Danica Selvaggio
Chief Executive Officer, BBSVC
The impact a Big makes is real.
Hear the invaluable stories from Bigs & Littles of the Year.
96% MORE LIKELY TO STAY IN SCHOOL.
89% OF THE YOUTH IN OUR PROGRAMS FEEL MORE CONFIDENT OVERALL.
98% OF THE YOUTH IN OUR PROGRAMS GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL ON TIME WITH A POST-GRADUATION PLAN
95% GET ALONG BETTER WITH FAMILY MEMBERS, AND OTHER ADULTS.
98% MORE LIKELY TO ATTEND CLASS.
98% MORE LIKE TO AVOID ALCOHOL
October 2026
Our CEO's latest letter
July 2026
"Our Cash Flow Crisis"
Read our CEO's Letter of Appeal, learn more about what ledto our cash flow crisis, and see how we began taking action.
October 2026
Our CEO's latest letter
July 2026
"Our Cash Flow Crisis"
Read our CEO's Letter of Appeal, learn more about what led
to our cash flow crisis, and see how we began taking action.
October 2026
Our CEO's latest letter
July 2026
"Our Cash Flow Crisis"
Read our CEO's Letter of Appeal, learn more about what led
to our cash flow crisis, and see how we began taking action.
96% MORE LIKELY TO
STAY IN SCHOOL.
89% OF THE YOUTH IN OUR PROGRAMS FEEL MORE CONFIDENT OVERALL.
98% OF THE YOUTH IN OUR PROGRAMS GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL ON TIME WITH A POST-GRADUATION PLAN.
95% GET ALONG BETTER
WITH FAMILY MEMBERS,
AND OTHER ADULTS.
98% MORE LIKELY
TO ATTEND CLASS.
A LETTER FROM OUR CEO
Who was the person who believed in you when you needed it most?
A teacher who saw something in you before you saw it in yourself. A coach who pushed you past what you thought you were capable of. A neighbor, a friend, or someone who simply kept showing up until you knew you mattered.
Almost everyone can name that person. Few of us got where we are entirely on our own.
At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County (BBSVC) we match local youth, many of whom are navigating serious adversity, with caring adult mentors who show up for them. It is simple in concept and profound in practice, but it changes the trajectory of a young person's life for the better.
I am writing to ask you to help make mentorship possible for another young person in Ventura County: as I shared earlier this year, BBSVC has been facing a very serious cash flow crisis in 2026. Although we have worked to reduce our operating costs, I have personally taken a pay decrease, and we have prioritized protecting every mentoring match and every family we serve without interruption, the funding gap remains. Solving this problem depends on this very community. If we can’t close this gap, many of our programs will have to close and youth will have to be turned away.
This is where you come in. Just as someone once mentored you...
Will YOU invest in young people who are waiting for that same chance today?
A gift of any size helps keep a mentoring match active, keeps our programs running, and ensures that a young person in Ventura County has the same opportunity you once had, to connect with someone who shows up for them.
The alternative is that our programs must close, and we must turn away some of our most vulnerable community members - youth who have come to rely on us and trust us for guidance.
Please consider making a gift today. Think of the person who stepped up for you, and help BBSVC continue to be that person for someone else.
With gratitude,
Danica Selvaggio
Chief Executive Officer, BBSVC
OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT
SPONSOR AN EVENT
“The heart that BBSVC puts into our signature fundraising events is what makes these experiences extraordinary and we always go the extra mile for the sponsors of our ANNUAL SIGNATURE EVENTS:
Move For Kids’ Sake
The Golf Classic VIP Experience
The Emerald Experience
The Big Dreams Gala
If you are interested in becoming a signature event sponsor, I'd love to discuss what opportunities best align our organizations' values and impact.
Kathleen Leonard,
Events & Philanthropy Coordinator
805.891.9460
LEAVE A LEGACY
A planned gift to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ventura County ensures the continuation of our landmark mentoring programs and creates your own legacy of support.
Planned giving also offers significant advantages, including tax breaks and a potential income increase.
If you’re considering making Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County part of your trust, bequest, or endowment, please contact Ally Durlester at ally@bbsvc.org or 805.484.2282.
EMPLOYER MATCHING GIFT
Your gift today can go even further in helping Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County provide mentoring relationships to youth.
Many employers will match contributions for employees, employees’ spouses, or retired employees. Your employer may even match your volunteer hours! Most of these programs match contributions dollar for dollar or more!
Speak to your HR Rep to see if your contribution qualifies.
If your company needs written confirmation to verify your donation or volunteer hours and you have the form, please send it to: [email protected]
Or via mail:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County
Attn: Matching Gifts
2435 Ventura Blvd Ste. A, Camarillo, CA 93010
BE A MATCH MAKER
MatchMakers are a passionate group of monthly givers who are determined to provide mentorship for the children in our community facing the greatest need. They have the potential to change the world, and we're standing together to empower it. Join us.
Becoming a MatchMaker is the most efficient way to give the gift of mentorship. Through your monthly generosity, you help shape communities and change lives.
Standing Together for
a Big Future
Contact Us
Big Brothers Big Sisters
of Ventura County
2435 Ventura Blvd, Ste. A, Camarillo, CA 93010
2435 Ventura Blvd, Ste. A, Camarillo,
CA 93010
Federal Tax ID 20-3425568
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