Annual Partnership Fund
Rancho Cielo’s Annual Partnership Fund (APF) is a yearly fundraising effort to help ensure the sustainability of vocational programs to support workforce development. This campaign runs from June through September to raise public awareness of and obtain funding for general operating funds, programs and projects in need and various capital funds.
The APF Steering Committee, comprised of board members and community volunteers, provides the overall direction and guidance for the campaign, which evolves year-over-year to address the needs of Rancho Cielo.
Why Support APF?
Giving to the Annual Partnership Fund makes an immediate and direct impact in helping to transform the lives of resilient youth and empower them to become accountable, competent, productive and responsible citizens who are earning sustainable living wages and contribute to the local workforce, economy and our community.
Through partnerships with public agencies, community-based organizations and compassionate citizens like you, Rancho Cielo aims to design and implement a comprehensive set of services and programs in support of our work to help young people reach their potential.
Rancho Cielo’s impact has been significant and far-reaching. Recent highlights include:
- 7 vocational program opportunities, including a new Welding & Fabrication program started in 2023
- 250+ students served annually
- 73 students graduated in 2024 — RC’s largest class to date, up 150% in five years
- Over 70% of the class of 2024 are continuing their education and/or employed
Be a Part of a New Era at Rancho Cielo
Rancho Cielo continues to grow, and with that growth expanded facilities and additional resources are needed to ensure our students’ success. Every gift, large or small, will help make a difference in our students’ lives and our community.
Support a Student for a Year
We’ve all heard, “It takes a village,” and in our case it is true. Every student enrolled at Rancho Cielo can attend for free. Thanks to your generosity, we can fund 100% of our students’ academic and vocational education—$30,000 per student/1-year tuition.
Rancho Cielo provides a secure haven, empowering these youth to achieve a WASC-accredited high school diploma alongside hands-on vocational education that prepares them for higher education or full-time employment. Such an endeavor is not easy, which is why we support the whole student—their essential needs and well-being—and remove barriers to success.
Support for a student includes:
- Holistic case management and counseling w/mental health professional
- Daily nutritious meals, prepared from scratch on site
- Transportation to/from Rancho Cielo
- Driver’s education, enrichment programs and more
Invest in After School Programming
Rancho Cielo cultivates a goal-oriented atmosphere that builds self-esteem and belonging. By expanding the school day, we can facilitate our students’ progress toward graduation in a safe and affirming environment.
Program includes:
- Healthy, substantial snack
- Academic credit recovery and tutoring opportunities to expedite graduation
- College and career readiness course/support
- Enrichment, recreation and wellness activities, including biking/bike mechanics and restoration horsemanship/equine-assisted learning, basketball
Contribute to Culinary Expansion & BBQ Pavilion
You can help build new wood-fired cooking facilities for future culinary professionals. A new BBQ Pavilion will be central to Rancho Cielo’s future—it will help us not only to expand our Drummond Culinary Academy into a state-of-the-art Culinary Arts Center* but potentially the growth of student population, increase in size, type and number of events, while generating more revenue for our students, programs and general operations.
Investing in the BBQ Pavilion will:
- Grow our Drummond Culinary Academy
- Broaden our culinary curriculum to include outdoor cooking (smoking/barbecuing)
- Add another revenue stream for Rancho Cielo (facility event rentals)
- Increase our capacity for Friday Night Dinners
- Create an inclusive talent pipeline for hospitality in the region
*The Culinary Arts Center also includes our mobile kitchen near the Ted Taylor Ag Vocational Center to support Rancho Cielo’s healthy lunch program, culinary student work-study opportunities and fundraising events. It will also encompass a 1,200-square-foot pastry kitchen, which Rep. Zoe Lofgren, California’s 18th Congressional District, advocated and obtained funds from the U.S. Congress’ Community Project Funding Initiative. The pastry kitchen will be built next to the BBQ Pavilion, central kitchen and dining room, to offer a new specialized baking curriculum and create a social micro-enterprise in the form of a cafe/retail lab.
