Where this is headed.
Right now it is my garage and my own two hands. The goal is a real space, a nonprofit that outlasts me, and a way to help clear the barriers that keep someone in recovery, or coming home from a record, from getting to work and holding onto their family's good days. Here is the plan, and exactly where it stands today.
I started this because I have been the person who needed it. The dream is bigger than my garage: a real place with a floor anyone can walk through with their head up, pick what fits, and leave with what they came for.
The way I see it working: a small thrift side out front, open to anyone, whose sales help cover the free clothing in back for the individuals and families who need it. One side holds the other up. I would rather build that slowly and honestly than rush it and cut a corner that matters.
One honest step at a time.
No date promises. Each step happens when it is ready and done right. I will move the marker as we go.
- Where we are now
A one-person clothing drive, out of my garage
Collecting, washing, sorting, and handing clothing directly to individuals and families who need it. Building the habit and the trust before the paperwork.
- Next
Form the nonprofit and build a small team
File to form the organization with our attorneys, gather a few people to help run it, and find a dry, affordable space to sort and store in.
- Then
File for 501(c)(3), open the doors, start the barrier fund
Apply for tax-exempt status, open a space with a thrift side that helps fund the free clothing, and stand up the fund that helps clear a barrier to work (see below).
- The horizon
Reach more of the county
Work with shelters, recovery programs, and reentry caseworkers across Sonoma County, so anyone starting over always has somewhere to turn.
A fund to clear the barriers to work.
Sometimes the only thing between a person and a steady job is a single bill.
A car payment so they can get to work. A uniform or the tools the job requires. Gas for the first two weeks. Childcare until the first paycheck lands. Small, specific things that quietly decide whether someone in recovery or fresh out makes it.
As we form the nonprofit, this is where a business or a person can step in and cover one real barrier for someone who is doing the work. It is the piece I am most excited to build, and the one that has to wait until we can do it right.
Straight with you
This part is not open yet. I am not collecting money, there is no donate button, and nothing is tax deductible until the nonprofit is real and registered. What I can do today is start the list of businesses and people who want to help this way.
Add me to the listEmployers willing to give a real shot.
A closet and a covered bill get a person to the interview. A job is what changes everything after.
I am building a list of Sonoma County employers who are open to hiring people coming out of recovery or reentry: people who show up ready and want to work. When someone is ready, I want a real door to send them to, not just a wish.
For an employer, this is a motivated hire who comes with support behind them. There are federal programs built for exactly this, like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and the Federal Bonding Program, that your accountant can walk you through. Your team always decides who fits.
This is early, and honest
I am not a placement agency, and I am not making promises to anyone. What I can do today is start the list of employers who want to be part of this, so that when someone is ready, there is a door to knock on.
Add my businessI cannot do the next part alone.
To grow this the right way, I am looking for a few people who believe in it and can lend what they know, and for the practical things that get us out of the garage.
People
Someone who knows how a board works
Comfortable sitting on a board and keeping it productive, glad to help ours stay focused and get real things done.
A treasurer or bookkeeper
Clean books from day one. Grants and donors both need to trust the numbers.
Someone who has walked this path
Lived experience of recovery or reentry. It keeps this honest and pointed at what actually helps.
Steady volunteers
A few hands to help wash, sort, and pack on a regular day.
Space and gear
Warehouse or storage space
A dry, secure place to receive, sort, and store donations. Even a shared corner would change what I can hold.
A reliable van or truck
To pick up larger donations and get things to the people who need them.
Racks, bins, and shelving
The unglamorous gear that keeps a closet organized and dignified to shop.
I would rather be honest than impressive.
Sonoma's Closet is my own personal project right now. It is not a registered nonprofit yet. My husband and I are working with attorneys to form one, and later to file for 501(c)(3) status, and I would rather do that right than fast.
Because of where we are: I take clothing and goods, not money. Nothing you give is tax deductible yet, and the barrier fund is not open. The day the nonprofit is real and registered, this page will say so, with the date, and it will change what I am able to accept.
Written by Naomi Fritzinger, Sonoma County. I update this page as each step happens.
Want to be part of it?
Give clothing, lend what you know, offer a space, or add your name for the barrier fund when it opens. Leave a note and I will be in touch myself.
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