Fostering a vibrant rural lifestyle.
The Elfin Forest Community Foundation is your community’s independent 501(c)(3). Since 1995 we have funded trails, fire safety, native habitat, and the gatherings that keep Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove rural.
Why we exist
A landfill closed. The money stayed in the valley.
For decades a San Marcos trash dump sat against the west end of Elfin Forest. Residents pushed until it closed in the 1990s. That was a genuine celebration out here — not a ribbon-cutting, a dump gone.
The City had collected $340,087 in “tipping fees” to offset the impact on this community. After the closure, the Town Council asked for those fees. San Marcos agreed to transfer them — if a separate nonprofit would hold the principal and spend only the net income on public-benefit work.
The Town Council created that nonprofit by resolution on January 31, 1995. We still keep the principal intact. We grant the income, plus whatever neighbors donate, to projects that serve Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove.
“To provide financial and other assistance to programs that benefit the community of Elfin Forest and its residents.”
97+
Grants awarded
46+
Review cycles
13
Miles of trail funded
$265,000+
Total funds granted
Figures compiled from Foundation and partner records; we update after each cycle.
What we fund
Anything that can be shown to benefit the public good is eligible. We favor work that serves the widest slice of the community and that keeps this place rural.
Trails & fencing
The dirt path beside the road, the rail that keeps a horse off Elfin Forest Road, the connector into a Conservancy preserve.
Fire safety
Defensible space, communications, and the unglamorous gear a Fire Safe Council actually uses.
Native plants & habitat
Coast live oak and chaparral. Not pepper trees. Restoration after fire, and planting where the public can see it.
Community events
The Fourth of July picnic, Keepin’ It Rural, the gatherings that make a valley without a Main Street feel like one.
Public safety equipment
A defibrillator for the fire station. Cameras on a preserve. Things you can point at when someone asks what the check bought.
Education & interpretation
Photo contests, trail signs, the Interpretive Center — teaching neighbors and school groups what they are walking through.
Latest grants
All stories
April 2023 · $1,134
Photo contest display at the Interpretive Center
A $1,134 grant helped the Interpretive Center hang the annual amateur photo contest — animals, plants, water, and youth — so visitors actually see the watershed they walk.
October 2022 · $5,000
A website for the Fire Safe Council
A $5,000 grant built the Fire Safe Council a real website and email so defensible-space advice and alerts reach the whole community, not just whoever is on a paper list.
April 2020 · $1,055
Trail cameras for Keithly Preserve
Four locked Browning trail cameras let the Conservancy watch wildlife and trespass on Keithly Preserve without posting a ranger on every acre.
Neighbors we work alongside
The Foundation writes checks. These groups do the work on the ground.