Quick Take

An annual report from crowdfunding and fundraising platform GoFundMe spotlights big generosity from our small county, Jessica M. Pasko reports in her weekly look at local business. She's also got news on real estate trends, dates, names and numbers to know and more.

Each week, we’re taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene each Wednesday.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

Santa Cruz County ranks No. 8 for giving in GoFundMe’s annual report

Santa Cruz County residents are among some of the most generous in the country, according to the recently released ”year in help” report from crowdfunding and fundraising platform GoFundMe. 

The Redwood City-headquartered company ranked California as the most generous state based on the percent of repeat donors to GoFundMe charities or crowdsourced fundraisers. Los Angeles County topped the list for most generous community, followed by Marin County; Hampshire County in Massachusetts; Buncombe County, North Carolina; New York’s Kings County and Ulster County; Chittenden County, Vermont; and Santa Cruz County. Ventura and Santa Barbara counties rounded out the top 10.

GoFundMe, launched in 2010, is the largest online fundraising platform, enabling people to create campaigns to fund everything from medical bills to education, disaster relief and more. While starting a campaign is free, donors are charged a small transaction fee per donation. This year, the number of fundraisers started to help cover basic expenses like rent, utilities and groceries increased 20% compared to last year, the company said. 

The report also found that a total of 79 million separate donations were made globally, with 2.5 donations made every second. The largest volume of donations in a single day occurred on Jan. 10, just days after multiple wildfires broke out across Los Angeles County. More than $8.4 million was raised through fundraisers on GoFundMe for people affected by those fires. 

Santa Cruz County might be the second-smallest county in the state by square miles, but it outperformed many larger counties in terms of frequency of donations. That’s no surprise to Leslie Lee, director of community engagement for the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County. 

“I was thrilled to see Santa Cruz included on this list, especially alongside much larger and more resourced communities,” said Lee. “It really validates what we see every day at the Volunteer Center. We find that across our county, people give generously however they can, whether that’s in gifts of time or financial support.”

Lee said the organization hasn’t finalized the total of volunteer hours this year yet, but signs point to both volunteering and donations being up in 2025. Already, the organization’s Adopt-a-Family holiday giving program has seen a 25% increase in both giving and volunteer participation over last year.

ICYMI: Deep-pocketed investors account for a third of home purchases in Santa Cruz County

Investors are snapping up properties in Santa Cruz County, including many single-family homes. Since 2021, investors have spent almost $1.45 billion on purchases of single-family homes in the county. That accounts for around 44% of total sales value.

Many of those investors own dozens of properties around the country. In fact, investors who own more than 100 properties nationwide accounted for almost 9% of single-family home purchases in the county as of October.

Read more from reporter Dieter Holger’s investigation here.

Ch-ch-changes

  • Fourteen new businesses opened in downtown Santa Cruz in 2025: That’s according to Santa Cruz city officials and comes amid some high-profile departures from the downtown commercial district. Those new ventures include restaurants such as Fusion Fare, The Salty Otter Sports Grill and Mane Kitchen & Cocktails. It also includes Botanic and Luxe’s new sister store, Botanic and Lux Littles, a new psychic in the former Bonesio Liquor Store on the corner of Front and Laurel streets, and several new secondhand stores, such as Pastime Vintage and Santa Cruz Gear Exchange, which specializes in outdoor gear.
  • Cabrillo College moves closer to hiring new president: With outgoing president Matt Wetstein planning to retire at the end of the year, a Cabrillo College’s search committee will recommend that the governing board select Jenn Capps to replace him. The college’s trustees are slated to vote whether to approve a tentative contract for the Cal Poly Humboldt administrator at their meeting on Jan. 12. Retired assistant superintendent and vice president of instruction Kathie Welch will serve as the interim president in the meantime.
A rendering of the Watsonville Metro Project. Credit: City of Watsonville
  • Watsonville gets $39 million state grant for new housing project: The state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program selected the Watsonville Metro Project to receive $39 million in funding. The project, which is a partnership among the City of Watsonville, Santa Cruz Metro and MidPen Housing, will overhaul the current Watsonville Transit Center into a mixed-use development with ground-floor commercial space and 79 affordable housing units. Read more from Max Chun here.
  • Zero Motorcycles issues recall for certain 2023 models: Zero Motorcycles issued a recall for certain 2023 DSR/X electric motorcycles due to an issue with the motor controller. Vehicle identification numbers involved in the recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning Friday. The company, which was founded in Scotts Valley, still maintains some operations locally, but announced earlier this year its headquarters would move to the Netherlands.

Got hires, promotions, or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

What’s new on the Lookout Job Board

Want more? Browse all openings on our job board. | Hiring? Post your job today!

Looking at the numbers

  • 5.4%: That was the unemployment rate for Santa Cruz County in September, a slight dip from 5.6% in August 2025 but up from 4.9% in September 2024. Statewide, the unemployment rate was 5.6%, more than the national rate of 4.3%. September saw the loss of 800 leisure and hospitality jobs and 100 farm jobs from August, but the county gained jobs in the government, private education and health services, and trade/transportation/utilities sectors. That’s according to the latest statistics from the state’s Employment Development Department, which were delayed due to the federal shutdown. 

Save the date 

  • Saturday, Dec. 20: Driving While Awesome, a local business that holds monthly car events and runs a podcast, will kick off a new event series in the Seabright neighborhood of Santa Cruz. In conjunction with local residents and business owners, DWA will host the first Seabright Motors car show in the Day’s Market parking lot on Seabright Avenue and at surrounding businesses from noon to 4 p.m. The event is aimed at helping spur visitors to businesses in the area, many of which have taken an economic hit since the Murray Street bridge closed earlier this year.
  • Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026: Santa Cruz Pride will hold a workshop for executives, business owners, human resources professionals and managers at the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz from 9 a.m. to noon. The event, titled Elevate LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion: The Power of Belonging, will include real stories from local businesses, networking and more. Speakers include Santa Cruz County Supervisor Monica Martinez and Sharon Papo, the CEO of LGBTQ eLearning. Register here to attend.
  • Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its next business after-hours event at local security company Abbott SPI, Inc. from 5 to 7 p.m. Abbott SPI’s headquarters are located at 2030 N. Pacific Ave., Suite A, in downtown Santa Cruz. Register here to attend.
  • Thursday, April 16, 2026: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual community recognition awards event at The Grove in Santa Cruz from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Early bird registration is available now through March 15.

Add your business or networking events to Lookout’s free public calendar, BOLO. Click here to add your event.

Business news worth reading

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

Jessica M. Pasko has been writing professionally for almost two decades. She cut her teeth in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in her native Albany, New York, where she covered everything...