Tahoe Magic is a 501c3 nonprofit organization formed in 1994 to help low-income families in the South Lake Tahoe area with essential basic needs.

The year 2024 will mark its 30th year anniversary serving our community.

Tahoe Magic continues to evolve in response to what our local neighbors and families need. The housing scarcity issues have compounded the issues and Tahoe Magic works on a year-round basis to help families in our community feel more secure.

Tahoe Magic disburses a substantial amount of financial support to our local community members in response to requests referred through our referral agency partners. We are the only nonprofit in South Lake Tahoe that is designed to provide financial assistance to families in crisis immediately through this referral process. We are able to do this through a legacy gift, grants and donations.

Our timeline below shares our story from early days of helping families who struggled at holiday times to responding to the ever-evolving changes and community needs.

Overtime, the Board of Tahoe Magic realized that families were often in crisis on a year-round basis and that the nonprofit could help these community members to remain in Tahoe, with heat, electricity and a roof over their head.

Tahoe Magic is now focused on helping families and our neighbors, on a year-round basis, with one-time financial support for housing security and many other basic essential needs.

 

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“I wanted to thank you for giving me a platform to make a donation to our community. I have been in this area since 1989. I was a cocktail waitress back in the day and I understand how this must be affecting families here at this time.”

Christia donor during the COVID-19 crisis
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“Thank you so much. I do not know what South Lake Tahoe would do without Tahoe Magic. It makes all the difference in the world to our clients.”

Nonprofit partner to Tahoe Magic
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”Hello, I’m Nellie. Thank you for helping mom with the rent and all the other bills she had. I don’t know who you are but you are a sweet, loving and awesome person. “Godbless” you and may repay you. With the money that was left, my mom could buy me and my brother new shoes that we needed.”

Nellie
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“Thanks for all you are doing for our community and our social services partners.”

Donor to Tahoe Magic
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”No words can describe how thankful we are.”

A mom who had to take time off from work to be with her 10 year old daughter who had a brain tumor
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“Tahoe Magic is the one nonprofit that we can turn to for emergency shelter assistance. It is what our clients worry the most about above all else, not having a place to live during this traumatic time.”

Nonprofit partner to Tahoe Magic
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“Thank you so very much during this time. It was very hard for us after having a newborn with so many unexpected expenses. We need more programs & people like this in the world. Thank you so much; you’ll never know how much it meant to us.”

Shauntyaha, Gerardo and Gresha

Timeline & History

1994

Tahoe Magic forms as a one-time crisis financial help network to assist families living in the South Lake Tahoe community.

1994 - 2022

Every year, Tahoe Magic continues to donate an average of $38,000 a year across hundreds of families living in South Lake Tahoe with one-time financial crisis support.

2020

With the onset of COVID and the shutdown of South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Magic shifts to helping community members with monthly home rental assistance for a total of $357,000 directly to 640 households.

2021

Tahoe Magic continues with monthly home rental assistance for locals in need for a total of $172,000 directly distributed to 335 households in South Lake Tahoe.

2022

COVID wanes and as people are able to go back to jobs, Tahoe Magic returns to providing one-time crisis help to families in South Lake Tahoe for a total of $112,000 to 135 households.

2023

Back to its original mission, Tahoe Magic strives to help local families in crisis. To date, the nonprofit has donated $57,000 to multiple households in South Lake Tahoe (as of August 2023).

$700,000 donated to our South Lake Tahoe community since the onset of COVID.

2024

In 2024, Tahoe Magic will celebrate its 30-year anniversary serving the most needy families who live in South Lake Tahoe with one-time financial crises funding.