Our Story, Our Mission, Our People

Connecting Hearts to Causes

Joining Hands Foundation exists to mobilize, train, and coordinate community volunteers to address critical needs in the Greater Sacramento region. We believe that sustainable change happens when ordinary people commit their time and talent to serving their neighbors with consistency, professionalism, and compassion. Our role is not to replace professional emergency services or social agencies but to amplify their reach by providing a structured, reliable pipeline of trained volunteers who show up prepared and stay committed.

We operate six core programs spanning disaster response, youth education, senior companionship, environmental restoration, food security, and corporate community engagement. Each program is designed around evidence-based service models, staffed by program-specific coordinators, and measured through verified outcome metrics. We recruit, screen, train, place, support, and retain volunteers using a service enterprise model recognized by Points of Light as a national best practice in volunteer management.

Marcus Delgado

Marcus Delgado brings 18 years of community organizing experience to his role as Executive Director of Joining Hands Foundation. Before founding JHF in 2009, Marcus served as a regional program director for AmeriCorps VISTA in Northern California, where he managed volunteer placement, training, and retention for anti-poverty initiatives across 12 counties. His VISTA experience taught him that volunteer programs fail not from lack of willing participants but from inadequate coordination, training, and support infrastructure.

Marcus holds a Master of Public Administration from Sacramento State University with a concentration in Nonprofit Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from UC Davis. He is a certified Volunteer Administration Professional (CVA) through the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration and has completed FEMA’s Professional Development Series for emergency management. Marcus serves on the Sacramento County Community Services Planning Advisory Council, the Points of Light Service Enterprise Initiative National Advisory Committee, and the California Volunteers State Commission Community Advisory Panel.

Under Marcus’s leadership, Joining Hands Foundation has grown from a three-person team coordinating weekend park cleanups to a 22-staff organization managing six programs with over 4,200 active volunteers. The foundation earned Points of Light Service Enterprise certification in 2016, recognition as a CaliforniaVolunteers Program of Excellence in 2019, and the Sacramento Business Journal Nonprofit of the Year award in 2022. Marcus lives in the Curtis Park neighborhood with his wife, Elena, their two children, and an unreasonably energetic border collie named Amos.

Marcus Delgado founds Joining Hands Foundation with three staff members. Initial programs focus on weekend park restoration and school supply drives in South Sacramento.

Community Food Distribution program launches in partnership with Sacramento Food Bank. First mobile pantry deployed to Del Paso Heights.

Youth Tutoring & Mentorship program established at Meadowview Community Center. First cohort of 12 tutors serves 34 students.

Habitat Restoration Crews program launches. First major project: 1,200 native plants installed along lower American River Parkway.

Senior Companion Program begins with 22 volunteer-senior pairings in Land Park and Pocket neighborhoods.

JHF earns Points of Light Service Enterprise certification, recognizing our volunteer management as a national best practice.

CaliforniaVolunteers Program of Excellence award. Active volunteer roster surpasses 3,000 for the first time.

Sacramento Business Journal Nonprofit of the Year. Headquarters relocates to River Park Drive, Suite 180.

Active roster reaches 4,217 volunteers. Cumulative service hours surpass 384,600. Disaster Response Corps completes 47th activation.