Jenn’s Cupcakes Marks $30K Donation Milestone

Jenn DeJanes and her business partners that the homegrown business recently hit the $30,000 mark in the amount donated straight to the Castro Valley community.

After nearly 10 years in business, Jenn’s Cupcakes has made and sold a lot of tasty treats. Many of those sales were made for fundraising purposes. So, it shocked founder Jenn DeJanes and her business partners that the homegrown business recently hit the $30,000 mark in the amount donated straight to the Castro Valley community.

“I’ve always been involved with my kid’s schools, and I love giving back,” DeJanes told the Forum. “Every time we’re hired for a fundraising event, we donate 20 percent of what we sell. By the end of the night, that group has a check in its hands.” 

DeJanes and her three other cupcake makers have been busy in 2023 with $8,700 in donations, including $1,500 for the Castro Valley High School Football program. In 2022, Jenn’s Cupcakes gave back a total of $4,500 to various causes. Even when the schools were closed for most of 2021, the company was able to give $3,700 to Eden Medical Center nurses and other healthcare workers as part of the Chamber of Commerce’s outreach to essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. 

“I learned the importance of donating money and time back in high school,” DeJanes said. “I was in an ROP nursing program, and donating time was part of the program.”

When her kids enrolled in Vannoy Elementary, DeJanes really got baking. It first started in 2012 with classroom celebrations, which quickly grew to walkathons and other fundraisers. She continued the practice when her kids attended Creekside Middle School and, more recently, Castro Valley High School. When Jenn’s Cupcakes gets hired, the team sets up a popup tent and gets to sell an assortment of her nearly 40 flavors of cupcakes. The team also can be contracted to create hand-crafted cakes and other pastries.

DeJanes says she’s been able to work from home thanks to a 2014 state-issued “Cottage Food License” and says she prefers her home office to a retail site. 

Jenn and her bakers have recently been spotted around town at the Fall Festival, Light Parade, and the various Castro Valley schools. She also sets up fundraisers for Castro Valley Little League, Castro Valley Independent Sports League, Castro Valley Music Parents Society, and a new contract that will allow her to sell cupcakes in San Ramon schools.

For more information, check out Jenn’s website: jennscupcakesandparties.com