Enjoying the Outdoors through Art and Recreation
At the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, one of my favorite funds is the Community Endowment Fund, because it is so flexible and the grant projects so diverse. Although it’s always a worthy challenge to make sure we meet our donors’ wishes when they have specific goals, it’s wonderful to be able to fund creative, meaningful projects from the Community Endowment Fund every year.
The Community Endowment Fund is a collection of permanent, undesignated (or broadly directed) endowment funds, and we use the income from this $3.3 million endowment to support annual grants of up to $5,000 each through our annual Community Enrichment grant program. The 2017 competitive grant process yielded $103,500 in funding to 23 organizations.
The Right Path for the Future
When you walk into the home of Holly Brackmann and Roger Foote, you get an immediate sense of the fullness of their lives. Textile arts and other artifacts from their travels are on display in colorful arrangements, and the environment reflects a sense of curiosity and interest in the world. In his younger days Roger was in the Peace Corps in Colombia and lived in Switzerland while working as a pre-clinical pharmacologist. He later returned to Ukiah to work as a County environmental health specialist. Holly taught art and art history at Mendocino College from 1973 – 2009 and also traveled extensively. “I wanted the experience of actually seeing the works of art that I was discussing with students, so that took me all over the world,” she says.
On The Road, With Ears Open
By Megan Barber Allendem CEO
At the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, we envision a thriving county where people of all ages can work, learn, create, contribute, and prosper.
To that end, our board chair, Jim Little recently proposed that he and his fellow board members embark on a “listening tour” to hear directly from people all over the county about how to improve workforce readiness, job development, and economic options. As a Laytonville resident, Jim knows how members of the community sometimes feel disconnected from the decision makers, and how difficult it can be to travel between our city centers and outlying areas.
People Working Together to Enrich Mendocino County
by Holly Madrigal, Community Enrichment Grant Consultant
Springtime at the Community Foundation is a time of giving back. The Community Endowment Fund is distributing $103,500 throughout Mendocino County through its Community Enrichment Grant program this year. The Community Foundation is responsible for honoring the wishes of its donors and a thriving non-profit sector is critical to making that happen. By providing these modest grant awards our area non-profits can increase their local impact.
The winning grant proposals run the gamut - a rainwater catchment system at the Philo Firehouse, infrastructure improvements to the Library Commons in Round Valley, kayaks for conservation students in Point Arena, a metal Pomo Basket sculpture at Grace Hudson Museum, to name just a few. This enormous undertaking could not be accomplished without the efforts of a countywide assortment of individuals who make up the people of the Community Foundation.
Encouraging a Life of Service: Bringing New Firefighters into the Field
As people age, they often require more medical care. Such was the case with Virginia Hammond, who began recognizing the firefighters who responded to her calls for emergency medical assistance. Eventually, she knew them so well she called them by name. They provided her with care and comfort when she was hurting or after a fall because it was their job and the right thing to do—it’s what they do for all patients—but, truth be known, they also did it because they had developed a soft spot for this feisty woman with a penchant for helping others.
Bringing More Produce to County Food Banks
By Susanne Norgard, Fort Bragg Food Bank Volunteer
At the heart of almost every Mendocino County community is a food bank or a food pantry. These have proven to be essential, especially in places where there is limited transportation and few options for residents to buy discounted food. The importance of the county’s nine local food banks is reflected by the community support they receive through donations of money, food and volunteer time. Although Ukiah, Willits and Fort Bragg food banks have some paid staff, all of the food banks rely on long-term volunteers. Volunteers include food bank clients and others who are devoted to helping their neighbors in this essential way.
Preserving Mendocino County’s Natural Treasures for the Future
As people approach retirement, they begin to think about the legacy they will leave. They consider the values they hold most dear, the work they’ve dedicated their lives to, and contemplate ways they can continue to make an impact after they’re gone. This is how our most recent field-of-interest fund began.
I’m pleased to announce the establishment of the Environmental Education and Conservation Fund, started by biologist Roger Foote and agronomist Chuck Vaughn. These two retired scientists share a passion for educating others as a means of conserving Mendocino County’s natural environment, and they’re hoping that by teaming up they can encourage even more people to support this important cause.
A Lifetime of Saving – For Others
The Arthur and Jean Morley Fund
By Winston Bowen
After years of living and working all over the country, Art and Jean Morley returned to Art’s hometown of Fort Bragg in 1993. By that time, they had long-established habits of giving and volunteering and that they continued here in our community.
Art credits his late wife Jean for inspiring his interest in nature, conservation, and birding. Jean’s love of nature came from her mother, a biology teacher. The couple first became involved with the local Audubon chapter in Michigan, and when they moved to San Diego during Art’s 20-year career in the U.S. Navy they became involved in the local chapter there as well. Then Art went to work for California State Parks, finishing his 18-year career as a Park Ranger at Anza-Borrego State Park.
The Morleys brought this love of the natural environment with them to the North Coast and quickly became two of our community’s most dedicated volunteers. Again, Art gives Jean credit for setting the couple on their lifetime path of giving back. The list of organizations they have supported with their time and their donations is long. It would be hard to find two people who have given more of themselves to our community over the last twenty-plus years than the Morleys.
PRMG Creates a Legacy of Corporate Giving
Living and working in a small town has some wonderful advantages: we know our neighbors; we can get from one end of town to the other in ten minutes; and most importantly, we feel a true sense of belonging. It is this sense of belonging that inspires many of us to engage in community-based projects and to make charitable contributions to local organizations. When we feel connected to one another and we see the impact of our giving, it inspires us to do more.
Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with the leadership of a company that makes an important difference in the lives of local people every day, Pacific Redwood Medical Group (PRMG). PRMG is a medical group comprised of doctors, physician-assistants, and nurse practitioners who work in Ukiah Valley Medical Center’s (UVMC) Emergency Department and inpatient hospitalist service.
Changing the World, One Non-Profit At a Time
33 people. 16 non-profit organizations. 3 locations. Representatives from organizations working in very different sectors of each local community gathered around tables stacked with handbooks, questionnaires, and worksheets to explore the existential questions that surface periodically for every non-profit. Catherine Marshall’s One-Page Business Plan workshop challenges organizations to examine their mission, plans, habits, and strategies through a clear lens. “Can we make that simpler, stronger, more straightforward?” Through the course of the three workshops, these individuals invested a collective 165 hours in these 16 non-profits, which are located throughout Mendocino County. Participating organizations included Long Valley Health Center, which brings much needed healthcare access to rural Laytonville; FLOCKworks, which empowers people with creativity and art; Mendocino Area Parks Association, which shares the gems of the coast and preserves our unique sense of place; and Tapestry Family Services, which helps bring healing to children and families by providing therapeutic services and support for foster families.
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