Dear Ventura County Community Foundation Family,
I spent yesterday morning enjoying a delightful coffee and croissant with one of your community foundation board members, Catherine Sepulveda. As always, time with Catherine is just so good for the soul!
For those who have not yet met her, Catherine is a bright light, kind, generous, deeply thoughtful, endlessly curious, creative, optimistic, and rooted in her values. It was only a few moments into our conversation when we found ourselves marveling at the kindness and generosity we have witnessed across Ventura County this past year and sharing our hopes and dreams for our community’s future.
In a season that so often feels rushed and full, it is a beautiful gift to pause for a few moments of quiet reflection. For Catherine, those moments this past year have been found simply in being present with her precious grandchild. For me, they are best found outdoors in nature, minus the howling winds and torrential rains of last night. I hope you will do just that as you enjoy this month’s newsletter, an expression of all that you continue to make possible together.
This year, because of your support, the Ventura County Neighbors Support Fund and Coalition was launched, inviting hundreds of people to give together to help neighbors through hard and challenging times. Already, you have supported 29 local nonprofits working with urgency to do all they can to help.
In truth, everywhere we look, neighbors are showing up for one another, giving, volunteering, listening, and caring in ways both big and small. I often wish you could each spend a full day with us so you could see firsthand the many causes and lives forever touched by your collective generosity.
It leads me back to a thought I return to often: community foundations are here for good, forever.
Together, we plant seeds today that will continue to grow decades from now. We can support early childhood education, strengthen local journalism, provide scholarships to students, and promote disaster resilience in ways that endure. We can help stabilize nonprofits, nurture community leadership, and invest in systems change work that is effective even when it takes time. At our best, community foundations hold the long arc of a region’s hopes and possibilities.
This year, that long arc has been shaped by you.
From all of us at the Ventura County Community Foundation, thank you for being part of this remarkable family. May your holidays be filled with warmth, peace, and joy.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Vanessa
Vanessa Bechtel, VCCF President & CEO
