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As the warm summer season of growth and revitalization has come to a close, we are taking this moment to reflect on our journey in the latest edition of our newsletter. Thanks to the power of giving, granting, and growing, we’re harnessing new opportunities to build a stronger, more vibrant region for everyone. We encourage you to continue reading to discover the impact of your support.
We are honored to welcome Gerry Beemiller, Alex Mehran, Jr., and Denise Watkins to our 3VCF board. Their dedication and passion for making a regional impact will help advance our mission. Join us in welcoming Gerry, Alex, and Denise!
Gerry Beemiller is the founder of Nella Terra Cellars, an award-winning family-owned winery and event center in the highlands of Sunol. Before founding his winery, Gerry was VP of Sales at Pericom and VP of Sales and Marketing for SONY Semiconductor in North America. In the early ’90s, he was CEO of Infant Advantage, a company developing environmental systems for newborns, and before that, he was a partner at I Squared, Inc. Gerry co-founded the Silicon Valley Charity Ball, raising over $7M for 107 nonprofits. He has served for 13 years on Sunol Citizens Advisory Council, 12 years on Sunol Glen School Board, and currently serves on the Alameda County Agricultural Advisory Committee. Previously Gerry was named NSFRE “Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year.” He holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Arizona State University.
Alex Mehran, Jr. is President and CEO of Sunset Development Company in San Ramon. He represents the third generation of family leadership at the Company founded in 1951 by his grandfather. Sunset is a diversified real estate organization focused for more than 40 years on developing Bishop Ranch, a nationally recognized 585-acre project with 10 million square feet of office, retail and hospitality space and a daytime population of 30,000+ workers in 600 diverse companies. Over the next few years, Bishop Ranch will deliver the first 1,500 of its planned 10,000 homes in a mix of apartments, senior housing, and for-sale homes. He graduated from Brown University in 2003 after which he joined Goldman, Sachs & Company in New York, returning to California in 2009 to join Sunset. Alex serves on the board of the Watson Institute at Brown University.
Denise Watkins worked as a software system engineer and manager for 18 years in telecommunications, developing network management and control systems for satellite and wireless communications. After retiring from industry, Denise became involved in the local community. She serves on the UC Merced Foundation Board and is Co-Chair of their first development campaign. In addition, she has served on the Livermore Valley Arts (LVA) Board since 2005 and is currently Board Chair. She owned and operated the Vancouver Stealth, a professional Lacrosse team that played in Langley, B.C. as well as Primal Quest, an expedition adventure race in North America. She has been involved in several charities and notably co-founded and was President for 13 years of Pleasanton Schools Educational Enrichment Foundation, a nonprofit which supports arts, science and enrichment programs to benefit all Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) students. She served on numerous committees for PUSD and co-chaired its district-wide Excellence Committee. She holds a BS in Mathematics from UC Irvine.
We are thrilled to introduce and welcome two exceptional individuals to our team: Faiza Bukhari, Grant Program Administrator, and Mohanapriya (Priya) Venugopal, Finance & Operations Administrator. Their unique skills, experiences, and enthusiasm will undoubtedly contribute to growing our mission throughout the region. We are excited to see the positive impact they will have on our organization!
3VCF End-of-Year Giving Guide
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM PT
Topic: 3VCF End-of-Year Charitable Giving Guide
It’s never too early to start planning your year-end giving! Our Professional Advisors Network (PAN) is hosting our first donor education webinar on the topic of year-end giving. Now is the perfect time to review your charitable contributions and make strategic decisions that benefit both the causes you care about and your financial planning. This webinar will introduce a year-end checklist that serves as a comprehensive guide for those looking to optimize their charitable contributions and wealth planning before the close of 2024. Join us!
Our 2024 Power of Collaboration Corporate Challenge Campaign is underway! This is a special challenge for corporations and businesses in our region to support local needs via 3VCF’s Community Health Impact Grants. As your philanthropic geographic anchor, our commitment to you and our Three Valleys is unwavering— our 2024 competitive grantmaking will continue to build upon our prior focus on mental health and overall wellness, as well as take us in new, exciting directions, as we also distribute funds to nonprofits working on causes related to health equity and access, and environmental health and sustainability. Pledging today will directly support community initiatives central to the vitality of our region and supplement many of the individual commitments made by local donors in our region who are interested in giving, granting, and growing our community. Interested in accepting the challenge and contributing to community health? Contact Kelly Bowers, Ed.D., info@3vcf.org
Coming soon! Release of our 2024 Community Health Impact Grant RFP and application.
In July, 3VCF board, advisors, and staff had the opportunity to take another nonprofit “field trip” together to the Center for Elders’ Independence (CEI) where we took a private tour of the 23,000+ square foot, brand new Tri-Valley based CEI Alternative Care Setting (ACS). During the tour, we learned about the successful Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) model, thanks to Maria Zamora, CEO. The PACE model provides a comprehensive medical/social service delivery system utilizing an interdisciplinary team approach to coordinate all needed preventative, primary, acute and long-term care services to older adults who would otherwise reside in nursing facilities. How fortunate we are that CEI, which already has full-fledged facilities in San Leandro, Oakland, Concord and soon in El Cerrito, now has its first ACS facility in our Tri-Valley—as needs assessment data shows that health equity and access is a major obstacle and challenge to our community members, especially among seniors.
By joining periodic “field trips” to local nonprofits, 3VCF leaders gain deeper immersion in our community, experience the firsthand work of our nonprofits, and amplify their impact through our communications. We encourage our local nonprofits to join our nonprofit directory nonprofit directory and submit their events on our Nonprofit Events Calendar.
3VCF hosted its first event of its ongoing ‘In Your Backyard Series’ – featuring and bringing awareness to Project HOPE (Helping Others through Philanthropy and Education) a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). It was a targeted convening in a beautiful setting, of donors and community-focused individuals, designed to raise awareness and funds for local nonprofits serving foster youth and our most vulnerable community members.
Give, Grant & Grow Green Fund:
Individuals and Corporate Challenge donors are invited to augment this fund. Contributions will be distributed as part of our 2024 Community Healthy Impact Grantmaking to nonprofits working to address local environmental education, issues and opportunities.
Partners for Local Press Fund:
This Field of Interest fund hosted by 3VCF is designed to help preserve local press, support journalism, increase civic engagement which is a cornerstone of our democracy, and promote community voice by revitalizing the infrastructure of local media. The fund will support nonprofits and a range of projects and causes related to local media, including but not limited to elevating community voice, and expanding equity and access as it relates to education and career opportunities in the journalism and multi-media space.
Partners for Local Press Fund:
This Field of Interest fund hosted by 3VCF is designed to help preserve local press, support journalism, increase civic engagement which is a cornerstone of our democracy, and promote community voice by revitalizing the infrastructure of local media. The fund will support nonprofits and a range of projects and causes related to local media, including but not limited to elevating community voice, and expanding equity and access as it relates to education and career opportunities in the journalism and multi-media space.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors selected 3VCF as the fiscal agent to administer $3M dollars in Opioid Settlement Innovative Mini-Grant Program funds. Working closely with Behavioral Health Department, Alameda County Health, 3VCF will invest available resources in county-wide organizations serving individuals and communities that provide access to and prevention treatment for opioid addiction and overdose reversal remedies.
Community foundations are uniquely positioned to address the most pressing needs in our region and support the community members who are most at risk. The opioid crisis in Alameda County is a silent, devastating and pervasive challenge, impacting far more than those directly in addiction. Every overdose or opioid poisoning in our region is more than just a statistic; it represents a family broken apart, children left without parents, loved ones bereaved, and a community left with a profound void.
3VCF is honored to have the opportunity and responsibility to lead and manage this crucial work for Alameda County. As your anchor community foundation, we are here to serve as a true catalyst for transformational change. Our region’s community-based organizations and nonprofits are responding in creative and promising ways to the most critical local needs, including addressing the opioid and mental health crisis, and 3VCF is working to infuse local resources back into our community.
Learn more about the need in Alameda County»
Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM PT
Topic: Innovative Mini-Grant Program to Address Opioid Crisis in Alameda County
3VCF is hosting an informational webinar for prospective applicants. We welcome applications that propose new, innovative, and promising solutions to address the opioid epidemic throughout Alameda County. Community-based organizations that are implementing and promoting emerging approaches, increasing access to services, reimagining current strategies, and transforming existing practices in creative ways to address the opioid crisis, are encouraged to apply.
All nonprofits and community-based organizations serving Alameda County who are interested in this grant opportunity are strongly encouraged to participate. A video recording of the information session along with FAQs will be made available on our website to those unable to attend.
In September, Three Valleys Community Foundation (3VCF) and Embarcadero Media Foundation: Tri-Valley proudly partnered to present an exclusive showing of the documentary “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism at the Crossroads” along with a moderated panel discussion. This special screening and robust panel discussion focused on the myriad challenges facing American journalism. The community had the opportunity to engage directly with industry experts and gain a deeper understanding of the state of journalism today and how we can all help turn the tide to keep community journalism alive.
“Stripped for Parts: American Journalism at the Crossroads” is a 90-minute documentary that tells the tale of how hedge fund firms’ entry into the news publishing industry has dismantled local newspapers “piece by piece,” creating a crisis within the very communities they serve, leaving “news deserts” and “ghost papers” in their wake.
Our sincere thanks go out to moderator Gina Channell Wilcox, President and Publisher of Embarcadero Media East Bay Division and esteemed panelists California Senator Steve Glazer, District 7; Rick Goldsmith, Filmmaker, Producer, and Director of the documentary; and Tim Hunt, Local Journalist. And let’s give a special shout out to National Charity League – Livermore Chapter for volunteering to ensure a successful event!
In June, 3VCF partnered with host and organizer Goodness Village, to sponsor their third session of the Good Neighbor Project, a quarterly series of gatherings of local nonprofits and community leaders. The sessions are designed to change the current narrative around homelessness, by opening up genuine dialogue, breaking down barriers, fostering understanding, and co-creating new ways of collaborating and strategizing together to tackle myriad challenges. The Good Neighbor Project, envisioned and founded by Goodness Village Executive Director Kim Curtis, aims to create transformative change within our community by harnessing the inherent good that is within us all and equipping individuals with knowledge and empathy needed to make a positive impact.
In May, 3VCF awarded our first donor-sponsored scholarship in partnership with Amador alumnus Keith Yandell and Amador Valley High School (AVHS) – the David Yandell Living Legacy Service Scholarship. Class of 2024 graduate, Krrish Ganesh, was given $10,000 toward higher education expenses (tuition, fees, etc. at his college of attendance). This annual scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates outstanding service and leadership to the AVHS school community. A special thank you to the Yandell family for generously funding this scholarship opportunity!
In April, 3VCF partnered with Tri-Valley based manufacturer AccuSplit, the world’s first digital stopwatch maker, to promote health and fitness among local youth. W. Ron Sutton, founder of AccuSplit, generously donated and worked directly with 3VCF to assemble and distribute over 100 fitness school kits valued at over $1,000 each. The kits contained a variety of stopwatches and timers for use in school-based athletic, fitness and/or physical education programs and provided for all schools in participating local school districts in Castro Valley, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon, and Sunol. Thank you Ron Sutton and AccuSplit team for your generous donation to improve youth wellness!
WHAT WE DO
Three Valleys Community Foundation works with donors and nonprofits to achieve their impact goals through inclusive leadership, thoughtful funding, informed giving and collaborative action. We serve the entire Tri-Valley region, including the communities of Alamo, Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Sunol.
CONTACT
5960 Inglewood Drive, Suite 201
Pleasanton, CA 94588-8611
info@3vcf.org
501c3 Tax ID # 87-1782380
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