In March 2017, Community Foundation Sonoma County hosted the second annual Women's Leadership Circle Retreat for Sonoma County nonprofit executives. The retreat is designed to support leaders through networking, self-care, and mutual support and expertise. Beth Brown, President and CEO of Community Foundation Sonoma County facilitated...
An unfamiliar subject line on the monitor read: A confluence of moments. As representatives of Community Foundation Sonoma County, many of our inboxes have a rich archive of eloquently titled emails that tug at the heartstrings, pique our curiosity, or both. However, this particular message came...
Nearly a century ago, poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote, “I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.” Although development has overtaken swaths of the wild hillsides and meadows of Sonoma County,...
Women are changing the nature and structure of philanthropy (and not just because they are giving more and more often than men). They are redefining what giving is about by using their work to build cultural understanding and open conversations about difference. Some are pledging time...
Mary Stompe’s high job satisfaction is rooted in a truly personal situation; her mother experienced what far too many seniors do. Mary explains, “My own mother, who had lived a middle class life in Marin, began a rapid downward spiral when my father died unexpectedly....
At Community Foundation Sonoma County, we believe in the power of connecting people, ideas and resources to benefit all who live here. One critical component of our mission includes ensuring that all funds are managed with prudent fiduciary oversight and good governance. Donor advised funds, nonprofit...
Ten years ago, the Artists Awards Endowment at the Community Foundation Sonoma County began supporting up-and-coming artists in our community. The fund was created by more than 50 Community Foundation donors between 2007 and 2011 with support from the James Irvine Foundation. The Discovered Artists program...
Brothers, ages 11 and 9, are put on a train alone to escape a growing threat to Jews as war looms. Their parents stay behind in Germany, hoping to join them after taking care of family affairs. They will never see each other again. Hans (“Hank”)...
Some organizations offer lavish parties or other year-end perks to their employees. At Community Foundation Sonoma County, the best perk for our staff is the opportunity to make grants to local nonprofits in our community which are personally meaningful to them. While we have so many...
In Sonoma County we consider ourselves lucky to escape the snowy, downright freezing weather that many of our fellow Americans contend with over the winter months. But that’s also taking for granted a dry, warm place to call home that insulates us from the elements....