Since joining the Community Foundation Sonoma County as interim CEO in February of 2022, I’ve been grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the dedicated and talented staff, meet our donors, and work with our board as we seek our next permanent CEO.
I’ve also had the opportunity to see the best of our community leadership, from helping launch the new Portrait of Sonoma, to the ways our donors stepped up to address the crisis in Ukraine.
Time and time again, we’ve seen our community of donors come together to support our beloved county. From the more than 450 fundholders we work with, to the 3,500+ donors who collectively gave more than $25 million to our Sonoma County Resilience Fund after the pandemic and devastating wildfires, your generosity is unmatched. We are incredibly grateful and proud to serve this community.
We continue to fulfill our promise to bring people, ideas, and resources together to benefit all who live here. We’ve worked as leaders in the community to bring donors and other funders, as well as government, nonprofit, and community partners together to tackle our region’s most pressing challenges.
In this year’s annual report, you’ll see stories that exemplify the best of this leadership, from the ways we’ve encouraged listening, to better understand the issues facing our community, to how we’ve supported donors in growing their philanthropy.
I’m incredibly proud to share that last year, CFSC and our donors provided more than $15 million in grants supporting more than 500 nonprofit organizations. Our staff held leadership roles in vital community initiatives, such as Health Action and the Portrait of Sonoma, and our Community Impact grant programs provided desperately needed funding to organizations working across the community in animal welfare, arts, education, environment, and human services fields.
Our board is leading a transparent, equity-centered process to guide our search for our organization’s next leader, and we’re excited for the year to come—one where we’ll be celebrating the 40th anniversary of CFSC and the differences we’ve made over those years. With more than $275 million in grants made since 1983, we have much to be thankful for.
Thank you for your involvement, support, and commitment to making Sonoma County a better place to live.
Sheryl Alexander, Interim CEO
Thelia Wade, Board Chair
Richard Davis-Lowell, Vice Chair
