Diversity Partnership Alive and Well

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Mark Twain

Like Mr. Twain, I’m here to tell you that the death of our Diversity Partnership has been greatly exaggerated.

The partnership is alive and well.

In fact, we’re gearing up for another round of grantmaking later this year.

Grants from the Diversity Partnership fund support programs and activities that strengthen alliances, promote respect, and enhance services for our LGBT community.

It is part of a grantmaking program that goes back to 1997 and has awarded more than $900,000 since that time.

This year’s Diversity Partnership grants will be supported, in part, by earnings from the permanently endowed Diversity Partnership Fund. Launched in 2005 with a goal to reach $1 million and give off $40,000 a year for grants by 2014, this trusty endowment has come through the market’s storms and doldrums and reached a respectable balance of $880,000 as of the end of 2012.

That’s not to say that that the Diversity Partnership Fund has ground to a halt and will never reach the $1 million mark. The Community Foundation is always on the lookout for new donors for the endowment, even as we continue to secure funding to augment each year’s grants and Diversity Partnership activities. It’s a two-pronged approach that shows the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to LGBT people and their families.

And remember, an endowment lasts forever. There are 30 people who believe in the concept so deeply, that they have named the Diversity Partnership Fund as a beneficiary in their wills. You could be number 31.

Find out more about Diversity Partnership grants by contacting by colleague Christina Cuevas, program director, at ccuevas@cfscc.org or 831.662.2070. If you want to find out how to give to the Diversity Partnership Fund, you can find me at rlarsen@cfscc.org or 831.662.2061.

Helping Gillian Climb a Mountain

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Gillian Allen was a junior at Cypress Charter High School when she received the Matt's Climb Scholarship for 2012.

Gillian recently completed her outdoor wilderness adventure at Camp Unalayee in the Trinity Alps of Northern California and she shares with us the story of her adventure.

"That was one of the best experiences of my life," Gillian wrote. "It made me remember how much I love to be outside, under the stars, in the fresh air."

Helping Donors Who Care

One part of my work I find most rewarding is helping our donors create programs that benefit young people like Gillian.

This scholarshp fund was created to memoralize Matthew Kennedy, a graduate of Santa Cruz High School, who was killed in a snowmobile accident in 2001.

"We want the Matt's Climb Scholarship to really be a turning point for some young person, someone who would ordinarily never be able to participate in a wilderness experience," said Eliza Livingston, Matthew Kennedy's grandmother.

They've done that by creating this unique program that offers young people a chance to learn about the outdoors—and themselves—during a stay in the wild.

Know a Teen Ready for the Wild?

My only wish now is that more teens and their parents in Santa Cruz County would learn about this great program and apply next year. It's easy.

Robin Larsen is the donor services officer at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, helping people connect and give to the causes they care about.

Philanthropy 831 Blog

Diversity Partnership Alive and Well

Helping Gillian Climb a Mountain

Helping Donors Who Care

Know a Teen Ready for the Wild?