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From St. Helena Star: NVCF makes a difference in countless lives

July 07, 2014 12:14 pm  •  Sara Cakebread
Congratulations to the Cleveland Foundation on their 100th anniversary and many thanks to Napa Valley Community Foundation Executive Director Terence Mulligan for highlighting the under the radar value that community foundations bring to 750 communities around the country, including ours.

As an active participant in the Napa nonprofit community, I have experienced first hand how the Napa Valley Community Foundation has made a difference in the lives of countless people and institutions throughout our county. Like Auction Napa Valley, the granddaddy of nonprofit giving in our Valley, the Community Foundation follows much of the same model — although without the parties, auctions and guests from across the globe. Its professional staff, Board of Directors and committees manage and distribute funds provided by a wide range of donors — and everyone is invited to become one — with the goal of helping nonprofit organizations achieve their missions while developing their own strategic initiatives to help tackle some of our county’s most pressing issues.

In doing so the Napa Valley Community Foundation has moved the dial forward for everything from early childhood education and programs for senior citizens to promoting citizenship in our county, supporting music education in our public schools, providing scholarships for veterans and other ways too numerous to name.

Although unsung hero may not be the perfect description for an organization that does so much for so many with little or no fanfare, in my eyes it is fitting. Although young and small in size compared to its counterparts in the larger surrounding communities of the Bay Area, it is playing a big role in making Napa County the wonderful place we are fortunate to call home.

Sara Cakebread

St. Helena

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