fbpx

News & Stories

Coming Soon: 2025 Scholarships in Napa Valley! | Próximamente: Becas 2025 en Napa Valley!


📢 ANNOUNCING 2025 SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES! 🎓 💡 WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Seniors graduating from Napa County high schools Students at Napa Valley College Napa County nursing students Napa County teachers/educators Napa County veterans Viticulture and enology students Veterinary students Students in trades like welding, machining, automotive tech, and more Calistoga Jr./Sr. High students studying music And…

Read More

Our 2023-24 Annual Report: A Letter from our President & Chair


Thirty years ago, a Sony Discman qualified as a technological marvel. The Lion King was raking it in at the box office – decades before we would think to use the words “stream” and “media” in the same sentence. Meanwhile, here in Napa, a group of civic leaders had the wisdom and the vision to…

Read More

Jane Mead: A Legacy of Compassion and Community


Jane Mead’s deep connection to Napa continues through her generous legacy gift to NVCF. Her bequest established the Fund for Napa Valley, which will make grants to the community she loved for years to come. Jane, a poet, teacher, author, and rancher, passed away in 2019. We spoke with her sister, Parry Mead Murray, who…

Read More

Meet Preston Greene, Napa Valley Community Foundation’s First Fund Holder


In 1995, after reading a story about our emerging Foundation in The Napa Valley Register, Preston Greene became the first donor to open a fund at NVCF. When Preston first encountered the idea of a community foundation, it was entirely new to him. “In Virginia, I'd never heard of a community foundation,” he shares. “There…

Read More

A Defining Moment


In the fall of 1994, a group of community leaders gathered at ZD Wines to discuss forming a community foundation for Napa Valley. “We were limited to 70 people in the room, and we overflowed it,” shares Nicky Suard, a founding board member. “I had placed one notice in the newspaper and spoken to the…

Read More

Meet our Donors: Edward and Sara Kozel


When Ed and Sara Kozel moved to Calistoga in 2017, they noticed something missing—a place for the community to gather and celebrate the arts. Over the past five years, the Kozels have been anchor donors behind the effort to open the Brannan Center, a nonprofit performing arts venue and community meeting space in Calistoga. The…

Read More

Leaving a Legacy: Jack and Loraine Stuart


When Loraine and Jack Stuart moved to Napa Valley in the late 1970s, they planted roots for their family and their new community—all driven by a passion for making Napa Valley a better place. Jack has served in board roles at Napa Valley Vintners, the Land Trust of Napa County, and recently the St. Helena…

Read More

Grant Spotlight: Community Resources for Children


Community Resources for Children’s (CRC) Active Minds program fosters school readiness among two-to-three-year-olds, the majority of whom are from low-income homes and have no previous preschool experience. The program teaches parents to guide their child’s natural curiosity and learning, emphasizing the role parents play as their child’s first and most important teachers. Over the 8-week…

Read More

Grant Spotlight: The ADU Center


For years, Todd and Gabrielle Kuchta knew they would need to create a space where their son Jacob, 26, could gain independence while still receiving the support he needs for his autism. “We’d talked about it for 10 years, even before Jacob graduated high school,” Todd says. “It wasn’t until last year that we finally…

Read More

Grant Spotlight: Preserving Local Journalism


Across the country, local journalism is in decline, leading to news deserts and reduced civic engagement, especially in semi-rural communities like Napa County. In 2022, NVCF launched a Media & Democracy Fund to preserve and grow independent journalism in Napa County. One goal is to address inequities in the creation and distribution of information affecting…

Read More


What is a Community Foundation?

We know you might not know, and that’s ok.
Click the “learn more” link to tuck into the details.

Learn More