June 1, 2007
Contact: Christle Balvin
(626) 792-6463

PASADENA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AWARDS $700,332 TO LOCAL HEROES

As a way of acknowledging the miracles and heroic deeds consistently performed by local non-profit organizations, the Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) will honor 54 agencies with grants totaling $700,332. The Local Heroes event takes place on Friday, June 1st  at 7:30 a.m. at the University Club, 175 North Oakland Avenue in Pasadena. Invited are the 2007 grant recipients who will receive their cash awards at this celebratory event. Grants range is size from $2,000 to $50,000 depending upon the request from the applicant agency.    

Over its 54-years of service to Pasadena and the surrounding cities, the Pasadena Community Foundation has awarded over $17 million in discretionary funds making it one of the largest sustaining donors to local charitable service providers. Eligibility for funding is determined following site visits and regular interaction between agencies and the staff of PCF. For example this year, board members and staff conducted approximately 45 site visits and met throughout the year with numerous non-profit agencies.  “We are very thoughtful about our grant making,” says Jennifer DeVoll, Executive Director.  “We look at agency leadership and financial statements in addition to the programs and the project for which funding is requested.  We ask a lot of questions and try to understand the organizations’ goals and challenges.” 

The non-profit organizations receiving PCF grants provide a very important array of services ranging from health care and mental health counseling to educational programs and opportunities for seniors and youth. Overall they touch the lives of every segment of the community beginning with pregnant mothers and babies to seniors and shut-ins. They include programs such as those provided by the Wellness Community-Foothills, Meals on Wheels, Foothill Family Services, AIDS Service Center and the Convalescent Aid Society.  All are vital to maintaining a caring community dedicated to improving the quality of life for our citizens. 

“We love the Pasadena Community Foundation” says Hillary Crahan, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena because they want “us to be well…they’re face to face; they’re hand in glove with us helping the kids in this town.”  And so they are with the numerous non-profit organizations working to meet important needs within our community, the Local Heroes that make life better for us all. 

click here for a list of recent grantees.

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