Happy New Year Chula Vista Community Foundation (CVCF) members and friends!

It is customary at the beginning of a New Year to reflect on the previous year’s accomplishments and set new goals and resolutions for the year ahead that will transform into positive change. One of our goals at CVCF was to rename our Foundation to reflect our deep commitment to community through collective philanthropy. 

Late last year, our board determined changing the word “Charitable” to “Community” in our title more accurately reflects our mission and emphasizes what is important to our members. We are excited to announce our new name: The Chula Vista Community Foundation.    

This grant cycle, our membership chose to focus on the very important COVID-19 recovery and relief effort. Now more than ever, our nonprofits supporting Chula Vista need our help. This year we received 39 grant proposals totaling $1.2 million in grant requests. This demonstrates the tip of the iceberg of need. Our Grants Committee comprised of CVCF members, is currently reviewing proposals, scheduling site visits and interviews in preparation for the membership ballot to be released this Spring.

Future grantmaking needs are met through our membership, endowment and legacy programs.  With the support of past and current members, our endowment has grown to more than $707,000. CVCF is tracking to reaching our $1 Million endowment milestone. The endowment is critical to creating a perpetual source of grantmaking funds – our legacy. What is the legacy you want to leave in your community? If you are not already a member, we encourage you to join us and invest in the future of our community.

This month we held our very first virtual video premiere to celebrate our name change, highlight the beautiful and diverse Chula Vista Community and see the positive impact of our grants in our community. The virtual video event was made special by our Membership Committee which organized a drive-up wine charcuterie take-home plate so we could all toast together our positive impact and success of the video premier.

As we look toward the future, I want to thank our volunteers who serve CVCF on our board of directors and our committees. A special thank you to the regional affiliate staff at The San Diego Foundation, who support our work. 

Finally, I want to highlight our newest membership category – our Under-40 members. Please enjoy our new member feature on Paul Cashman III, and a grant update from 2019 grantee, New GateWay Solutions.

Thank you for being part of our COMMUNITY, we appreciate you!

Warm Regards,
Carmen Richardson

Member Spotlight: Paul Cashman III

Paul Cashman III grew up in Chula Vista. Since then, he’s lived across the country from Pennsylvania to Michigan to Colorado, but Chula Vista has always remained his home. Currently, Paul is a Director of Strategy at Fidelity Investments in Boston, MA. In his free time, he enjoys going to climbing gyms and hiking canyons, hills, and mountains, particularly the ones in Chula Vista when he’s visiting.

“I am elated about being a part of the Chula Vista Community Foundation,” shared Paul. “I strongly believe in Chula Vista and in the people who call it home. A silver lining of this very difficult year is that the new virtual nature of CVCF meetings has allowed me to take a greater role in the organization than I otherwise would have from Boston. I have joined the Grants Committee and am looking forward to interacting with some of the community-driven organizations doing amazing work across Chula Vista.”

Grantee Spotlight: New GateWay Solutions

Founded in 2014, New GateWay Solution works to stabilize individuals and prevent homelessness in San Diego County. With generous support from CVCF and its members, New GateWay has been able to hire a part-time program coordinator and develop partnerships with Community Through Hope, the Chula Vista Police Department Homeless Outreach Team and South Bay Pioneers.

“This grant could not have come at a better time in our organization’s history,” explained Michelle John, Executive Director of New GateWay Solutions. “Not only were we able to increase our services for the residents of Chula Vista, but with our program coordinator that we were able to hire with this grant, we were able to keep the organization operating remotely when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.”