Although many think of Orange County as an affluent community, thousands continue to struggle to meet even the most basic needs for themselves and their children. As many as 615,000 people in Orange County are hungry, 21,479 are homeless and 100,000 children are at risk of losing health care coverage.

I am thrilled to announce that OCCF’s generous donors and friends met our ReachOut OC challenge—which sought to raise $250,000 to serve those in our community in greatest need as a result of the lingering economic crisis—more than a week before our deadline!

The morning after this achievement, two generous OCCF donors committed an additional $75,000 to expand the ReachOut challenge, enabling us to increase the goal for our granting pool to $650,000. In light of this expanded challenge, we have extended the deadline for contributions to May 15.

If you have already made a contribution to this effort, thank you! If you or your loved ones have been thinking about contributing to ReachOut OC, now is the time to join with us to make an even greater impact in the lives of vulnerable OC neighbors who have found themselves unable to feed, shelter and protect their children. Remember, 100% of all donations, no matter how big or small, will be put to work directly by local nonprofit agencies providing food, shelter, back-to-work assistance, and healthcare to our neighbors in greatest need.

If you would like to lend a hand, click here to make an online contribution. Or send a check by mail (payable to OCCF) to:

Orange County Community Foundation
30 Corporate Park, Suite 410
Irvine, CA 92606

The February and March 2010 issues of Coast Magazine spotlighted young local leaders as well as a restaurateur with a charitable vision who have partnered with the Orange County Community Foundation to make a difference in our community.

This month’s edition includes interviews with three members of OCCF’s Next Generation Philanthropy Group, a select group of business and community leaders who participate in working sessions and share strategic and analytic tools, resources, networking and leadership skills to lay the groundwork for philanthropic impact now and in the future. In “The Next Generation” article, Ethan Morgan, Emily Horowitz and founding member of the Next Generation Philanthropy Group Bill Lyon share how they became involved in philanthropy, their personal philanthropic passions, and how modern philanthropists differ from their predecessors. To read the article, click here.

 “The Extra Yard,” Coast’s February feature on philanthropy, took a look at Yard House Restaurants’ Round It Up America™ program and the thoughtful CEO who conceived the idea, Harald Herrman. The program encourages Yard House patrons to round their check to the nearest dollar and directs the sum of all change donated to charities doing important work in the communities where their restaurants are located. OCCF administers the program through the Round It Up America™ fund. Click here to view the article.

Over a year and a half after the country’s economic downturn hit, thousands of our friends and neighbors here in Orange County continue to struggle. Amid this sustained economic crisis, the safety net of local nonprofits is being stretched farther than it ever has before.

The Orange County Community Foundation invites you to join with us in our 2010 community-wide response: ReachOut OC: Our Continuing Commitment to Neighbors in Need. The goal of this community-wide initiative is to provide aid to the most vulnerable individuals in our county through grants to local nonprofits providing food, shelter, back-to-work assistance, and access to health care and mental health services.

OCCF will match every $1 contributed to ReachOut OC between March 5 and April 30, 2010 up to $250,000. Our goal is to infuse at least $500,000 into our community to meet its most pressing needs. OCCF is underwriting all expenses for the program so that 100 percent of your contribution will be put to work directly to support nonprofits that are effectively responding to these needs.

For more information about the response effort, visit the ReachOut OC page on OCCF’s web site. You can make an online contribution or send a check by mail (payable to OCCF) to:

Orange County Community Foundation
30 Corporate Park, Suite 410
Irvine, CA 92606

We look forward to partnering together with you to reach out to our neighbors in need.

On behalf of all of us at the Orange County Community Foundation, I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season. OCCF awarded $21.3 million in grants and scholarships this fiscal year, making 2009 the highest granting year in OCCF history. This record-setting response to the needs of our local community was made possible by the generosity of you: our friends and partners around the county. Please click here for a special holiday greeting from OCCF.

Please join me in welcoming Anoosheh M. Oskouian to the Orange County Community Foundation’s Board of Governors. We are thrilled to add to our board such a distinguished environmental entrepreneur who has reached out to make a difference in Southern California and beyond.

Anoosheh is the president and co-founder of Ship & Shore Environmental, Inc., an engineering and manufacturing company that provides customized green energy industrial solutions. Anoosheh serves on the boards of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which works to protect the health of residents in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Passionate about improving the lives of children, Anoosheh is a co-founder of Children’s Hope International Literacy & Development (CHILD), established in 2004. The agency provides needy children in a variety of countries with nutritional, medical, and educational staples so that they may continue attending school, enhancing their lives now and into the future. Visit CHILD’s web site for more information.

The Orange County Community Foundation board and staff is delighted to welcome Anoosheh to OCCF. We know her environmental expertise and widespread community work will be great assets to our mission of encouraging, supporting, and facilitating philanthropy in Orange County.

To learn more about Anoosheh M. Oskouian, view the press release here. 

November was a busy and exciting month for the Orange County Community Foundation! This fall marks the Foundation’s 20th year of encouraging, supporting and facilitating philanthropy in Orange County. We celebrated this milestone in many special ways: A beautiful Annual Report chronicling OCCF’s 20-year journey with images of some of the most breathtaking scenes in our county; a 20th Anniversary video featuring local philanthropic and nonprofit leaders, their reflections on OCCF’s history, and their hopes for its future; and our best-attended Annual Meeting to date!

One of the personal highlights of the Annual Meeting was presenting Orange County Community Foundation founder and executive director emeritus, Judy Swayne, with the 2009 Excellence in Philanthropy Lifetime Achievement Award in front of over 350 guests. If it weren’t for Judy’s vision and unwavering passion for philanthropy, the Foundation would never have come to life 20 years ago and become what it is today. Judy and her husband Keith announced at the meeting a $500,000 challenge grant contribution to the Orange County Endowment to establish permanent endowments in support of the Environment and the Arts. The board, staff, and donors of the Orange County Community Foundation and I, as well as all of our nonprofit and community friends, are grateful to Judy and Keith for leaving a legacy that will endure in Orange County forever.

To browse an electronic version of OCCF’s 2009 Annual Report, click here. To view part one of OCCF’s 20th Anniversary video “A Legacy of Leadership”, click here. The view part two “Making an Impact”, click here. To view photos from the Annual Meeting, visit OCCF’s Facebook Fan Page here.

Visit the Orange County Community Foundation web site at www.oc-cf.org.

How quickly time flies! After months of planning and preparation, the Orange County Community Foundation’s 20th Anniversary Annual Meeting is right around the corner. The celebration of our “20-year Journey: Growing the Good for Orange County Today and Tomorrow,” will commence this Wednesday, November 11, at 11:30 am at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. We will enjoy a performance by the students of El Sol Science and Arts Academy, hear from donors and nonprofit friends in a special 20th anniversary video, and honor OCCF founder Judy Swayne. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

We are just 43 days away from the Orange County Community Foundation’s 2009 Annual Meeting, which will celebrate our “20-year Journey: Growing the Good for Orange County Today and Tomorrow.” The celebration will take place on Wednesday, November 11, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach. We will be looking back at the foundation’s collective impact over the past two decades as well as the path ahead. We’ll also premiere a 20th anniversary video featuring some of our outstanding local philanthropic partners and those who helped chart the earliest course for OCCF’s success. We can’t wait for its debut! Visit OCCF’s Facebook Fan Page for a sneak peek at some of the video’s stars. And check back here as the annual meeting countdown continues.

In trying economic times such as these, our team at the Orange County Community Foundation knows that our work to encourage, support and facilitate philanthropy in Orange County is needed now more than ever. While the foundation has certainly been impacted by the recession, our mission delivery has never been stronger. I am thrilled to share with you a few exciting highlights from the past year: More...

I am delighted to welcome two accomplished business leaders, Samuel D. Anderson and Douglas G. Holte, to the Orange County Community Foundation’s Board of Governors. Their diverse experience and tremendous passion for philanthropy will add great value to the Board’s mission to build a strong and vibrant culture of giving in Orange County.

Sam Anderson has over 40 years of experience as a pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive, including former posts as CEO of Trancel Inc. and Chairman and CEO of Alpha Therapeutics, and currently also serves on the board of the global life sciences company Seracare Life Sciences, Inc. Sam has a long history of philanthropic leadership on the boards of Goodwill of Orange County and THINK Together. At THINK Together, Sam worked not only in the boardroom but also in the classroom, where he tutored and mentored students, even supporting some with college scholarships. More...