A YEAR IN REVIEW
A YEAR IN REVIEW
What better way to close out this year or to remember a friend, neighbor or family member during this season of giving than with an investment in our Town?
In 2019, the Foundation’s Board of Directors opted to focus on one very special project—the North Cañada Oak Tree Fund.
Inspired by a similar project carried out farther south on Cañada Road by WCF Board member Noel Perry 25 years ago, this project aimed to beautify a bare, inhospitable stretch of Cañada Road at the northern entrance of the Town of Woodside by planting natural groupings of native California Valley Oaks.
The current project was started more than a decade ago by Woodside resident Chris Romano. It recently gained traction with the help of Woodside residents Maggie Mah, local architects Steve and Thalia Lubin, San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley, and Woodside Town Council member Chris Shaw.
The Woodside Community Foundation served as the fiscal sponsor for the project and it was your generosity that made it a success. In a few short weeks, generous residents of Woodside donated the funds needed to purchase 14 new Valley Oak trees, and the materials and labor required to plant them. Funds were also raised to provide maintenance and pruning for both new and re-sprouting trees for the next five years.
WCF was honored to make it possible for these community-minded people to raise the tax-deductible funds needed to make this project become a reality! For more information about this project and the others that the Foundation supports, or to learn how the Foundation can help you raise funds for a special community benefit project, please give.
How does the Foundation work?
The Woodside Community Foundation is dedicated to helping you give to your community in ways that matter the most to you.
Give to an Existing Fund
You may make a tax-deductible gift to support the work of our existing Funds. You can specify the particular Fund you wish to support or you can make an unrestricted gift to our WCF General Fund. General Fund donations are periodically distributed to charitable interests in the community at the direction of our Board of Directors, and are also used to cover our operating costs. In 2020, donations to the General Fund will be allocated to the next Community Grant Project.
Start a New Fund
Any individual, organization or group may apply through the Foundation’s website to set up a new project Fund within the Woodside Community Foundation. Every effort is made to accommodate all requests that fall within the broad bylaws of the Foundation. Once a new project Fund has been approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors, individuals, families, businesses and other organizations can make donations to that Fund through the Woodside Community Foundation. Assistance will be given to ensure that donors achieve the maximum allowable tax benefit from their giving. With direction from the Fund’s Advisor, the Woodside Community Foundation Board of Directors will then make periodic grants to fulfill that Fund’s philanthropic purpose.
Day of the Horse an Unbridled Success
Saddled with the challenge of hosting another epic Day of the Horse celebration in October 2019, WHOA! (Woodside-area Horse Owners Association) community leaders turned to the Woodside Community Foundation for a bit of additional help. For many years now, WCF has served as WHOA!’s fiscal sponsor, thereby allowing this dedicated group of volunteers to raise tax-deductible funds to support their celebration of the unique equestrian heritage of Woodside.
This year, the Foundation was also able to help WHOA! streamline registration for the Progressive Trail Ride by allowing equestrians to sign up for the ride online through the Foundation’s website. One of a variety of services provided to its wonderful Funds, WCF is pleased to help WHOA! continue its mission of preserving the fundamental role of horses in maintaining the rural character of the Town of Woodside and its fine tradition of Day of the Horse.
The Methuselah Tree on Skyline Blvd. Visit the interactive website at BigOldTreeOnSkyline.com
Help achieve 2020 Vision
In 2018, WCF hosted its first-ever Community Grant Project and it was a rousing success. Three projects were selected to each receive $5000 from a pool of 14 excellent proposals. They included new audio-visual equipment for the Friends of Huddart & Wunderlich Parks, a new judge’s stand at the Kiely Equestrian Center, and an educational website devoted to The Methuselah Tree on Skyline Blvd.
The fine quality and wide range of the applications inspired the Foundation’s Board of Directors to launch another Community Grant Project, and with your help, the Foundation hopes to continue the Grant Project in 2020 and support more worthy projects.
A committee of Community Judges will review applications and recommend awards, and we will announce the awards at another Day of Giving 2020. Giant thanks to our excellent 2018 judges Michelle Ahlstrom, Meredith Cranston, Cindy Goldberg, Thalia Lubin, Jonathan MacSwain, Heather McLeod Grant, Stevan Patrick and Karie Thomson.
As this year winds down we invite you to join hundreds of donors in supporting your community. Because of support from residents like you the WCF will be able run a 2020 grants program—enabling more community.
Passing the Baton:
The Foundation elects a new President
In October, long-time Woodside resident and community powerhouse, Diane Talbert passed the WCF President’s baton to Marsha BonDurant. For the last four years, Diane has served as the Foundation’s President during which time she presided over an extensive update and overhaul of the Foundation’s organizational structure. During her tenure, the Foundation launched a brand-new website which allows donors to make safe and secure online donations, streamlined the process for adding new Funds, stepped up Board involvement, and worked diligently to make the Foundation’s accounting processes more transparent.
As Diane says, “The best part of the last four years has been the opportunity to really get to know our amazing Fund Liaisons better. The projects they support are truly extraordinary, and I am proud to say that each and every one makes Woodside a better place.“ Diane will remain an active member of the Foundation’s energetic Board of Directors.
No stranger to community activism, and well-known around town for her dedication to the Woodside Library and the Woodside School and Woodside High School Foundations (to name a few of her many good causes), new Board President Marsha BonDurant brings her wealth of experience in marketing and graphic design to the Foundation.
When asked what’s on her WCF “to do” list for the coming year, Marsha says, “I hope to continue Diane’s work of building community by promoting charitable giving, connecting donors with causes they care about, and identifying important community issues. I’m discovering that the concept of a Community Foundation can feel a bit abstract and hard to define so I would like to encourage awareness of us as a Woodside Community Resource; a steady source of support or supply, information or expertise.”
“Through the Woodside Community Grant Project, I discovered how the Foundation works with people with a variety of interests and concerns to realize their visions. I encourage you to contact us with your ideas!”
Marsha BonDurant
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