California

The Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) has announced a gift of $10 million from the Margie & Robert E. Petersen Foundation to assist youth in the Pasadena and Los Angeles region who are transitioning out of foster care and want to pursue technical education or vocational training. The largest gift in PCF history will establish the Margie and Robert E. Petersen Scholarship Endowment for Transition Age Foster Youth and will be used to create the Petersen Scholars Program, which will provide financial and wraparound support to help the young people stay in college, achieve their educational aspirations, and establish professional careers.

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation has announced the appointments of Gihani Fernando as vice president of strategy and board affairs and To Tsang as senior vice president of information technology and knowledge management. Fernando served on the executive leadership team at Playworks, a national nonprofit that helps children stay active and build valuable life skills, and worked for almost a decade at the Bridgespan Group, where she led strategic planning engagements for several mission-driven organizations and foundations, with a focus on education and youth development. Tsang brings more than three decades of IT experience and 20 years of managerial experience developing high-performing IT and interdisciplinary teams to lead modernization and transformation, advance mission strategy, and achieve operational goals.

Colorado

The Community First Foundation in Arvada has announced the addition of Jennifer Robinson as its new vice president of business systems and intelligence. Before taking on the newly created position, Robinson led IT application strategy, product development, IT program management, and a variety of technology teams for Open Technology Solutions, Charles Schwab, and Bellco Credit Union.

Kansas

The Hutchinson Community Foundation has announced grants totaling $19,330 from its Fund for Reno County to two nonprofit organizations—the Hutchinson Art Association and the Milestone Clubhouse. In addition, the foundation awarded early education grants to several Reno County elementary schools through its John and Bethene Rimmer fund. A total of $22,000 was awarded to help schools meet basic needs for academic success of students through second grade.

Massachusetts

The Cape Cod Foundation has announced the addition of three people to its board of directors. Diana Lam is a retired educator. Janet Taylor is a philanthropic advisor for Boston law firm Ropes & Gray. And Michael E. Stack, who was appointed to the board in 2021, recently retired from Wellington Management.

Minnesota

The Minneapolis Foundation has announced grants totaling $952,000 through its OneMPLS Fund, a collective impact fund that addresses urgent community needs. Recipients include the Catalyst Coalition, Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, Isuroon, and the Minnesota Housing Partnership.

New Jersey

The Community Foundation of South Jersey in Haddonfield has announced grants totaling $210,000 to 41 nonprofit organizations in a sixth round of awards from its COVID-19 Response Fund. To date, 153 grants totaling $1,068,500 have been distributed from the fund to organizations serving Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, and Salem counties that have been affected by the pandemic and related economic difficulties. The latest recipients include the African American Heritage Museum of South Jersey, Camden City Garden Club, Cross County Connection TMA, and Hopeworks.

New York

The Brooklyn Community Foundation has announced the election of four new members of its board. Michelle DeFossett is the chief operating officer at Girls Who Invest and previously served as vice president of finance, human resources, and administration at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity. Lesleigh Irish-Underwood is the chief brand and external relations officer at MetroPlusHealth and previously served as senior vice president and chief marketing officer for United Way of New York City. Lawanna Kimbro is the managing director of the Stardust Fund, where she leads its philanthropic investment in leaders, organizations, and progressive social movements. And Andi Phillips, the co-founder and managing partner of Maycomb Capital, previously launched and managed Goldman Sachs’ Social Impact Fund and led signature social impact bond investments for the firm. She also served as president of Seedco Financial.

Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Foundation has announced the release of the City Government Guidebook, which documents the state of about two dozen city government departments, regulatory agencies, boards, and authorities. It also provides research on challenges and opportunities and offers best practices from other cities. The first of a two-phase project to improve the quality of mayoral transitions, support for the program was offered by the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Heinz Endowments to both the Republican and Democratic parties’ nominees. Each endorsed the effort and agreed to participate if elected.

West Virginia

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation has announced a gift of $50,000 from Beth and Bill White in support of the Lewis County Community Foundation, an endowed fund of PACF. The gift also received a one-to-one match from the Benedum Foundation.