VCF President & CEO Sharon Closius and TCF President & CEO Will Ginsberg.
THE VALLEY – Since its founding in 2004, The Valley Community Foundation (VCF) has distributed more than $26 million in scholarships and grants to Valley nonprofits, helping everyone from scouts to paramedics.
On Monday (June 22), staff and board members celebrated that spirit of philanthropy with the partner that helped make it possible – The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (TCF).
The picturesque grounds of Jones Family Farm in Shelton served as the backdrop for the gathering of about 50 members of the two foundations’ board of directors and staff.
A short speaking program took place near Jones’ Winery, under a massive wooden gazebo crafted from trees planted in the mid-1930s, decked out with strings of Edison-style light bulbs and tables filled with rustic mason jars of seasonal flowers.
Farmer Terry Jones, a dual member of both foundations’ boards of directors, organized the event at the family’s 400-acre, 176-year old farm t celebrate VCF’s 20th anniversary and allow members to gain a deeper understanding of both foundations’ history of giving.
“The collaboration between VCF and TCF has been instrumental in fostering growth and positive change in our Valley community,” Jones said. “I’m honored to be a part of both foundations and to witness firsthand the impact of our collective efforts.”
The partnership between the two foundations was born from the efforts of Derby native Mary Pepe, a former longtime member on the New Haven foundation’s board of directors, representing the Valley.
She talked to Will Ginsberg, the president and CEO of the New Haven foundation, about the possibility of forming a Valley leg of the philanthropic organization to give Valley folks a place to give back to the communities they loved and grew up in.
Pepe herself created a family fund in memory of her parents at VCF where she says she can continue to support Valley organizations she and her family adored.
“What’s really unique about the Valley is that people that were born and raised here have a very strong affinity to the community,” Pepe said. “The foundation was a very important way for us to make sure we could continue to support that. I thought by helping the Valley form its own foundation, people in the Valley would be more apt to give and start funds because it would be their own, in their own community, but we could still have the synergy and expertise of working with New Haven.”
Pepe had already been working with Ginsberg and New Haven for years and wanted to build upon the legacy of a $4 million donation the Gates brothers of Derby, Ross and Frank, had donated to New Haven in 1938.
“There has always been a logical connection between the Valley and New Haven, a kind of synergy,” Pepe said, adding the Gates brothers’ fund cemented the Valley/New Haven connection long ago and laid the foundation for charitable work in the Valley by creating a fund dedicated to helping Valley nonprofits.
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven was founded in 1928 and remains one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the U.S.
Pepe said there’s always been a person representing the Valley within the New Haven foundation. Forming a Valley-specific foundation to serve the towns of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton was a way to expand New Haven’s mission of philanthropy.
“It’s been said that productive partnerships coming together is the beginning; staying together is progress and working together is success,” Pepe said. “The partnership between the Valley Community Foundation and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is the personification, to me, of that thought. Today we celebrate 20 successful years of partnership and collaboration and look forward to many more years of a productive working relationship to come.”
Valley Community Foundation President & CEO Sharon Closius said the longstanding partnership with New Haven provides her foundation with extensive resources, including investment expertise, programming and development knowledge.
“We owe so much to TCF and this is one of those opportunities where we get to meet each other’s boards and celebrate our 20th anniversary and to thank them,” Closius said. “This partnership has allowed us to honor the Gates brothers’ legacy and inspire a new generation of philanthropists.”
Ginsberg said the Valley having its own foundation really resonated with Valley folks who liked having their own place to donate and leave a lasting family legacy embedded in their Valley roots.
“The path to continued success is finding bold and new ways to stay connected and to work together,” Ginsberg said. “I have great confidence the VCF will continue to do that.”
According to David Rivera, VCF’s marketing and communications manager, VCF annually gives out approximately $2 million to Valley nonprofits, including The Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, The Derby Historical Society, TEAM, Inc., Adam’s House and The Valley Independent Sentinel. Rivera said VCF is steward to more than 260 funds and scholarships and oversees more than $35 million in charitable assets.
More information about VCF can be found online here. TCF’s website is here.
