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Attachment 1 <br /> Three Valleys <br /> COMMUNITY <br /> 11, FOUNDATION <br /> AMAOOR • LIVERMORE • SAN RAMON <br /> January 10, 2022 <br /> Mayor Karla Brown,City of Pleasanton <br /> Councilmembers Valerie Arkin,Jack Balch, Kathy Narum,Julie Testa <br /> -via email- <br /> Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council, <br /> Thank you for your consideration of the City of Pleasanton's investment in the Three Valleys Community <br /> Foundation (3VCF). We know the council identified a few options for staff to review. We now offer our <br /> input for your consideration. <br /> Our newly minted Community Foundation is designed to harness and pool the region's valuable <br /> professional, human and financial resources in support of our local non-profits and other human and <br /> capital service needs. We recognize that community foundations, in general, are unique entities. <br /> In fact, banker Frederic Goff established the first community foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1914. <br /> His goal was to create a permanent endowment that would benefit the citizens of greater Cleveland for <br /> years to come. More than a century later,The Cleveland Foundation awards grants worth $80 million <br /> each year to a variety of projects and programs in that region. Today,there are about 800 community <br /> foundations operating in the United States, all of which are focused on addressing community needs in a <br /> select city, county, state, or region. Three Valleys is now one of these foundations and we are proud to <br /> represent the Tri-Valley region. This short video addresses the basic premise. <br /> As you know,from your direct experience on the City Council, local non-profit organizations have become <br /> the backbone of social services in our region during the pandemic. We have come to rely on them to <br /> address various community needs, including food insecurity, emergency shelter, mental health services, <br /> animal care,and even augmenting COVID response and recovery—to name a few. The financial support <br /> system for these non-profit organizations was fragile prior to the pandemic, but now, more than ever,the <br /> demand and need for these services is on the rise. Three Valleys Foundation Community Foundation is <br /> seeking to provide additional resources—by connecting local donors to local needs-and to collaborate on <br /> these issues. <br /> We obtained our official nonprofit IRS status this past summer. We are led by a strong board of directors <br /> and advisors—all of whom have extensive experience in the public and private sectors, including <br /> community and non-profit leadership, organizational and fiduciary management, and banking and capital <br /> asset oversight. Community foundations are not typical nonprofit organizations.We do not provide direct <br /> services. Nor do we seek to compete with local nonprofits that do. Rather, we serve as an anchor and <br /> connector in our community, facilitating and pooling public and private donations (donor advised funds, <br /> endowments, scholarships, etc.)that are then used to address community needs and support local non- <br /> profits through numerous types of grantmaking programs. Many cities also support community <br /> foundations by setting up special funds for local residents to support area initiatives.Think what might be <br /> possible if the city set up a fund where anyone could contribute to the Amador Theatre renovation, all- <br /> abilities playground or the proposed skate park and receive a tax deduction by doing so.This is the type <br /> of value a community foundation—where the only vested interest is the greater good of the community. <br /> 1 <br />