Happy Summer, CVCF members and community supporters!
I hope many of you are taking time off to reconnect with friends and family and enjoying the fun activities of summer as our region begins to reopen and we all begin the process of adapting to change and a new normal.
Our community nonprofit partners faced incredible challenges during the pandemic crisis to meet the needs of the Chula Vista community. To support their efforts, in May, the Chula Vista Community Foundation (CVCF) awarded $100,000 to four local nonprofits. The grants provided much needed funding to support food insecurity, former foster youth, small business owners, and more. Our grants celebration was virtual, but every bit as impactful as our membership watched videos made by our grantees showing the future impact of the grants. I encourage you to read about the programs made possible by your investment into our community as well as view our virtual 2021 grants celebration video.
The success of our year would not be possible without the hard work of our member-driven committees. I want to take this time to not only thank, but also highlight the accomplishments of the CVCF committees.
The Finance Committee oversaw the $812,000+ growth of our endowment. We are on our way to reaching our goal of $1M! The Membership and Communication Committees got the word out about our impact which resulted in an increase of 18 new members. And finally, the Grants Committee worked tirelessly by reading and evaluating every grant proposal submitted.
I encourage our members to volunteer to serve on one or more committees. Not only is committee work a great way to get to know your fellow members, but it is also an incredibly rewarding process to learn about and connect to so many wonderful nonprofit organizations who support Chula Vista.
By now, you have received our grant focus survey for next year’s grant cycle. I encourage CVCF members to take five minutes and fill out the survey. This is when you can have a say on the grant focus and direction of the grant dollars for next year. It is also the basis of the grant cycle and what the Grants Committee uses to write the request for proposal from the community.
Thank you for trusting CVCF and The San Diego Foundation with your investment to support quality of life initiatives for all people who live, work and enjoy our wonderful Chula Vista community. I look forward to another exciting year of grantmaking and watching CVCF grow. If you would like to learn more about joining CVCF or serving on a committee, please reach out to Estela Mitrani, our affiliate manager, estelam@sdfoundation.org and we will schedule a time to meet with you. Have a wonderful summer!
This blog features Seven Mile Casino, a valued corporate supporter of the Chula Vista Community Foundation, as well as our featured Grantee, Meals on Wheels. If everything continues as planned, we hope to see you at an in-person event sometime before the end of the year. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this reading!
Member Spotlight: Seven Mile Casino
Seven Mile Casino is more than just a cardroom – it is a committed and active community partner working tirelessly to build deep roots in the surrounding community. Since its ownership transfer in 2017, Seven Mile has worked to set the foundation for a productive community partnership.
“Ever since we arrived in Chula Vista, we wanted to make our commitment to this community clear,” Masis Kevorkian, shareholder of Seven Mile Casino shared. “We love Chula Vista. Our goal is to work side by side to improve our shared community because we plan to be business partners in the city for decades to come.”
Like many Chula Vista businesses, Seven Mile was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with help from the City of Chula Vista, they were fortunate to have been able to reopen outdoors keeping their workforce together, and as of this past June are now able to operate indoors! Seven Mile is also delighted to announce the opening of Sammy’s and upgraded their outdoor patio which looks forward to hosting the Chula Vista community. Just down the street Seven Mile also owns and operates the Rambler Hotel & Coffee Shop and invites the community to swing by.
Seven Mile has primarily focused on supporting organizations in three areas: education, economic development and health and public safety. By contributing to these programs and organizations, Seven Mile Casino hopes to instill a long tradition of support for the next generation of South Bay residents.
Grantee Spotlight: Meals on Wheels San Diego County
The generosity of CVCF and its members provided Meals on Wheels San Diego County with 17,777 meals to be delivered to 337 unduplicated seniors in Chula Vista along with safety checks and social visits during the 2020 grant period.
The service Meals on Wheels provides is crucial, especially for seniors at-risk. During the grant period, 45% of the seniors served lived alone, 32% were older than 85 years old, 32% were veterans or spouses of veterans, and 93% identified as low to extremely low income.
“Funding from CVCF enabled Meals on Wheels San Diego County to provide every senior a 60% subsidy on their meal costs, with many receiving additional discounts based on their income levels,” said Ali Duarte, Grants Manager. “Without this CVCF funding, Meals on Wheels would have been forced to place seniors on a waiting list. Additionally, with this funding support, we were able to maintain a strong administrative team to recruit, train, and sustain our volunteer force, thereby increasing the affordability of our service and creating a strong sense of community while supporting these at-risk seniors.”
