June & July Grantmaking Activity

By Catherine Covington

During the months of June and July, RSF’s donor advisors recommended 46 grants from their Donor Advised Funds for a total disbursement amount of $536,211.69! Donor Advised Funds are a unique charitable giving vehicle offered by RSF that allow donors to make tax-deductible contributions to RSF and then recommend grants from their fund to qualified nonprofit organizations of their choice. A donor can be an individual, group, family, corporation, trust, or a foundation, and they benefit from access to RSF’s innovative Impact Investment Portfolios. Unlike other Donor Advised Fund investment programs, a donor’s contribution is invested directly in enterprises and funds with core social and environmental missions to ensure greater mission-alignment and the deepest impact possible.

Spotlight on Hidden Villa

Hidden Villa is a non-profit education organization that stretches over 1600 beautiful acres of open space in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains about 40 miles south of San Francisco. With a mission to inspire a just and sustainable future through its programs, lands and legacy, it uses an organic farm, wilderness, and community to teach and provide opportunities to learn about the environment and social justice. It was founded by Frank and Josephine Duveneck, who purchased the land in 1924 and were determined to be the best stewards of the land possible. Over the following decades, the Duvenecks established the first Hostel on the Pacific Coast (1937), the first multiracial summer camp (1945), and Hidden Villa’s Environmental Education Program (1970). The Trust for Hidden Villa was established as a non-profit in 1960.

Every year 30,000 people participate in one of Hidden Valley’s formal programs which consist of school programs, summer camps, individual programs available to the public, and sustainable agriculture programs. An additional 20,000 visitors come to the preserve annually to explore the farm and gardens or to hike on the eight miles of trails. Its constituents cover a wide spectrum of age, physical ability, geography, ethnicity, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and its organic farm, rustic barns, newer sustainable structures and pristine riparian, woodland and chaparral wilderness provide opportunities to experience the beauty of our environment on a first hand basis.

The key activities within Hidden Villa’s focus on Sustainable Agriculture are the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and the animal husbandry program. Hidden Villa manages a small-scale, organic farm. The farming practices are driven by its agricultural mission to produce the best quality vegetables, fruits, meat, and eggs for local markets and to support Hidden Villa’s educational programs by modeling sustainable, organic practices that minimize outside inputs, promote biodiversity, honor labor, value animal welfare, and respect the capacity and wildness of the land.

RSF is proud to support Hidden Villa. To learn more or to plan a visit, please check out their website.

June and July 2011 Grantees:

Education & the Arts

Alliance for Childhood, Inc.
Chengdu Waldorf School
Community for the Renewal of Education and Work
Freunde der Erziehungskunst
Green America
GreatNonProfits
Global Citizen Year
Creative Works of Lancaster
Collective Heritage Institute
Dancers’ Group
Green Meadow Waldorf School
High Mowing School
Charter Foundation
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Friends of CRAFT, Inc.
Shade Tree Multicultural Foundation
Hidden Villa
Maine Initiatives
Shining Mountain Waldorf School
Washington Waldorf School
Davis Waldorf School
Portland Waldorf School
Marin Waldorf School
Waldorf School of Orange County
Seattle Waldorf School
Hawthorne Valley School
Tucson Waldorf Education Association
Housatonic Valley School
Waldorf School of Atlanta
Charter Foundation
Waldorf School of Garden City
Westside Waldorf School
Honolulu Waldorf School
Pasadena Waldorf School
Cape Ann Waldorf School
Woodland Star Educational
Seminary of the Christian Community
International Community Foundation
American Hero Quilts

Food & Agriculture

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

Other

National Peace Corps
Feeding America
Give2Asia

Catherine Covington is Program Associate, Philanthropic Services at RSF Social Finance.

RSF16468