MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The first area of interest is our community grantmaking, which is guided by our commitment to support those organizations whose programs best serve the needs of our citizens. These organizations provide programs that work toward developing new solutions and that are developing new strategies for mobilizing change. It is the work of these organizations that provides the goals for which we reach within the community. These goals include reducing youth violence, helping to mobilize and empower low-income farm workers, and building the capacity of our residents to care for their neighborhoods.

The second area of interest is our commitment to a foundation initiative in a specific neighborhood of our inner city that demonstrates how we can catalyze the benefits of what we have learned through our grantmaking beyond the reach of our limited dollars. Our strategy is to deepen participation - we are working to include more and more neighborhood leaders and residents - and to diversify participation - we are working to bring a greater number of people from many organizations, both public and private, to the table. we are serving as a "connector," bringing together organizations poised for change by working with people who can drive that change. In this way, we can help to fit the missing pieces into the puzzles that we face in society. This, we believe, is our purpose.

The Gifford Foundation began some 50 years ago with a single bequest from a woman whose life had been filled with tragedy and struggle. The Foundation began with a desire to serve the needs of our community through a strong sense of advocacy on behalf of those who were frequently excluded from public discourse and to include them in a long-term effort to create better systems. Today, that still remains the focus of the Foundation, and I believe our current self-examination and strategic planning will refine and enhance our ability to succeed in that work. The world has changed greatly in 50 years, and the problems have shifted as well, but I believe we have responded to these changes effectively. The Foundation looks far different than it did even 10 years ago - board and staff alike represent the great diversity of our community; with that diversity comes challenge, and through successfully meeting that challenge come change and opportunity.

Kathy Goldfarb-Findling