MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In my role as Executive Director, I work with our able and talented staff to bring the board's vision for the Foundation to life. As I reflect on the year just past, one thing strikes me as the common thread running through both our Neighborhood Initiative work and our community grantmaking: a focus - one might say a determined focus on community assets. In our neighborhood work we believe it is essential to appreciate mobilize individual and community talents, skills and assets (rather than focusing on problems and needs).

We are also totally committed to community-driven development rather than development driven by external agencies. As we work in the area of community grantmaking, we see agency programs as tools to be used by the community to help them build on their assets, rather than as entities that deliver services to solve problems.

As all of our grantees are aware, this is not an easy shift in perspective, and it is one that requires courage and a strong belief that change con occur. As you will see from this report, our investments are varied, and yet they are similar in their philosophy. We are deeply invested in the people of our community, rather than the problems, and we believe that this focus can and will yield a strong and diverse group of citizens, both in our neighborhoods and in our agencies, who can bring about a better future for us all.

Kathy Goldfarb-Findling