Heritage Fund

Established in 1999 by volunteers, the Heritage Fund’s purpose is to preserve and protect the unique heritage and history of Ventura County and expand and celebrate knowledge of that history among residents and students. The Heritage Fund provides grants for local nonprofits to have the resources and time to study and document the County’s unique heritage. Heritage Fund grants are important to the ongoing programs at our local museums and schools.

Prior Grants
During its building phase, the Heritage Fund allocated a portion of funding to make grants to produce curriculum for local schools or support historical society’s preservation efforts. The Camarillo Ranch Foundation obtained funding to produce a video on the history of the famous Adolfo Camarillo Ranch. The Ojai Valley Historical Society and Museum asked for help so it could capture the oral history of intriguing residents and families of Ojai Valley while the Santa Paula Historical Society hired a professional transcriber in order to put valuable history into current accessible documents.

Help ensure that local history is preserved
Make a gift or pledge to honor your family or someone special. Your gift of $100 or more will be recognized in the VCCF Annual Report and will live on in perpetuity as part of the Heritage Fund endowment. Every contribution of $500 or more receives a map of early Ventura County families created especially for the Heritage Fund by Wendell Dowling. Support the Heritage Fund today, before local history is lost forever. Help maintain Ventura County’s reputation as a community that cares about its past and the organizations working to preserve and protect its history. The Heritage Fund will resume its grantmaking in 2007 with a project on the enduring legacy of early philanthropists and grant requests in the 2008 grant cycle.

Sharing art with youth

The Santa Paula Art Museum’s mission is to share and educate about the city’s rich art history. Part of the museum’s extensive collection belongs to the Santa Paula Elementary School District, and to keep these gems accessible to the students, the museum organized its school outreach program.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Heritage Fund, the school program sends docents into the classroom for an art workshop with the students where they learn art-related vocabulary, observational skills and they have the opportunity to create their own works. A trip to the museum later puts their new skills to the test, allowing students a hands-on approach to art appreciation and a chance to explore the work of Santa Paula artists