Power of Purpose – May 2026
Dear VCCF Community,
I heard the soft, breezy music the moment I made it through airport security. It only sounded breezy on the surface.
Bryan John Appleby, a Seattle-based musician, was singing Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin’” as people moved through the terminal in that familiar airport chaos. Bags rolling. Phones ringing. Announcements echoing overhead. Everyone going somewhere, surrounded by people, and yet so many of us moving through the space alone.
I invite you to listen. It is a haunting and tender song, and it touched me deeply. I would love to hear if it moves you as well.
Maybe it struck me because I was on my way home from an extraordinary conference hosted by the Council on Foundations, where one of the most powerful themes was belonging. During one plenary session, I was introduced to a simple but profound idea: connection is a cause, perhaps one of our time’s most urgent causes.
Because what challenge can we truly solve without others?
Certainly not the crisis in early childhood education, or the protection of our natural environment, disaster resilience, housing affordability, economic insecurity, public trust, or the loneliness and division taking hold across our communities and our country.
All of these require us to remain in relationship with one another long enough to imagine and build something better.
We are living in a time of extraordinary noise. A cascade of never-ending headlines, opinions, arguments, and performative mic drops on national stages, and sometimes our local ones too. So many voices speaking, reacting, declaring, and defending.
And yet, beneath all of that noise, so many people feel profoundly unheard.
Brené Brown has spent decades helping us understand the inner life of connection: courage, vulnerability, shame, empathy, and belonging. In her latest book, Strong Ground, she writes beautifully about paradoxes. Perhaps this is one of the great paradoxes of our time. We are more connected than ever through technology, social media, travel, and constant access to one another, and yet so many people feel more isolated, unseen, and disconnected than ever before.
At your community foundation, we spend a great deal of time thinking about what it means to build a community where people belong.
Not belonging rooted in sameness, or one that requires unanimity. We do not ask that our neighbors erase their differences or abandon their values.
Instead, we focus on belonging rooted in trust, dignity, relationship, and a shared responsibility for the place we call home.
We have seen this in Ventura County. We have seen it this past year through the Ventura County Neighbors Support Coalition, where more than $1 million you collectively contributed went to work helping our neighbors weather very challenging circumstances, and we continue to offer support to this day. We see it now through the Isabella-projektet, where more than 120 steering committee members are coming together to advance access to high-quality early childhood education.
Again and again, we see that belonging is not abstract.
It is built through action.
It is also built through invitation, listening, and through the courage to remain at the table long enough to build trust.
One of the most powerful images from the plenary was the idea of a long table. A long table is only meaningful if it includes people we might not naturally choose, people who may disagree with us, people who may see the world differently. The work is not simply to gather with those who already affirm us. The deeper work is to break bread across difference and discover that we still belong to one another.
That is not easy work. I have found myself stumbling at times too. But it may be among the most important work of our time.
Because in a world where everybody is talking, perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can offer one another is not another opinion. It is the experience of being heard, being seen, and being part of something so much larger than ourselves.
And perhaps the song reminds us of something else. In a noisy world, we need moments of quiet. Time in nature. Space to breathe. Room to remember what matters.
And then we come back.
Back to one another. Back to the work. Back to the table.
Back to the possibility that we can be generous not only with our resources, but with our attention, our patience, our imagination, and our spirit.
At VCCF, we believe generosity is one of the ways a community tells the truth about what it loves, and that Ventura County is a place worth loving and a community worth serving. May we continue to choose invitation over isolation. Trust over fear. Union over unanimity. And may we keep building a community where every person knows: you matter here.
We’ve got this, together,
Vanessa
Vanessa Bechtel, VCCF's præsident og CEO
Isabella Project’s Steering Committee Meeting
Problem Solving for Our Community’s Children
We are still energized from last month’s Isabella-projektet Steering Committee Meeting which celebrated successes and fostered collaboration for the year ahead. With an opening performance from Marina V that uplifted the room and a dance performance from Abril López to close the day, the feeling of unity was palpable and further highlighted by active participation during breakout sessions. We are so grateful for the partnership and commitment to Isabella Project’s mission, and the strengthening of Santa Paula’s families!
ArtLife Foundation Fund
Closing Soon!
The ArtLife Foundation Fund supports programs and initiatives that advance artistic excellence and nurture creativity within Ventura County. Through this competitive grant opportunity, the fund will support arts organizations and educational institutions whose work:
- Advances artistic excellence
- Supports arts educators or programs that foster the “Creative Mind”
- Promotes the scholarly study of Joe Cardella’s life, artwork, creative philosophy, or ART/LIFE Limited Editions
This grant round focuses on organizational programs, projects, and initiatives. Student scholarship awards supported through the fund are administered separately and are not part of this application. Applications close Friday, May 15 at 5 p.m.
Bert M. og Mildred O. Dahls Fond
Open Now!
Grants from the Bert M. and Mildred O. Dahl Fund are to be used in Ventura County for general charitable purposes to benefit the youth of Oak View, California. Nonprofit organizations must be establishing or assisting programs for the youth of Oak View. This may include the construction and maintenance of facilities for such programs. Applications for this fund will close Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 5 p.m. PST.
Swift Memorial Health Care Foundation Charitable Fund
Opening Soon!
The Swift Memorial Health Care Foundation Charitable Fund was established following the dissolution of the Swift Memorial Health Care Foundation (SMHCF). SMHCF was named in honor of Dr. Floyd J. Swift and his wife, Ida Swift, in recognition of their significant contributions to improving the quality of life in Ventura County.
The Swift Memorial Health Care Foundation Charitable Fund will carry on the Foundation’s legacy by supporting nonprofit organizations that assess health care needs or provide health care services to Ventura County residents through community-focused programs, projects, or events.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Situation Room Experience
Setting the Table for Emergency Preparedness
VCCF participated in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Situation Room Experience, tasked with guiding the county through natural disaster. Over 30 community leaders, partners and VCCF supporters were given high-pressure roles and navigated a simulated Ventura County wildfire response.
With strong enthusiasm, everyone perfectly executed their responsibilities. This experience reflected the collaboration and leadership that strengthens Ventura County during times of distress, and we are so thankful to have shared this experience with everyone.
New Domestic Violence Shelter Opens in Ventura County
Collective Collaboration in Action
On April 6, County and state leaders cut the ribbon to a new domestic violence shelter located at the Ventura County Family Justice Center. This shelter is set to have 24/7 onsite support staff, six new bedrooms in its main facility and four detached pallet shelters that were built with the help of a $440,000 donation from VCCF! This contribution was made possible through VCCF’s funding, the VCCF Animal Welfare Fund and contributions from our donors, and this included special funding designated for infrastructure to make sure residents can keep their pets with them. This shelter has been a longtime in the making, and we are so proud to have played a part in the formation of this critical project.
Ventura County Neighbors Support Coalition Continues Growth
We’d like to recognize our two latest partners of the Neighbors Support Coalition, the American Association of University Women – Thousand Oaks Branch og Logix Federal Credit Union, for their partnership and dedication to our community. Through the hard work of our 33 coalition partners, we are able strengthen our combined efforts to help our neighbors feel safe, seen and supported.
For any organizations or cities that would like to join the coalition, we encourage you to fill out the form on our site. Together, we can develop a shared understanding of how we can support our community.
California Nonprofit Day: May 20
Celebrating Our Region’s Partnerships
May 20 is California Nonprofits Day, where assemblymembers and state senators honor nonprofits from their district! This is an opportunity to acknowledge and show support to all the nonprofits in our community that work to uplift everyone’s voices. We are so proud to share that 805 Undocufund was chosen as an honoree by Assemblymember Steve Bennett! See all the other incredible nonprofits across the state who have been honored this year.
Leading from Within’s Growing Edge Leaders
Fostering Big Ideas and Problem Solving
Leading From Within equips community changemakers across the region to grow their ability to lead, collaborate, and drive solutions. Its “Growing Edge Leaders,” or GEL, program is for seasoned professionals looking to expand their capacity for growth alongside peers from across sectors. The program aims to help leaders move more quickly into constructive action and sustain their passion and commitment for the critical work they do.
GEL recently gathered its members, alumni, partners, and supporters for a panel of social sector leaders who spoke about times where their leadership was under pressure. Westmont President Gayle Beebe, Santa Barbara County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato and former Durfee Foundation Executive Director Claire Peeps imparted practical wisdom through real life examples in an engaging conversation moderated by GEL alum Sigrid Wright. The day included small group discussions and a “Leader’s Lounge” for continued community connection afterwards.