Power of Purpose – January 2026
Dear Ventura County Community Foundation Family,
I just poured myself a cup of hot tea, turned on my favorite calming album (yes, it is Yo-Yo Ma Essentials, for those who know me well), and felt a deep urge to sit down and write to you. You will understand why it feels so grounding to pause and be with this community after leaving a statewide briefing on budget and healthcare cuts and learning that more than 2 million Californians are expected to lose their health insurance by 2029.
Lately, it feels as though we are living amid a cascade of stories and updates that make the world feel fragile and overwhelming. With the scale and volume of news, it is no surprise that one of the most common questions I am asked is, “Where do you find hope?”
For me, the answer is community, especially each of you.
Recently, your community foundation co-hosted a winter gathering for more than 70 nonprofit CEOs alongside the Cal Lutheran Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Leading from Within. These were colleagues I have known and served alongside for more than a decade, joined by many new leaders carrying fresh energy and hope for their missions.
These leaders are on the frontlines of human and community need. They work where families struggle to afford rent; where children wait for childcare; where people confront illness, hunger, housing insecurity, environmental risk, and increasing uncertainty. As leaders spoke candidly about the challenges of the past year, from natural disasters to insurance instability to inflation pressures to serving more people with fewer resources, and the fear they hold for members of the communities they serve, they also named what keeps them going. Their teams. Their missions. The generous people who make up Ventura County. In truth, their community.
We all need community. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared a national social disconnection epidemic, warning that nearly 50 percent of adults in the country are struggling with loneliness. Loneliness does not mean there is something wrong with us. It is, in fact, a biological signal indicating our need for human connection. I believe this is especially true now.
What these nonprofit leaders were describing was what it feels like to be caught in a systemic loop of challenges. As Peter Senge, senior lecturer of Sloan School of Management MIT, would remind us, the only way to break such cycles is to refuse to operate in isolation.
This advice echoes the work of Dr. Kathleen Allen, author of “Leading from the Roots.” She describes in her blog earlier eras of leadership as standing on a long road where you could see what lay ahead and plan accordingly. It didn’t mean there weren’t challenges, hardship, or obstacles, but there was greater visibility. She describes this moment differently. It feels more like stepping onto a trail in the Grand Canyon. You can see only to the next switchback. You do not know what lies beyond it. Leadership, she would say, in this moment is about steady footing, shared purpose, and trusting that we are not walking alone.
At the Ventura County Community Foundation, this is how we understand our role. We are here to walk alongside our nonprofit partners, donors, and communities, helping hold complexity, connect people, and build the conditions for resilience even when the path ahead twists out of view. This is why philanthropy matters most in moments like these. Not as a solution to everything, but as a way of standing with one another when the path narrows.
If you are leading an organization right now and feeling the weight of uncertainty, please know this: what you are doing matters, and you are not alone.
If you are a concerned community member wondering how best to help during this time, please know this: we are here to walk alongside you. The greatest gift you can give right now is your attention. When we are at the supermarket, waiting in line at a gas station, or passing one another in our neighborhoods, let us choose to truly see one another. These small moments of connection matter more than we often realize.
I left the briefing feeling the weight of the challenges facing us, yes, but also deeply grateful to walk this trail with people of such courage and care.
Thank you for being part of your community foundation family. It is where I continue to find hope.
With gratitude,
Vanessa
Vanessa Bechtel, VCCF President & CEO
Upcoming VCCF Grant Opportunities!
Barbara Barnard Smith Fund for World Musics, Opening Feb. 11
The Barbara Barnard Smith Fund for World Musics was established in 1992 to enhance understanding of global intercultural and local multicultural environments through expanding acquaintance with artistic heritages beyond those of Euro-American concert traditions. The donor-advised fund will consider applications from schools and from organizations established to present concerts for the public to support performances of non-Western classical and folk musics by bearers of these traditions, and of contemporary compositions for traditional or Western instruments inspired by and incorporating elements of these musics.
Bert M. and Mildred O. Dahl Fund, Opening Soon
Our Most Recent Fund Grantees
The Ventura County Neighbors Support Fund is proud to announce our most recent round of grantees to provide direct humanitarian aid to community members, families, and small businesses facing hardship. We are grateful to our frontline nonprofits providing urgent relief for needs such as food, shelter, rent, transportation, and other critical services. Donate today at our website, and 100% of your contribution will go directly to helping your neighbors through this time.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley
Buen Vecino
Harbor House
Interface Children & Family Services
Moorpark College Foundation
One Step A La Vez
Oxnard College Foundation
Partnership for Safe Families & Communities of Ventura County
Ventura College Foundation
Women’s Economic Ventures
Women of Substance and Men of Honor
Become a Volunteer and Support Our Scholarship Program!
Help Ventura County students reach their educational dreams and connect them with over $2 million in scholarship awards! The VCCF Scholarship Program is recruiting local passionate volunteers to read and score scholarship applications for the 2026 season. Learn more and become a volunteer below!
Get to Know Our Local Nonprofits – 805 UndocuFund
We are kicking off a new series of video interviews with nonprofit leaders in our community to share about their organizations’ vital roles in our community. This month, hear from Primitiva Hernandez, Executive Director of 805 UndocuFund, to learn the history of the organization starting with the Thomas Fire in helping our undocumented neighbors receive disaster assistance, to today’s community service and leadership to help ensure safety for all.
Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara
As we move into February to honor National Cancer Prevention Month, we take this time to celebrate the progress made in the medical field and to honor those fighting cancer in our lives. One local nonprofit, Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara, is working to uplift and strengthen people impacted by cancer by providing support, fostering compassionate communities, and breaking down barriers to care. For the last 30 years, they have provided hope and community to those fighting cancer as well as their families, caregivers all the way from West San Fernando Valley to Santa Barbara.
Every month, CSCVVSB offers no-cost support groups, educational workshops, individual counseling sessions, healthy lifestyle classes, and more in both English and Spanish for community members of all ages. You can view their upcoming programs on their website and learn more about how you can support their work.