Our Mission & History

Real estate developer and long-time Pasadena resident Louis Webb and his wife, Marion Webb, establish the Pasadena Foundation as a community trust. “I wanted to do some good with my money … in some manner that would continue the charitable work after I was gone.”

The Pasadena Foundation awards its first grants, including $1,288.94 in discretionary grants to 12 organizations and $8,585.45 in donor advised gifts.

Upon Louis Webb’s death at the age of 84, half of the Webb’s estate – totaling $600,000 - is bequeathed to the Pasadena Foundation to establish the Louis Webb Trust.

Jo Stephens joins the Pasadena Foundation as its first Executive Director.

When Marion Webb passes away eight years after her husband, she leaves $1.8 million to the Pasadena Foundation to create the Marion Webb Trust.

The Pasadena Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary with assets of more than $4 million.

The Pasadena Foundation celebrates its 40th anniversary and has 14 named endowments established from estate bequests. Assets stand at $11 million. Ginger Krueger becomes the Foundation's Executive Director.

The foundation launches the Yes, Virginia Fund, which provides grants to local nonprofit agencies to provide toys, books, gifts, and special experiences for the holidays in an effort to help all children feel valued.

Pasadena resident Cornelia L. Eaton leaves her entire estate to the Foundation to establish a permanent endowment to serve seniors in her community. Her bequest of $816,225 is one of the largest received by the Foundation at that time. It lays the groundwork for the Foundation’s eventual Senior Grants program. Also in 1996, the Friends & Fellows Fund is launched, providing significant annual support to the Foundation's grantmaking.

The Pasadena Foundation celebrates 50 years of service and $25 million in grants to charitable organizations. Assets stand at $16 million. Current President and CEO Jennifer DeVoll is hired to lead the Foundation as it continues its rapid growth.

The Pasadena Foundation is renamed as the Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) and unveils its new logo.

PCF announces its largest grant to date; $450,000 to support Pasadena Unified School District’s John Muir High School Reinvention Plan.

A big year for PCF! The Foundation celebrates its 60th anniversary and receives a $1 million endowed gift from an anonymous donor in honor of the occasion. It also introduces named field of interest endowments and adds 21 new endowed funds. The Rowe and Gayle Giesen Trust becomes a fund of PCF in support of arts education grantmaking. The Foundation's K-12 Education Grant Program is launched.

Three important funds are established at PCF this year. The Pasadena Child Health Foundation, founded in 1951, becomes a fund of PCF with a $6 million gift, the largest in the history of the Foundation to date. The Vista Nova Renaissance Endowment is established to create a grant program in support of visually impaired individuals. The College Women's Club transfers its nearly century-old scholarship foundation to PCF to support scholarships for young women pursuing higher education in the greater Pasadena area.

PCF surpasses $80 million in assets and holds more than 350 charitable funds, including 111 named endowment funds that will support local nonprofit organizations in perpetuity. Kimberly Ebner, pictured, establishes PCF's 100th endowment.

In December, PCF’s assets surpass $100 million. The Foundation has awarded more than $92 million to charitable organizations since its founding in 1953. The Foundation launches two important programs: PCF Scholars and its Affordable Housing Initiative.

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, PCF creates the COVID-19 Response Fund to provide flexible resources to Pasadena-based organizations as they respond to the impact of the virus and quarantines. Between March and December 2020, PCF awards $2.5 million in relief grants.

A bequest from the estate of Doris Gilbert Sloan is one of the largest ever received by PCF. It launches PCF’s Animal Welfare Grant Program in support of local organizations that help both domestic and wildlife animals.

PCF receives the largest gift in its history: $10 million from the Petersen Foundation. The gift establishes the Margie & Robert E. Petersen Scholarship Endowment for Transition Age Foster Youth, which PCF uses to create the Petersen Scholars Program later in the year. The Petersen Scholars Program provides support for transition age foster youth in the Pasadena and Los Angeles region who want to pursue career and technical education or vocational training.

The Foundation announces the launch of its tenth annual grant program - the Arts & Culture Grant Program.