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Our Mission & History

The Pasadena Foundation was formed in 1953 to address “current needs unmet and future needs unforeseen” in our community. Now organized as the Pasadena Community Foundation, our mission is to improve and enrich the lives of people in the greater Pasadena area through commitments to:

Provide grants and services to strengthen community-based organizations;

Promote and participate in community partnerships;

Enable donors to meet their philanthropic goals; and

Serve as a leader and catalyst to build charitable funds emphasizing permanent endowments to fund grants to local organizations

Established as the Pasadena Foundation in 1953 by noted philanthropist Louis A. Webb, the organization changed its name in 2005 to better reflect its identity and its mission.

Date 1953
1953

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.”

Marion and Louis Webb, the founders of Pasadena Community Foundation in 1953
Date 1954
1954

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.

Date 1966
1966

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.

Date 1968
1968

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

Date 1972
1972

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.

Date 1978
1978

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

Date 1993
1993

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.

Ginger Krueger with text that reads Ginger Krueger Pasadena Foundation Executive Director 1993-2002
Date 1994
1994

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.

A young boy wearing a black-and-red plaid shirt, sits in the lap of Santa Claus while holding a wrapped gift. Behind them is a backdrop of frosted Christmas trees and a gingerbread house.
Date 1996
1996

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.

An elderly woman smiles as she receives an in-home visit
Date 2003
2003

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.

Jennifer DeVoll is shown in near profile standing at a podium while delivering a speech. She is wearing a sleeveless red paisley dress and her blonde hair is shoulder length.
Date 2005
2005

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

Two women hold a Pasadena Community Foundation sign.
Date 2008
2008

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

Jennifer DeVoll stands outdoors with a Black man holding a round sign and a woman in a royal blue dress.
Date 2013
2013

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.

Date 2016
2016

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.

The Pasadena Child Health Foundation logo - which is playful and colorful - is shown beside a photo of a young Black girl holding a princess toothbrush.
Date 2017
2017

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.

Date 2019
2019

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.

Seven PCF Scholars stand just outside the door of an office at Pasadena City College. The PCF Scholars logo is shown at left.
Date 2020
2020

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 male doctor in full blue scrubs and a full face guard/mask stands at the forefront waving. Behind him are colleagues, also masked, lining a hallway.
Date 2021
2021

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.

A collage shows a photo of Doris Gilbert Sloan, an older woman, on the left. She is sitting happily with several cupcakes in front of her. To the right is a photo of a young female adult lying down while leaning on her elbows, withe a three-legged chihuahua.
Date 2022
2022

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.

Robert and Margie Petersen are pictured standing together in formal wear. The Petersen Scholars logo is shown at left.
Date 2023
2023

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

Pasadena Civic Center is lit up with colorful lighting and artful light projections during a performance of Muse/ique on the front plaza.
Noteworthy

“It is not the instrument of any one institution or person or of any group of persons. Rather, it is the charitable instrument of the community as a whole.”

— Louis Webb, PCF Founder, “Pasadena Star-News” 1956
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