Pasadena Community Foundation hosted a gorgeous and festive event on the evening of April 27 in celebration of Jennifer DeVoll, six weeks before her retirement as President/CEO of the Foundation in June. The Generous Hearts, Lasting Legacy Soirée honored Jennifer’s 22 years of advancing the mission and impact of PCF. It also showcased her own generous heart in bringing donors, nonprofit leaders, and community partners to PCF’s collective table during her tenure.
PCF welcomed nearly 250 guests to the Caltech Athenaeum, including State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, California Assemblymember John Harabedian, and Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, all of whom presented Jennifer with honors. A surprise performance by PCF grantee organization Pasadena Master Chorale kicked off the program and wowed the crowd. Led by the evening’s emcee (and PCF board member) Gloria Pitzer, a group of six invited speakers — Ray Ealy, Jessica Pérez del Toro, Mark Mariscal, David Beringer, Arnold Mulder, and Maggie Sabbag — shared anecdotes about Jennifer and how their organizations and lives have been touched by her leadership. See event program.
The program also focused on Jennifer’s enduring legacy of building PCF’s significant Endowment Builders program, growing it to an impressive 185 named funds to date. In keeping with Jennifer’s commitment to endowments, Maggie Sabbag, PCF’s board chair, shared that the PCF board has created the Generous Hearts Endowment to continue supporting the community Jennifer has championed. It is only fitting that this endowment becomes one of the many legacies Jennifer leaves behind. Maggie also announced that the endowment had received a lead gift of $2 million from Wendy Munger and Leonard Gumport, who were in attendance, and saluted them for their extraordinary tribute to Jennifer’s service.
The evening ended with a tribute video and with remarks from Jennifer herself, who turned the spotlight away from her own accomplishments and instead showcased the “generous hearts” who had joined with her over the years to grow Pasadena Community Foundation into the dynamic and respected institution it stands as today.
We thank our event planning committee, led by Stephanie Fox and Alexandra Poer, for producing a beautiful evening full of heart.
Photos
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