New grant funding and charitable giving opportunities are being created thanks to the collaborative efforts of the City’s Housing Department and the Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) by transferring the former Human Services Endowment Fund to PCF and establishing the new “Pasadena Assistance Fund.†The charitable endowment will be managed by PCF while the City acts as advisor to the fund and directs the grant making.
“We wanted to think outside the box to see how we could take the City’s existing Human Services Endowment Fund and increase its grant-making capacity. After careful consideration, we agreed that a partnership with PCF was a great solution to meet our goals,” Pasadena Housing Department Director William Huang said.
The fund will continue to be focused with the same spirit and purpose of its original donors: providing support to local non-profit social service agencies that help people facing poverty, or those with disabilities or other challenges. The new partnership, however, opens up two new important means for growing the fund, currently with a principal balance of about $1.8 million.
First, the City-PCF partnership provides greater visibility and fundraising opportunities. Already, the new fund name, statement and logo clearly communicates its purpose: “Building Better Lives.†Huang said the new fund’s higher profile “will hopefully inspire local community members to consider this fund in their overall charitable giving and estate plans.”
Second, transferring fiscal management to PCF allows for greater investment returns over the long term due to PCF’s ability to utilize investment vehicles not previously available to the City. PCF’s investment strategy employs a diversified global portfolio of equities, bonds, and other investment vehicles that the City cannot use in the investment of public funds, PCF Executive Director Jennifer DeVoll said.
Future distributions from the fund will supplement the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) provided by the federal government to the City. Since federal funding for CDBG has declined in recent years, it is even more important to build a hometown source of similar funding for the worthwhile local social services programs, Huang said.
DeVoll said helping grow the Pasadena Assistance Fund “is right in our sweet spot†for PCF.
“We build hometown legacies, permanent funds to support the critical services offered by non-profit organizations within our community. We are thrilled to be working with the City to help grow the fund through prudent investment and heightened visibility.”
Since its inception in 1992, the Pasadena Assistance Fund (formerly the Human Services Endowment Fund), has been managed by the City’s Human Services and Recreation Department, and then the Housing Department, distributing about $2.8 million in grants to Pasadena area non-profits agencies and organizations.
For more information about the Pasadena Community Foundation, 260 S. Los Robles Ave., Suite 119, Pasadena, (626) 796-2097, go online to www.pasadenacf.org. For more information about the City of Pasadena go to www.cityofpasadena.net