Dear Parker Foundation Friends,
I think we can all agree, 2020 has been a historical year. The Covid-19 Pandemic and its wide-ranging impact has taken a terrible toll on many of the individuals, families and organizations that The Parker Foundation strives to support through our philanthropic investments. As you can imagine, a great deal of our grant requests have been directly related to the Pandemic.
Fortunately, the investment markets rebounded before summer and the Foundation was able to grant over $1.9 million to 63 organizations all within the San Diego Region. In addition to the Foundation’s grant activity our Board Members continue to participate in funder collaboratives focused on important issues like homelessness, food accessibility, our military (active and retired), housing and education.
The Parker Foundation is hitting a major milestone in 2021. In October we will be recognizing our 50th Anniversary. We plan to share the incredible story and history of the Foundation with the community throughout the year. Most importantly, we will hear from organizations the Foundation has supported during the years. We are hopeful that sharing this history will demonstrate and inspire others to consider taking a similar path.
I continue to be grateful to our dedicated volunteer Board Members, and Robbin Powell our Chief Administrative Officer. We all miss meeting in person to conduct our work, but we all have learned a great deal this year. I’m confident 2021will be a much better experience that 2020. We look forward to celebrating our 50th Anniversary with the community we so deeply care about.
All the best,
Ray Ellis, Board President