Who We Are

The Kamas Valley Community Foundation (KVCF) was formed on July 1, 2025, by expanding and renaming the South Summit Education Foundation (SSEF), founded in 2016. The SSEF provided financial resources and innovative opportunities to teachers and students within the South Summit School District. After hearing from many community members, a committee decided to rebrand the SSEF, keeping its primary educational pillar and widening its scope of reach to Humanitarian and Health, Arts, and Recreation pillars of service. By building on a solid base of experience and devoted constituents, the new Kamas Valley Community Foundation hit the ground running! The KVCF Values are encompassed in the following:

VISION: Build an inclusive Community Foundation to benefit all the residents of Kamas Valley.

VALUES: Enlarge hearts and enhance features that make our local community vibrant, distinctive, and that contribute to our residents’ quality of life. Our four (HEAR) pillars are:

  • Kind Humanitarian Service & Health

  • Quality Education

  • Exceptional Arts, and

  • World-Class Recreational Experiences

MISSION: Provide one-stop shopping for: 1) Donors who wish to contribute financially to support Kamas Valley residents, and 2) Organizations and volunteers who wish to participate in supporting the KVCF vision, values, and projects.

Strategy:

 The Kamas Valley Community Foundation aspires to connect with and serve the public through partnerships, direct funding, advocacy, and community-building initiatives. We often function as a bridge between individual and corporate donors, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies to ensure that resources are strategically and equitably distributed and efficiently utilized.

 A.       Connecting with the public. The Kamas Valley Community Foundation uses several methods to connect with the communities it serves:

 1.        Deep local knowledge: We operate within a specific geographic area, allowing us to gain a deep understanding of local needs. This helps us direct resources where they are most needed and ensure our efforts are relevant to the community.

 2.        Delivering information: We actively gather data, conduct needs assessments, and publish reports to inform the public about emerging issues and opportunities. We collaborate with other nonprofits and government agencies to disseminate this critical information.

 3.        Convening diverse groups: By acting as a neutral party, we bring together people from different backgrounds to foster volunteerism, collaboration, and build trust. This helps us align goals and create new paths for collective progress.

 4.        Telling community stories: We highlight community achievements through events, fundraisers, recognition programs, press releases, and storytelling. This celebrates local philanthropy and promotes a ripple effect of goodwill.

 B.       Serving the public. The Kamas Valley Community Foundation serves the public in a variety of ways that create impact at multiple levels:

 1.        Funding: This is a cornerstone of our foundation work. We support a wide range of charitable organizations with grants, ensuring that essential community services have fair and reliable funding. During crises, we activate special funds to distribute aid rapidly.

 2.        Addressing critical needs: When a community or families face a crisis, such as a natural disaster or economic downturn, we foster collaboration among nonprofits and public agencies to address immediate, urgent needs.

3.        Supporting systemic change: Beyond direct funding, we try to leverage our influence and networks to advocate for policy changes. We can fund advocacy efforts, convene key stakeholders, and issue public statements to address the root causes of community and individual challenges.

 4.        Strengthening other organizations or nonprofits: We can provide support beyond grant dollars, offering "capacity-building" grants to help smaller organizations and nonprofits effectively manage their operations, including the use of public funds. We can also offer educational programs to help community and organization leaders develop new skills.

 5.        Promoting civic engagement: Through volunteer programs, civic education, and organizing efforts, we can empower community members to participate in civic and government processes and advocate for positive change in their policies and neighborhoods.

 C.      How we work with donors. The Kamas Valley Community Foundation can act as a crucial link for donors who want to give back to their communities effectively.

 1.        Providing local expertise: We have deep local knowledge, which allows us to offer donors insight into which organizations and initiatives are best positioned to make an impact.

 2.        Offering flexible giving: We provide various giving options, beyond general donation programs. We also offer donor-advised types of funds or field-of-interest funds, which allow contributors to allocate their donations to specific causes that align with their philanthropic goals.

 3.        Harnessing collective impact: By pooling resources from many contributors, we can achieve a greater collective impact than any single donor could accomplish alone.

Kamas Valley Community Foundation is governed and operated by a team of dedicated professionals who are proud to call this community home. We listen (HEAR) to the needs and concerns of others and strive to make a lasting contribution.