RANCHO SANTA FE — The Rancho Santa Fe Foundation has officially celebrated its 35th anniversary. The nonprofit has helped navigate other nonprofits in their own mission of charitable giving. Since its inception, the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation has gifted more than 6,000 grants and committed more than $52 million to roughly 600 nonprofit organizations. In the same breath, the Foundation has indicated that they have reached an impressive milestone equating to $100 million assets under its management.
Celebrating these landmarks, the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation decided to host its Board and Staff 35th Anniversary Service Project. Many attended this special event which was held on Oct. 13 at Coastal Roots Farm in Encinitas.
“In recognition of the 35th Anniversary, we wanted to provide an opportunity for board and staff to volunteer together in a hands-on community service project,” said Christy Wilson, executive director of the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation. “Not only will we be doing community service, but we will be doing it together and having fun.”
According to Wilson, they picked this venue because the Coastal Roots Farm is a program of the Leichtag Foundation, which has been a significant supporter of North County Senior Connections at the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation.
Wilson went on to explain that this special day would help enhance the knowledge and understanding for their board and staff regarding work and connection between Coastal Roots Farm and the Leichtag Foundation.
“The produce we picked in the morning will be donated to the farm’s local partners, including Community Resource Center, St. Andrews Church, Jewish Family Service, Camp Pendleton and Kitchens for Good,” Wilson shared.
From 8 a.m. to noon, the day was filled with much to do. While harvesting produce was a great morning task to perform, Wilson said, there was a special tour of the Coastal Roots Farm including its eight-and-a-half acre Food Forest and two acre biodynamic vineyard.
Wilson shared that following the tour, attendees had the opportunity to enjoy a savory farm fresh salad and try their hand at a pickling workshop.
“The RSF Foundation is a resource to our donors about the many philanthropic opportunities available to them throughout San Diego County,” Wilson said. “But we have found that nothing beats making a personal site visit or volunteering at a local nonprofit.”
