BCF In Action

We at BCF hope that you are staying safe, sane, and healthy. Remember:
– Wear a mask
– Wash your hands
– Practice social distancing

Belvedere faces disruption from multiple sources – COVID19, natural disasters, and PG&E power shut-offs. BCF Vice President Doug Patterson formed an ad hoc committee to find out how BCF could help support disaster preparedness activities in Belvedere. The committee reached out to the City and the Block Captains to offer a special summer grant cycle devoted only to disaster preparedness.

The Board approved three grants:

1. Masks: The Block Captains will purchase a supply of KN95 masks to be stored for first responders in the event of a fire or biological emergency. In addition, the Block Captains will purchase disposable paper masks for our police department to share with those folks not currently wearing masks in public.

2. Emergency Gas Shut-off Wrenches: The Block Captains will make these available to households that need them.

3. Ice-Maker: During a power outage or natural disaster, there is a critical need for ice. Many residents have medications that need to be refrigerated, and ice is also necessary for treating sprains, fractures, and other injuries. The City will install an under-counter ice-maker in the community kitchen at City Hall (which has a backup generator) so that first responders have a reliable supply of ice for critical needs.

Thank you to our wonderful volunteer block captains for helping us stay safe.

Our volunteer Block Captains are on the job

Do you have a local project that needs funding? The deadline for spring grant applications is March 1, just around the corner. Use the forms provided on this website to submit your grant proposal electronically. Click on the “Apply for a Grant” box below to get started.  We look forward to reviewing your proposal!

“Sunset” by Andrew Peters

“Island in the Fog” by Chase Reynolds Ewald

2018 Winners show off their photos

Thursday, November 21, 2019 is the date of the Belvedere Community Foundation Annual Meeting. Please join us at Belvedere City Hall at 7 pm for the annual slide show, photo contest awards, recognition of volunteers, and reception. Sweet and savory snacks will be served, along with a selection of beverages. Oh, and we’ll conduct a little business too.

This year we will enjoy the slide show and photo contest on the City’s new state-of-the-art audio/visual system, thanks in part to a grant from BCF. A new laser projector and HDMI scaler provide a clear, sharp projected image. The City also upgraded monitors used by the city council and other legislative bodies during meetings, and we’ll be able to hear our speakers due to new rechargeable microphones. We’re very excited to try out the new equipment at the annual meeting.

Monitors help council members follow the presentation on the screen

The new projector creates a crisp and beautiful image

May is Older Americans Month, a perfect time to celebrate the tenth year of Marin Villages’ outreach and support of seniors who face the challenges and pleasures of staying in their homes as they age.  BCF Grant recipient Tiburon Peninsula Village manages a network of volunteers who help Belvedere and Tiburon senior residents with all kinds of projects and activities – everything from cleaning out the garage to providing rides to activities and doctor’s appointments.  The organization hosts a range of activities including monthly get-togethers at Rustic Bakery, domino tournaments, cooking classes, and more.  Most importantly, Tiburon Peninsula Village helps maintain an intergenerational sense of community and engagement that is so important in combating the isolation that can occur as one’s mobility decreases with age.

BCF’s most recent grant to the Tiburon Peninsula Village chapter of Marin Villages helped the organization do outreach to potential volunteers, including advertising in The Ark.  Marin Villages was able to leverage the Tiburon Peninsula chapter’s outreach project to increase outreach in the other chapters, thus allowing BCF’s contribution to ripple out through the larger community.  While our focus will always be on Belvedere, we feel gratified when the effects of our local projects can provide a benefit off the Peninsula as well.

Marin Villages has a series of events planned to celebrate its tenth anniversary, and BCF was invited to attend the major donor thank-you party at the lovely home of board member Sparkie Spaeth of San Rafael.  Tiburon Peninsula Village was well represented at the party, including (from left to right) Belvedere resident Lois Cannady, Tiburon volunteer Matt Masson, Marin Villages Board President and Tiburon volunteer Cheryl Sorokin, and BCF Board member Debbie Fisher.  In the photo on the right, Lois Cannady admires the tenth “birthday” cake, a yummy chocolate concoction.

Harvey Rogers, who passed away on March 23 at age 95, wore enough hats for several lifetimes. Successful businessman, Navy officer, car enthusiast, intrepid traveler, enthusiastic sailor (including on the Belvedere Lagoon, where he distinguished himself as a racer and Commodore), lifelong gardener, loving husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend, he always had a project in hand and a smile for everyone. On the Tiburon Peninsula, however, he will be best remembered as the founder and guiding spirit of Harvey’s Garden at Blackie’s Pasture. After retiring at age 70, he completed the rigorous Master Gardener program and was encouraged to develop a community garden as a capstone project. He quickly identified a mud-hole at Blackie’s Pasture as worthy of his talents and led the effort to transform it into a public garden showcasing plants that would thrive in Tiburon Peninsula gardens. For over 20 years he created budgets, secured funding, and managed a crew of volunteers to plant, irrigate, maintain, and upgrade the beautiful garden we enjoy today. Until very shortly before his death he was actively involved with the garden, visiting it often and assessing which plants should be replaced and which others would do well in that location.

Harvey was the quintessential Belvedere volunteer, giving back to our beautiful community with joy and commitment. His photo graces the home page of this website, just below the blog section, in the Projects box. Click on Projects and select Environment to find the link to the Marin Master Gardeners website page describing Harvey’s Garden.

Harvey’s Garden will live on as a blessing to his memory. James Campbell has taken on leadership and would be happy to hear from you if you would like to volunteer. If you want to make a donation to the garden in Harvey’s memory, you can send a check to the Tiburon Peninsula Foundation with Harvey’s Garden in the memo line. The Belvedere Community Foundation continues its financial support of Harvey’s Garden through our grant program.

In keeping with a tradition started a few years ago, members of the BCF Board hosted the Board of the Tiburon Peninsula Foundation at Sue Hoeschler’s lovely home. BCF Board members demonstrated that in addition to their other achievements, they are accomplished cooks (or are good at ordering take-out). The two Boards talked about their overlapping concerns for our beautiful Peninsula and discussed ways in which they could collaborate.

Please join us at the Belvedere Community Foundation Annual Meeting

to honor the Photo Contest winners and celebrate the accomplishments of the past year.

When – Thursday, November 15, 2018, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Where – Belvedere City Hall Council Chambers

Refreshments will be served.

    BCF’s Board looks forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting.

    2016 Photo Contest winners show off their art

    Attendees enjoy the annual slideshow.

We live in such a beautiful place, it’s hard to resist taking photos!  Now your favorite photos of Belvedere can reside somewhere besides on your phone, camera, or Facebook page.  The photo contest is a great way to share your Belvedere photos with your friends and neighbors.  Click on the contest link to the right of this blog to submit your photos and see what other photos have been entered.  For further inspiration, take a look through past years’ submissions.

Okay, not great art, but just for fun, here are a few photos from the Labor Day Parade and Concert-in-the-Park with dance band Neon Velvet.  Were you there?

Belvedere Community Foundation is thrilled to introduce our new website!  Our goal is to keep our community of donors and grant recipients informed and engaged.  We would love your feedback; please click on Contact Us at the top right-hand side of the screen and send us your comments.

First, a big thank you to Jessica J. Miller for the gorgeous photos gracing the top of our home page.  Early on a frosty morning in January 2017, Jessica pulled on a parka over her flannels and headed over to the sea wall to document a stupendous sunrise.  That was just the beginning of a long day of photographing Belvedere, ending with a sunset over the western hills.  We limited the number of display photos to four but placed a fifth in the Donate box below.  If that spectacular sunrise doesn’t inspire you to donate, nothing will!  To see more of Jessica’s work, visit her website: http://jessicajmiller.com/.

We’ve updated our content in a few areas, so please take a tour.  In particular, we’ve reorganized our Projects section to provide more information about the projects and organizations we have recently supported.  Most of our grants go to organizations with their own websites, and we’ve provided links to those websites.  For projects without their own websites, such as the Belvedere Lanes Initiative and Clean and Green Day, we’ve added our own content.  Dave Gotz at the Landmarks Society went above and beyond in providing historical photos for those projects – Thanks Dave!

This website is still a work in progress, so don’t be surprised if you notice changes and additions over the next few months.  We’ll be adding a history section (the link currently displays but doesn’t work) and will be changing some images as we refine the look of the website.

This blog is also new, inspired by a comment made by James Campbell last year.  He wondered if BCF could provide more frequent updates than just the annual newsletter.  We thought that more communication was a great idea and that the website was the perfect place to add more information than can go in a newsletter.  Look for a blog post every month or so.  We’ll cover a wide range of topics, from projects we are funding to the people behind the projects, and add some fun facts and photos.

James also provided the newsletter team with photos from this year’s activities at Harvey’s Garden in Blackie’s Pasture.  Due to space limitations we weren’t able to include all of them, so here they are below.  What a beautiful day the volunteers had for gardening – looks like they’re having a blast!  If you want to know the name of that gorgeous plant with the spikes of orange flowers, or what any of the other plants are for that matter, head over to Harvey’s Garden and look for the the easy-to-read white-on-black plant markers.  Fall is planting season, so if you are thinking of renovating your garden, take a look at Harvey’s Garden to see what works in our microclimate.  You can find more information about Harvey’s Garden at the Marin Master Gardeners website:  http://marinmg.ucanr.edu/Community_Service_Projects/Demonstration_Gardens/Blackies_Pasture/