On Tuesday, June 13th, the SouthCoast Community Foundation held its 28th Annual Meeting at the UMass Dartmouth Charlton College of Business. With a full-capacity audience that included many community leaders and philanthropists, the Foundation elected four new Board members: Kate Alves, Rochester resident, and President of Barry Investment Advisors; Janet Coquillette, Mattapoisett resident and long-time volunteer with arts organizations; Nathaniel Rodriguez, New Bedford resident and Captain in the New Bedford Police Department; Anne Tangen, Dartmouth resident and President and CEO of BankFive.
“It is an honor to be elected to the Community Foundation Board. I look forward to our work in serving our communities through philanthropy,” said Anne Tangen, who was elected to a one-year term. The role of the Board is to govern and provide oversight of the organization. Elected officers were: Gail Fortes, Chair; Jayne Rebello Korn, Vice-Chair; Jonathan Rounds, Treasurer; and Maria Rosario, Clerk.
In her Chair’s report, Fortes said, “The search for the next President and CEO of the Community Foundation is underway. We’ve been excited by the candidates who have come forward, and we are confident that we will have an announcement on that front soon.” Fortes discussed the work the Foundation has done over the past year, including distributing over $1 million to arts organizations and expanding the organization’s scholarship program. As a result, 107 students were granted over $576,000 in scholarships last year.
The Treasurer, Jonathan Rounds, reported that the total managed assets of the organization were just below $50 million at the close of 2022, with 182 funds granting $4.9 million to 151 organizations last year.
The evening was closed out by the President and CEO of the Boston Foundation, Lee Pelton. He discussed issues of health and racial equity, commenting, “The persistent legacy of structural racism and stubborn continuance of interpersonal bias means that these challenges fall with extra weight on our underserved communities and especially families of color.” He went on to share how community foundations can tackle these issues, stating, “The full embodiment of our shared civic engagement and leadership means seizing the moment, choosing to be innovative, to be daring, to be bold, to take risks.”