“My grandmother is responsible for instilling in me the desire to give and to be of service,” says Sandy Mailliard. “I come from a long line of “gifters,” people with a social conscience sharing what we have. So when I learned about the Community Foundation I knew I wanted to set up a fund.”
The new Sandy Mailliard Endowed Fund is a component fund of the Fund for Anderson Valley to support community grant-making in the Valley. It was important to Sandy to support the primary focus of the Fund for Anderson Valley: health and wellness, education, the environment, and the arts, but also to support emergency services. “I volunteer with the local fire department,” says Mailliard. “It’s the third fire department I’ve volunteered with. I’ve lived in many places, mostly rural, and appreciate supporting these critical services.”
After Mailliard’s grandfather visited Mendocino County from San Francisco 90 years ago, he fell in love with the county and purchased property.
Mailliard has fond memories of spending weekends and summers on the ranch growing up, but only moved here full-time in 2005. She believed it was important to become part of the community, so she reached out to the fire department to become a volunteer EMT and ambulance driver. This experience gave her a much larger awareness and love for the Valley. When she opened her business, Bates, Mailliard & Moss Farmhouse Mercantile in Boonville, it gave her another way to connect with the locals and become part of the community.
These connections resonated with that philanthropic core her grandmother nurtured in her. “I had never heard about community foundations before,” says Mailliard. “When I discovered the Foundation I thought it was a brilliant idea to support communities. I love the fact that the money that is raised off my money goes into the county. The piece I really love is that staff has gotten to know me over the years — when something comes up that I might be interested in they call me so I can choose to support things that are important to me. This is why I have a donor-advised fund with the Foundation to give during my lifetime, but also established the legacy fund as a component fund of the Fund for Anderson Valley.”
Mailliard believes that with this dual approach she can make the greatest impact. With a donor-advised fund she can witness the impact of her gift during her lifetime. Establishing the Sandy Mailliard Endowed Fund will ensure ongoing support to the Anderson Valley community with a planned gift after her lifetime.
By joining an established fund she can leverage collective giving, to continue to grow a cause close to her heart. When asked what impact she hopes to have in creating the fund, Mailliard responds, “I don’t want to set up requirements when giving. My hope is the money will go where it is needed the most. I come from a non-profit background and know how hard it is to raise money for the things that aren’t glitzy, the things that keep an organization running. I know the Foundation will make the best choice on how to use these funds.”
This approach to flexible giving allows the Community Foundation to support the critical non-profit infrastructure that keeps Mendocino County thriving. “My grandmother and parents instilled in me a desire to give and be of service. I am so grateful that the Valley has given me the opportunity to act on that,” says Mailliard. “And I am grateful to the Foundation — it has given me the vehicle to honor my grandmother and my parents and their gift to me so I can pass that gift on.”
Visit our website to learn more about the Fund for Anderson Valley, or to make a contribution. www.communityfound.org
(Megan Barber Allende is Chief Executive Officer, The Community Foundation of Mendocino County, 204 South Oak Street, Ukiah, CA 95482.)
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