Our Journey
History of the Rossmoor Fund
How many people does it take to make a difference in the lives of our less fortunate neighbors? It begins with one. One heart opening to another.
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Era One
2009
The Vision and the Team
Ten years after first imagining a better safety net for struggling residents, founder David Smith described the Rossmoor Fund as proof that one neighbor helping another can change a community.
Smith’s push began in early 2009 after his work on Rossmoor capital projects sharpened his awareness that some residents were quietly struggling with real financial hardship. He insisted the solution should be an independent 501(c)(3), distinct from Rossmoor governance, and chose the name Rossmoor Fund to make that purpose clear.
After a June 17, 2009 Rossmoor News article invited community involvement, volunteers with deep business, social work, and charitable experience stepped forward. A gathering in David and Sherry Smith’s living room quickly shifted from inspiration to logistics: how to determine need, how to involve the Counseling Office, and how to raise funds.
The initial board included Smith, Claire LeVine Wolfe, Bob Donovan, Carol Worthington, Fritzie Davis Noble, and Reta Wilcox. That founding group established the mission, the application process, and the stewardship model that still shapes today’s board leadership.
Era Two
2010 - 2011
Getting Started and Early Breakthroughs
In fall 2009 the board adopted a broad mission focused on residents in need, charitable and educational goals, and the overall health and well-being of the Rossmoor community. From there, the immediate question became how to identify urgent need while preserving privacy and dignity.
Working with Priscilla Tudor and the Rossmoor Counseling Office, the board designed a grant process residents could trust. The Fund chose to assist with emergency expenses rather than ongoing living costs, focusing on unexpected needs such as hearing aids, dental procedures, and other crises that could force impossible choices.
Applications were initially slow because many residents were not used to accepting charity. By May 2010, however, the board began awarding grants, and by year’s end it had approved 12 grants totaling more than $15,000, including support for chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and two motorized wheelchairs.
In 2011 the number of grants more than doubled. The stories became defining memories for the founding board: two pairs of orthopedic shoes for a woman ashamed to leave home in her only tattered pair, insulin coverage for a resident caught in the Medicare donut hole, and immediate $500 grants for each resident displaced by the Running Springs Road fire.
People no longer had to make a choice between food and medicine.
Era Three
2012 - 2018
Broadening Community Support
Expressions of gratitude from grant recipients reinforced the board’s conviction that the Fund could do more than respond to isolated emergencies. It began broadening support in ways that strengthened the wider Rossmoor community.
Beginning in 2010, the Fund contracted with legal service providers, including Contra Costa Senior Legal Services beginning in 2015, to offer free advice on consumer debt, elder abuse, powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, civil lawsuits, small claims, and the HOPE program.
The board also supported respite care for caregivers, partnered with Meals on Wheels and the Boomers Forever Club to distribute grocery assistance, sponsored a medical alert systems seminar, funded alert devices, and worked with Richard Davis and Davis Home Pros to provide small handyman repairs for eligible residents.
By 2017, the Fund had also created a Legacy Society honoring residents who named the organization in their estate plans, extending the idea of neighbor-to-neighbor support into the future.
- Free legal guidance through community legal partners and CCSLS
- Respite care for family caregivers, including dementia support
- Meals on Wheels coordination and Safeway gift card distribution
- Medical alert devices, handyman repairs, and annual housecleaning help
The Rossmoor Fund is particularly satisfying since it’s about neighbors helping neighbors.
Era Four
2019 - Present
Milestone Impact and Resilience
Reta Wilcox’s annual giving strategy proved decisive. Backed by early seed gifts from David and Sherry Smith, the Fund adopted a September-to-August campaign year and an ambitious $100,000 annual goal. Since 2013, it has surpassed that goal every year.
By the end of its first decade, the Fund had received 5,451 donations and crossed $1,040,963 in giving. It had expended more than $449,000 on individual grants, $187,000 on service-provider grants, and $37,000 on Safeway gift cards, while still building a reserve for the future and keeping expenses low through volunteer leadership.
Support from residents, clubs, and local businesses deepened that momentum through Home Shows, Home Tours, silent auctions, annual giving, and donor recognition events. The Boomers Forever Club became a particularly important partner, helping fund grocery support and major community events as donor recognition gatherings grew from David Smith’s living room to the Event Center.
Then 2020 demanded an update to the story. During the pandemic, the Rossmoor Fund received record donations, delivered record assistance, and tripled food support even as some respite and medical services were reduced for safety reasons.
In early 2021, the board expanded again with Diane Portnoff, Gayl Westendorf, and Al Zemsky, strengthening the Fund’s charitable, financial, and legal expertise. Visit the Board of Directors page to meet the team carrying that mission forward.
It feels wonderful that we were able to make a significant difference in people’s lives for not a lot of money. People no longer had to make a choice between food and medicine.