$1.4 million from Credit Bureau Fund committed to Focus on Prevention in Stanislaus County

Local business leaders have made a $1.4 million charitable investment in the Focus on Prevention initiative to support efforts to reduce homelessness in Stanislaus County.

The Stanislaus Community Foundation announced the major donation Monday on behalf of business leaders Tom Norquist, David Halvorson, Sylvester Aguilar, Vinson Chase, Ted Dickason and Gary Boudreaux. The group served as advisory members for the Credit Bureau Fund, which has provided charitable funds for nonprofit organizations since the Credit Bureau of Stanislaus County closed and sold its assets in 2005.

Businessman and philanthropist Carl Boyett also served on the advisory board before his death in November 2015.

The business leaders said they are especially concerned about homelessness in the community and wanted to commit the funds to a local initiative with staying power.

“We’re making this investment in Focus on Prevention because we believe in the work that it’s doing,” said Tom Norquist, a retired businessman and chairman of the advisory group.

Norquist said the advisory group has disbursed interest from the Credit Bureau Fund for 10 to 12 years but decided it was time to make a major contribution.

The business leaders heard two presentations on Focus on Prevention from county Chief Executive Officer Stan Risen, county supervisor Terry Withrow and a staff member. Withrow said they were grilled on the purposes and approach of the initiative and later heard about the group’s decision.

Efforts to address homelessness are the first phase of the 10-year campaign launched in 2015, which is organizing different sectors of the community around a movement to improve the quality of life in Stanislaus County.

“We’re putting a stake in the ground with this major investment because it’s time to fund solutions, not just talk about our problems,” said David Halvorson, president of American Chevrolet.

The Stanislaus Community Foundation has administered the Credit Bureau Fund for the past decade. In a news release, the foundation said the advisory board is allocating the majority of its funds to a new Focus on Prevention Fund, which will be administered by the foundation.

The nest egg will fund grant requests that come through the Focus on Prevention Stewardship Council. The council and action groups are working on innovative solutions and pilot projects to address homelessness.

The foundation expects the funds will be used as seed money for start-up projects and innovations for reducing homelessness that can’t be addressed by government or nonprofit funding alone, said Marian Kaanon, the foundation’s chief executive officer.

As an example, the grants could help pay for navigators who assist homeless people with finding resources or services to help them get off the streets. Risen said the navigators will work in a proposed Access Center for the homeless that’s being developed by the county and Modesto.

Risen said the major contribution validates the multisector model for Focus on Prevention, which has engaged representatives from business, philanthropy, education, the faith community, the arts and entertainment, health, government, the media, nonprofits and neighborhoods.

“People have faith and hope that, by coming together, we can make a difference,” Risen said. “I am extremely encouraged by it.”

Kaanon said the financial support demonstrates the power of philanthropy. “When a group of individuals can create a fund like this, it sets the tone for the rest of the community,” said Kaanon, who serves on the Focus on Prevention Stewarship Council. “These are forward-looking longtime residents who have their hearts in our community. They are business leaders who know a good investment when they see it.”

County government has set aside an annual $1 million for Focus on Prevention and spent about a quarter of that each year. Risen said he expects to firm up an expenditures plan for the initiative before he retires in August.

The homeless are only the first phase of the 10-year initiative; additional phases will focus on the families of criminal offenders, youth and crime recidivism.

Withrow said the donation is an endorsement of the campaign. “It is going to signal to other businesses and other people in our community that we are going in the right direction and it’s not just a government-run program,” he said.

This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 6:32 PM with the headline "$1.4 million from Credit Bureau Fund committed to Focus on Prevention in Stanislaus County."