CONTACT:
Rebecca Salner, Media Relations Officer
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
650.450.5525 or rsalner@siliconvalleycf.org

SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES NEW DEPARTMENT FOR CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY AND NAMES TWO NEW SENIOR LEADERS

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Silicon Valley Community Foundation has created a new department charged with enhancing and expanding the community foundation’s support for corporate philanthropy.

Catherine Gowen has been appointed senior director of the newly created business services department. The community foundation also has hired Helen Dannelly. as its new senior director of development.

The new business services department will focus on corporate advised funds and will identify new ways for corporations and private foundations to work with Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Currently, the community foundation manages more than 40 corporate advised funds with more than $71 million in assets. These funds, which include Adobe Systems, Applied Materials, Electronic Arts, Homestead Technologies, McAfee, Microsoft, NetApp, Shutterfly and Xilinx, award more than $20 million a year in grants locally, nationally and internationally. The community foundation manages the fund for the corporation and provides a range of services, from issuing checks for grants to sharing information about community needs, all of which helps facilitate, plan and implement strategic charitable giving for companies and their employees.

"The creation of business services reflects the critical role that corporate philanthropy plays both in Silicon Valley and here at the community foundation," said Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D., CEO and president of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. "By realigning resources and creating a unit that is focused on these funds and corporate giving we hope to address the growing needs in corporate philanthropy."

Gowen, who came to the community foundation in 2000, has extensive experience in corporate philanthropy. Most recently, she led the institutional giving unit at the community foundation. Prior to that, she was the community foundation’s first Cisco Giving Counselor.

"The vision of the new business services department is to enhance and expand our support of corporate philanthropy and deliver world-class customer service to current and future clients," said Gowen. "The community foundation has a great opportunity and can play a significant role in helping corporations achieve their social responsibility goals and create their own brand of philanthropy."

Before joining the community foundation, Gowen was a program manager in Hewlett- Packard’s corporate philanthropy group. She began her nonprofit career at the American Red Cross, where she managed a variety of development projects.

Gowen has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from San Diego State University and currently serves on the steering committee for the Entrepreneurs Foundation. She is a graduate of Leadership Mountain View and is a Bay Area native.

Dannelly, who joined the community foundation in July as senior director of development, is responsible for fund development by seeking out and informing new donors how the community foundation can meet their local and global giving interests.

Most recently, she was director of development for the Department of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco. Prior to that, she served in various development roles at Mills College in Oakland, San Jose State University and Macalester College, a private liberal arts school in St. Paul, Minn.

Dannelly graduated from Cowell College at University of California, Santa Cruz and subsequently studied painting at San Francisco State University and sculpture at the University of Minnesota. Dannelly grew up in Southern California and now lives in Sunnyvale.

"Catherine and Helen both bring extensive experience and expertise to their new roles at the community foundation," said Carson. "We’re excited to have them join our leadership team and are looking forward to enhancing the services we provide in business services and in development."

About Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation is a catalyst and leader for innovative solutions to our region’s most challenging problems. Serving all of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the community foundation has more than $1.9 billion in assets under management and 1,500 philanthropic funds. The community foundation provides grants through donor advised and corporate funds in addition to its own Community Endowment Fund. In addition, the community foundation serves as a regional center for philanthropy, providing donors simple and effective ways to give locally and around the world. Silicon Valley Community Foundation launched in January 2007 following the landmark merger of Community Foundation Silicon Valley and Peninsula Community Foundation and is now one of the largest community foundations in the nation. Find out more at www.siliconvalleycf.org.