Desert Charities - Women in Philanthropy - Oct-Nov-Dec 2023

Tracy Fitzsimmons Olive Crest Executive Director Making A Dierence I am honored to lead Olive Crest locally in our driving philosophy to help children... “One Life at a Time®.” One child, one family, one father or mother, and that is a di’erence worth making. It is the di’erence our team already builds every day and one we will continue to pursue as we expand our services and community partnerships this upcoming year through our new Children and Family Resource Center. I am incredibly proud to link arms with so many like-minded individuals and organizations in our fight for strong families and safe kids right here in the Coachella Valley. Debbie Espinosa FIND Food Bank President/CEO Making A Dierence FIND Food Bank, with help from our community, continues to meet demand in the face of supply chain shortages, decreased food donations, and inflated prices. We are making a di’erence by putting food on the table of working people, hungry children, and under-resourced seniors. We provide our clients with resources to help build food security in their homes by o’ering financial literacy, workforce development, and outreach case management services, in addition to feeding our community. While prices continue to rise, we advocate on the local, state, and national levels to tackle the root causes of hunger and ensure equitable nutritious food distribution to the Coachella Valley desert region and beyond. Our mission is to end hunger for today, tomorrow, and for a lifetime. Alison Elsner San Bernardino County Medical Society CEO Making A Dierence Physician shortages are here and will get worse if we don’t act. I’m proud to be the CEO of SBCMS where we are addressing this public health crisis. By supporting medical students and residents through workforce development and increased graduate medical education funding, we are ensuring that there are enough doctors for patients to have access to care and to ensure health equity. Our advocacy and education to keep medical doctors in practice in our region keep families healthy and gives everyone an equal chance at having healthy babies, getting mental health treatment and stopping heart disease. Susan Davis Desert X Founder & President Making A Dierence Desert X is a dream project, an economic driver and community builder. Over a short period it has grown to become a major in- ternational art event. Through the generosity of many in the philanthropic arts commu- nities, we have established an organization that brings together artists from around the world to make new artworks that amplify the beauty of the Coachella Valley and foster dia- logue about global, social issues. Among our founding principles is to o’er the exhibition free to all, believing that art is a basic human right. Since our first exhibition in 2017– we are now planning the fifth edition in 2025 – we have counted more than 1.7 million visitors who have journeyed through the valley discovering art that is often available only inside a museum or gallery, and in so doing they connect with each other.” Pamela Davis Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Founder/President/CEO Making A Dierence In 1989, Pamela wrote her UC Berkeley master’s thesis on the di©culties 501(c)(3) nonprofits have finding a’ordable property/casualty insurance. She borrowed $500,000 from the Ford Foundation and other foundations and created a group of insurance companies (Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, NIA) now insuring more than 25,000 nonprofits in 32 states. She spent 7 years pursuing Congress to grant 501(c)(3) status to nonprofit insurance companies.President Clinton signed that bill in 1996. Assets in these companies exceed $750 million and they have returned more than $50 million to nonprofits in the form of dividends. NIA is rated A by AM Best and has been named by Investopedia as the best overall insurance for nonprofits nationwide--the standard by which commercial insurance companies are measured. Gloria Crockett Make-A-Wish Orange County & the Inland Empire President and CEO Making A Dierence As a highly skilled nonprofit executive, Gloria has empowered Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire to safely grant over 800 local wishes for children with critical illnesses through the pandemic and during times of record inflation. Her commitment to families facing di©cult times associated with children battling illnesses remains unmatched because she knows wishes are more than a want, but a need. In fact, a new impact study, we found that 8 out of 10 wish parents say wishes give children something to look forward to and renew their strength to fight their illness. Jan Salta Philanthropist Jan moved to the desert over 45 yrs ago, She has watched the desert community grow not only by population but also in the increase of a variety of charities. It was here where she met her late husband, Mike, to whom she was married for 34 years until his death in 2014. She credits her mother for setting an example of charitable giving. It definitely had an impact on how Jan herself would become involved in community charities. Jan serves on numerous Boards including Eisenhower Medical Center, the McCallum Theatre, the Palm Springs International Film Festival as well the Rancho Mirage Writer’s Festival. Her charitable heart also touches many non-profit organizations in the Coachella Valley. She has been a major supporter of an array of charities ranging from The Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, ACT for MS, the Mizell Senior Center, the Living Desert, Tools for Tomorrow, Circle of Stars, Martha’s Kitchen among many others. Jan feels blessed to be able to give back to the community. During the Covid pandemic, while I contributed at the level i could, I became very aware of the way many in this community rose to meet the crisis which impacted all of us. There were many unsung heroes who gave what they could and faced daily hallenges to make our lives able to carry on . This awareness of those who on a daily basis such as front line health care workers, those who stocked and staffed grocery stores, postal workers and the list is endless made the effort at the risk of their health and all of us bene- fited from that. This awareness that we are all in this together will hopefully guide us as a community going forward. I know this has had an impact on me. SPOTLIGHT WOMEN IN PHILANTHROPY - PAGE 5 DESERT CHARITIES NEWS