letter

Richard Kiy and Leon Reinhart

This year brought many challenges and opportunities for the International Community Foundation (ICF) and the donors, non-profit organizations and communities that we serve across the Americas and Asia. The year also highlighted the growing inter-dependence of communities across the globe.

Concerns about the sagging U.S. economy, global terrorism, the war in Iraq, and the SARS epidemic, brought with them fiscal belt tightening, heightened
border security measures, greater scrutiny of charitable giving overseas, and a general decline in foreign travel.

Our donors did not let these challenges deter their international philanthropy, however. Charitable giving among ICF donors increased this year with close to $3.9 million in total donations and 115 grants totaling nearly $2.6 million to non-profits and charitable causes in the Americas and Asia.

Helping our donors achieve their philanthropic goals is only one part of ICF's work. We are also catalyzing new leadership; building collaborative partnerships among grantees; mentoring new grantmaking organizations; and publicizing the work of our grantees in reports, events, and conferences.

This year, ICF successfully launched the Las Californias Youth Leadership Development Program with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. ICF also initiated its Baja Social Venture Partners Fund and thanks to a three-year grant from the Ford Foundation, ICF ex- panded its collaboration with Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad (FIC) to increase charitable giving in Baja California. With the support of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, ICF launched its Give2Baja campaign and increased its donor outreach across Southern California for the benefit of coastal communities along the Sea of Cortez.

Thanks to support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, Sempra Energy, the Reinhart Family Foundation, the Alliance Healthcare Foundation and the Synergos Institute, ICF and FIC jointly published a comprehensive needs assessment of Baja California along with a guide of the region’s NGO’s. Using this first-hand research, ICF has been successful in finding support for projects in two areas of growing importance to Baja California, namely health and education.

The past year was also one of expanded partnerships, including ICF’s active involvement in the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership, an alliance of 21 participating community foundations from the border region and nine regional funders. Together with the San Diego Foundation and FIC, we co-hosted the partnership’s 2nd "Border Learning Institute" in San Diego bringing together funders to discuss needs and funding strategies for the U.S.-Mexico border region.

The success that ICF has achieved over the past thirteen years would not have been possible without the ongoing commitment of our donors, Board of Governors, staff and volunteers and the continuing support of the San Diego Foundation. Thank you to all for making it possible for ICF to make a difference for the communities and non-profits that we serve.