Charitable Foundation Trustee Lydia Kou presented a $2,000 check to Myllicent Hamilton, board director of the Westwind 4-H Handicapped Riding Program, a 2011 grant recipient, at this morning's Palo Alto District tour meeting.

The Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation, the charitable arm of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR), donated $53,500 in the form of grants and scholarships in 2011. The Charitable Foundation is a trust which makes grants available to organizations from donations by members and friends of the local trade association.

The 2011 grant recipients are non-profit organizations that help homeless and low-income individuals and families in Silicon Valley. They include Assistant League of Los Gatos/Saratoga, Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC), Edgewood Center for Children & Families, Friends of Deer Hollow Farm, Housing Industry Foundation, JW House, JustREAD (on campus of Mountain View/Los Altos Union High School District), Partners for New Generations, Peninsula Association for Retarded Children & Adults (PARCA), ProjectREAD – Menlo Park, West Valley Community Services, Westwind 4-H Handicapped Riding Institute and YWCA of Silicon Valley.

As part of its annual Scholarship Program, the Charitable Foundation likewise presented a $1,000 grant to each of 18 graduating seniors from public high schools in Silicon Valley. The Foundation has been assisting students with the scholarship grants for the past 12 years. The Charitable Foundation grants included donations from SILVAR’s districts to their local community nonprofit organizations.

“Like last year, our local nonprofits have been hit hard by the weak economy and continue to need our help. We thank our members and friends for being so generous in their support of the Foundation this year,” said John Tripp, 2012 president of the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation. “We urge our members to continue their support this year, so we can continue our commitment to the welfare and prosperity of communities where we live and work.”

The Charitable Foundation trustees meet quarterly to evaluate grant applications. Serving on the 2012 Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation Board of Trustees are Tripp, Lehua Greenman, Jimmy Kang, Lydia Kou, Carolyn Miller and Susan Sweeley.

Non-profit organizations operating within the areas served by the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® are eligible for grant consideration provided they meet the evaluation criteria below. Grant applicants are evaluated on the following guidelines:

• The community need for the expenditure, as well as the number of people who will be served;
• The impact on the recipient organization;
• The location of the community served; (Although requests for state, national and international projects are considered, preference is given to projects with a more local base.)
• The financial soundness and efficiency of the organization;
• Accuracy and completeness of the application;
• The structure of volunteer organization and level of volunteer support; and
• Appropriate use of the Foundation’s previous grants (if applicable).

For more information and details about the Charitable Foundation grants, visit www.silvar.org or call SILVAR at (408) 200-0100.

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