Joining Together for Greater Good

As Covia and Front Porch have joined together for greater good, the foundations that serve and support the organization’s communities and programs will also be joining together for greater impact. Three Front Porch foundations merged in April of this year to form the new Front Porch Communities Foundation (FPCF). The Covia Foundation and the Bethany Center Foundation in Northern California will merge with the Front Porch Communities Foundation in early 2022 to provide a single charitable foundation to serve and support the communities and programs across the entire Front Porch organization.

“As we move through this new year of hope and into 2022, I am delighted at the opportunity the new Front Porch Communities Foundation has to do good work,” said John Woodward, CEO of Front Porch Communities and Services. “The generosity of our donors’ giving — and their commitment to engagement — exemplify the values each of our communities live every day.”

All past gifts made under the previous foundations will be honored and used for the community and purpose that donors designated. Donors will continue to be able to direct their gifts through FPCF to the community or program they wish to support.

Caring and generosity have historically been strong values of the nonprofits that over the years have come together in the Front Porch system.

Front Porch itself was initially formed by four separate nonprofit retirement community organizations, each connected to a charitable foundation. Three of those foundations — Pacific Homes Foundation, FACT Foundation, and Sunny View Foundation — merged in April to create the new Front Porch Communities Foundation to support and serve all the original Front Porch retirement communities.

The Covia Foundation has served the six Covia communities and widespread community services programs since 2002 and became a partner to Bethany Center Foundation when the Bethany Center community joined Covia. When Friends House joined Covia in 2021, the Covia Foundation assumed administration of the Friends House charitable funds.

The joining together of all the foundations and charitable funds in the new Front Porch Communities Foundation provides an opportunity to extend the culture of philanthropy and help supporters achieve greater impact with their charitable gifts.

Katharine Miller, who has served for many years as executive director of the Covia Foundation, is the executive director of the new Front Porch Communities Foundation. She and the Covia Foundation team will work closely with the Front Porch Foundation team to serve supporters and continue to build on the culture of generosity and caring that is an integral part of our communities and programs.

“Those who care about others are at the heart of each of our community’s strong spirit of giving,” said Katharine. “It’s an honor to be working with people who are striving to achieve greater good for those they care about.”

The Front Porch Communities Foundation will be guided by the FPCF Board of Directors, drawn from supporters and board members from across the Front Porch and Covia systems. The work of the Board and the Foundation will be supported by local community philanthropic committees, executive directors at the community level, and residents, friends and staff members who bring to life the Front Porch values.

*This story was originally shared in the Community Matters newsletter