At the corner of Orinda Way and Camino Sobrante, the Orinda Garden Club’s drought-tolerant landscaping project is cultivating sustainable beauty in the heart of town – made possible through support from the Orinda Community Foundation (OCF). Now celebrating 15 years of “paying it forward,” OCF continues to enhance the quality of life in Orinda by funding local programs, parks, arts and community initiatives that help the city thrive.
Celebrating its fifteenth year, the Orinda Community Foundation (OCF) continues to support the City’s civic and arts programs.
“The Foundation was created to fill the gaps in funding for civic and arts programs that the city could not fund,” said Sue Severson, past Orinda mayor and OCF co-founder.
Indeed, the Foundation’s mission has always been to enhance the quality of life in Orinda and quite a few gaps have been filled throughout the years.
As a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, OCF supports community events, programs, projects and visual and performing arts. In 2025, OCF provided $86,700 to support a variety of non-profits and projects that benefited the community.
One of the grant recipients was the Foundation’s Light Up Orinda Project (LUO).
“With the generous support of OCF, we were able to light up 111 trees through North and South Orinda during the winter,” said Kimberly Wirtz, co-founder of LUO.
OCF also provided grants for other projects, such as the Orinda Garden Club, Lamorinda Village, Seniors Around Town, The Orinda News, the Orinda Starlight Players and the Fourth of July Parade.
It also supported specific programs with restricted donations, such as LUO, Parks and Recreation programs, Live at the Orinda Theatre and it sponsorsed the Citizen of the Year/Volunteer of the Year events as well.
The Foundation is administered by a 100% volunteer board. It has no paid staff, just members of the community who volunteer their time, professionalism and skills in making life joyful and productive in Orinda.
Unlike other local nonprofits, OCF is the only organization in town that both raises funds and distributes those funds to support community initiatives.
James Keefe, president of OCF, said,” OCF has a great reputation, a great working relationship with the City of Orinda and a history of successful events.”
One of the key milestones of OCF in 2025 was completing a merger with the Parks and Recreation Foundation. Before the merger both foundations were funding park and recreational programs. By combining with the Parks and Rec Foundation, OCF streamlined the delivery process in supporting recreational programs in the City.
As a result of the merger, OCF increased its available funding by $157,297 from the Parks and Rec Foundation. These funds will be applied to future parks and related projects in the City.
“We were delighted to add two members of the Parks and Rec Foundation to the OCF Board as part of the merger,” said Keefe. “This merger allows a more efficient continuation of recreational programs through one organization.”
The Foundation depends on the generosity of Orinda residents and other supporters to fund the programs and events it helps bring to the community. Locally managed and locally focused, it ensures donations directly benefit meaningful and impactful initiatives.
Donations can be made on an unrestricted basis. OCF also accepts donations restricted to a specific project or program, such as Light Up Orinda, Lamorinda Idol or the Park and Rec projects.
Envelopes are sent out each year with the annual OCF newsletter, usually around May, where donors can specify preferences. Visit orindafoundation.org/.
New donors are always welcomed and OCF sincerely thanks all continuing donors who keep paying it forward.
