It's A Busy Summer At GVCF!

Celebrate The End of Summer With GVCF!

Summer is one of the busiest times of year at Golden Valley Community Foundation. It’s when we get to get out in the community and connect with neighbors like you.

Already in July we helped celebrate National Sugar Cookie Day and National Ice Cream Day by serving more than 35 dozen cookies and more than 400 servings of Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Ice Cream at the Market in the Valley. Each event we have the helping hands from our donors, grant recipients and board members. This gives us a great opportunity to meet our local neighbors and provide you first hand opportunities to meet our people and for you to learn more about the Foundation that is building a better community on this west side.

Just this past week/Sunday, we also hosted Sustainability Day. This event helps raise awareness about small businesses and organizations that are taking huge steps to bring sustainable solutions to our everyday life. People were able to learn about local projects and initiatives, and learn how you can make small changes with big impacts. These are organizations that actually serve our local community and help us learn and do more to sustain the world we want to live in beginning here at the local level.

Mark Your Calendar For Our Upcoming Events

We’ll be out and about all summer, helping to facilitate community events, and hear what you’d like to see from the foundation. After all, our goal is always to serve YOU! Want to meet us in person? Come to one of our upcoming events. Contact us to set up a time to talk.

Connect To Other Cultures In Your Own Backyard

Due to popular demand, we’re bringing back our Global Golden Valley day at Market in the Valley this year. This free, family-friendly event features music, performances, foods & children’s activities from around the World. The event is produced by GVCF's Global Golden Valley Program, dedicated to cultivating multi-cultural understanding and ethnic diversity in our community. We’ll have performances by the following groups:

Aquarelle of Samba -- Brazilian dances sharing culture, history and art

Siengkane Lao -- dancers of various ages showcase their graceful movements

TAMM Folk Dance Group -- Turkish folk dances from different regions of Turkey plus chance for audience to learn a simple line dance (halay)

• When: August 16, from 9-1

• Where: At Market in the Valley; 7800 Golden Valley Road

• Cost: Free To Attend

Want to get involved? Contact board member and event coordinator Helene Johnson at helenej@aol.com

Get Ready For The Return Of The Golden Valley Festival

It’s back! The Golden Valley Festival (formerly known as the Golden Valley Arts & Music Festival) returns this September with more music, local vendors, and activities for the whole family.

And this year, we aren’t just inviting you to attend. We’re inviting you to get involved! The festival relies on the generosity, creativity, and passion of people just like you to run smoothly. We’re looking for volunteers interested in helping make this event as fun and accessible as possible.

• When: September 19, 10 AM-10PM

• Where: At Market in the Valley; 7800 Golden Valley Road

Want to get involved/volunteer? Contact us at GoldenValleyFestival@gmail.com

Meet Our Recent Grant Recipients

We’ve been working quietly behind the scenes, helping to provide local organizations and initiatives with funding through our Small Sparks Grants. And today, we’re here to introduce you to two recent recipients who are bringing exceptional arts programming and community engagement to Golden Valley and beyond.

Maggie's Farm Theater

Maggie's Farm Theater is part of a Westopolis movement to build community through performing arts and make this jewel-box theater a point of destination as an emerging small professional theater that features Twin Cities finest up close and personal.

We recently awarded a matching grant of $500 to Maggie’s Farm Theater to help support their Maggie’s Farm Theater for their Rainbow Festival, celebrating arts, pride, queer identity and community. 

“The GVCF made this night possible.” said Executive Director Rachel Villa. “Many thanks to you and the GVFC organization.” 

You can learn more about Maggie’s Farm Theater here.

The Art of Reconciliation

We also awarded $1000 to The Art of Reconciliation, a theatre company dedicated to raising awareness of charitable organizations and community services through the thoughtful staging of musicals.

This money went toward supporting their production of Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s CAROUSEL, which performed at the Elision Playhouse July 16-26th. Each performance featured  local organizations dedicated to providing resources for victims of domestic violence. 

“We are so grateful to the GVCF for financially supporting our production of CAROUSEL,” says Artistic Director Katie Fischer. “Because we prioritize making the arts financially accessible through sliding scale tickets, our work is only possible because of the generosity of our community.”

Farewell To Historic Robinsdale High School

We are incredibly moved by the turnout of around 350 people at the “ONE LAST NOTE - Farewell to Historic Robbinsdale High School” event. The iconic school has been a cornerstone of the community for 70 years, and seeing generations of neighbors, alumni, and friends gather to honor its legacy was truly special.

At the Golden Valley Community Foundation, we believe in supporting initiatives that preserve our shared local history and bring neighbors together. We're proud to provide a grant that helped bring this farewell to life.

“Thank you to the Golden Valley Community Foundation for the grant supporting the Robbinsdale City Band “One Last Note” concert. Your immediate response to our request allowed us to cover some of the costs of pulling off this very short planning cycle event. Lots of folks stepped up to help and your support helped make it happen - truly a community event. We passed out the 350 programs we printed and 100 free farewell hankies to the first 100 attendees, and still people continued to come. Your grant directly covered most of the costs for the farewell hankies, customized blue and gold Hershey Kisses, and decorations as anticipated in our grant request.” said Sheldon Silberman, Concert Band Manager for the Robbinsdale City Band.

Thank you to everyone who came out to share a laugh, a tear, and one final memory. While the doors may be closing, the spirit of Robbinsdale High lives on in all of us.

It’s Time To Make A Difference In Your Community

We’re on the hunt for people who are passionate about Golden Valley, want to create positive change, and are excited about community engagement.

We have two types of positions open:

Board Member - Our board is the beating heart of GVCF. As a board member, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the future of the foundation, helping to determine grants, plan events, and head fundraising and development opportunities.

Teams - We have a series of volunteer teams, who are focused on providing support in one or more area to the foundation. These include:

• Development

• Events and programming

• Grant applications and disbursement

• Marketing

• Finance

• Operations

We say time, talent and treasure are the beating hearts of nonprofit volunteers that support the organization. We are seeking to augment our board talent with 6 people in leading areas including accounting, marketing, event planning, sales, strategic planning and Human Resources. and …Extra credit to those with nonprofit experience and suburban living experience. Have a skill that you think might help, and want to get connected to your friends and neighbors? Want to make a marked difference for your community? You can discover more about the open roles at this link.

Thank you to everyone who donated in the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year. Your generosity makes all this possible. Since 2011 more than $900,000 has been reinvested in building community. Be on the look out for an upcoming report including details about our 2026 plans and fiscal year.