When we founded PEF in 1982, we made a promise to offer Petaluma’s youth the same educational opportunities we were afforded – or better. So that they could go on to build a brighter future for our city, our county, and our world.
Today, we sustain this promise through community-supported scholarships, impact grants, and endowed funds. Our community’s generous donations subsidize curricula that span literacy, STEAM, health education, the arts, student-well being, and more.
Scholarship funds
(as of Dec 2022) in pool investment and endowed funds
in impact grants
students’ academic experience annually
public, charter, and not-for-profit private schools
since the scholarship program’s inception in 1990
Scholarships are more than just a means to higher education.
Whether you are a lover of the arts or a lifelong scientist, establishing a scholarship gives you the opportunity to inspire young people with your passion for learning, while enabling them to pursue their own.
PEF is honored to currently manage over 83 scholarship funds for donors who provide us with clear criteria for selecting recipients. The program supports those going to 2-year, 4-year and vocational programs post-graduation. Learn more about how to establish your own PEF scholarship and support higher learning in your community.
Countless studies show that the fine arts, physical education, and social-emotional learning (SEL) classes are critical to childhood development and wellbeing. Yet these programs are often the first to go when schools face budget cuts.
Our Fund the Future program is designed to subsidize impact grants that allow such programs to survive and thrive in our local schools. Our grants span a wide range of subjects – from vocational skills to literacy, math to humanities – but all of them aim to:
Help us enrich Petaluma’s education programs at all 38 local schools and make a donation today.
"My wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of living in this community. Dorothy’s roots are very deep, going back three generations. We have raised our children and prospered here. Now it’s our turn to give back and support Petaluma’s youth in doing the same."
Horace Henris, donor of the Henris Family Fund
PEF’s vision for the future extends well beyond our lifetimes.
We are committed to educating our children, grandchildren, and generations yet to come by laying a solid academic foundation upon which they can build their lives. In addition to your current giving, you can plan now to ensure the Foundation is able to continue our programs for generations to come.
You can help contribute to that foundation through planned giving.
A planned gift is a donation that is established during your lifetime, but that doesn’t become available to the Foundation until after your estate is settled. There are many financial benefits to planned giving, but the ultimate reward lies in knowing that you are empowering our future leaders and leaving behind a lasting legacy for our community.
Contact PEF for information to share with your financial and legal advisors.
When you, a nonprofit or school creates a Managed Fund with PEF, your investment will be prudently invested to grow over time. You may then direct these earnings toward a specific grant or scholarship, or toward general foundation support.
Our investment portfolio, including our PEF Endowment Funds, is managed by Exchange Bank Wealth Management and overseen by our PEF Investment Advisory Committee. The Investment Advisory Committee is comprised of seasoned financial professionals who base all decisions on best practices in alignment with PEF's Investment Policy Statement with the goal to grow our resources to support PEF’s mission.
"I have changed my estate plan to include PEF, meaning the Foundation will receive a gift benefitting their mission when I’m gone. If enough people join me in this effort, our academic community will not have an uncertain future, but a strongly supported one for generations to come."
Clark Rosen, Past President, PEF Board of Directors
