Honoring & Onward: Showcasing & Celebrating the Community's Impact

As we begin this year-long celebration honoring The Patterson Foundation’s work while looking onward toward future endeavors, it’s important to recognize those who have engaged, supported, and strengthened the foundation’s work throughout this momentous decade. Taking a multi-faceted approach to philanthropy, The Patterson Foundation’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that creating change begins with connecting, learning, sharing, evolving and strengthening communities to move the needle on issues that are important to people of all ages and backgrounds. This reality is something we all have a part in actualizing.

Philanthropy continues to evolve, and as it does, it is enhanced by deeply engaged individuals and the willingness to seek opportunities to generate lasting change in our communities. The Patterson Foundation’s approach to philanthropy harnesses this by beginning with connecting people, organizations, and communities. Understanding that communities thrive when working together, the foundation has focused on equipping motivated members of our community with the resources, space, and capacity to come together and address shared aspirations. The community’s readiness to embrace this approach with open arms since 2010 has propelled new realities forward and laid the groundwork for advancing progress toward achieving them.

Over the past decade, we’ve often said that change happens at the speed of trust. Collaboration across countless endeavors within a variety of focus areas has encouraged listening, learning, and exploring areas of mutual understanding, establishing trust among our neighbors — trust that is needed to work hand-in-hand. Together, those we work with have used the opportunities within The Patterson Foundation’s initiatives to share knowledge and expertise, prompting meaningful discussions and collaborations. As confidence in new realities grows, the collective vision of our world and its future has evolved, paving the way for positive transformations across all of the work we do.

The Patterson Foundation believes that anyone can be a philanthropist and has embedded this philosophy within all of its work, providing several match challenges and other incentives that catalyze donations of all shapes and sizes. Time and again, we have seen donors throughout the region and beyond seize these opportunities, propelling philanthropy to new heights. The impact each individual has strengthened through these efforts has affirmed our belief in our collective generosity and desire to take an active role in creating our future.

The Patterson Foundation launched with nine initiatives meant to honor the legacy of the Patterson family. Ten years later, the foundation has expanded to take on 25 additional completed and ongoing initiatives. From collaborating with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on the design and construction of Patriot Plaza to bringing together a network of people, businesses, nonprofits, local governments, and the media to boost grade-level reading across our four-county region, The Patterson Foundation’s work has evolved — but its core values have endured. This new decade inspires emerging opportunities to embrace innovative ideas that address our constantly changing world. Although we’re not sure what the next ten years will look like, we welcome them with hope based on all the community has achieved through The Patterson Foundation’s work thus far.

A look back on The Patterson Foundation’s body of work over this span reveals a decade defined by a spirit of joyful stewardship permeating from each initiative. Every new endeavor is another opportunity to connect with people through shared experiences and opportunities that strengthen individuals, organizations, and communities. The faces of those we’ve met along the way are central to The Patterson Foundation’s narrative — and it is for them that we continue to invest our time and passion toward strengthening the impact.

Honoring & Onward celebrates The Patterson Foundation’s work alongside the community, whose embrace has strengthened the foundation’s ability to continue making an impact. We invite you to reflect on this decade of impact and your part in it by watching the documentary below.