What’s Next for the Woodbury Community Foundation?

As nice as it was for people to come out and recognize Alisa Rabin Bell for her work with the Woodbury Community Foundation, she says it was more impressive to hear about the influence the organization has had on the city.

WCF Board members, business and civic leaders, elected officials and friends came together Friday, April 26, to recognize Rabin Bell during a ceremony at City Hall. She announced last month that she is leaving the organization.

“It was bittersweet,” she said of the event. “It’s so touching to see the people that came out and supported me and the Foundation. But it was really impressive to see the impact the Foundation has had on the community.”

Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens, a member of the WCF Board, said she considers Rabin Bell a friend.

The mayor talked about Rabin Bell’s passion for the Foundation and how she helped raise the organization’s profile in the community.

“She did a great job bringing the Foundation to where it is today,” Stephens said. “She’s going to be missed.”

Looking forward, the WCF will work with nonprofit consultants to assess its needs and decide what type of person may be hired in the future, possibly another executive director or a fundraising coordinator, said Jim Widen, board chair.

In the meantime, the WCF has moved toward a committee structure rather than having the board move on items as a whole, he said.

The annual Soiree Spooktakular is set for this fall, Widen said, but he’s also got an eye on a 10-year anniversary gala planned for the spring of 2014.

“That is really going to be a major, major fundraising effort so we can return resources to the community in our four areas of focus: jobs, food, youth and housing,” he said. “I think we’ve got a lot of great things happening and the future is bright.”

As for the departure of Rabin Bell, Widen said she embodied the Woodbury Community Foundation’s motto: “Connecting people with causes that matter.”

“We’ll miss her leadership a great deal,” he said.

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