Community Foundation of Northern Nevada

Community Foundation of Northern Nevada

The Community Foundation of Northern Nevada was established in 1998 and is led by President and CEO Eaton Dunkelberger. It pools charitable funds from local donors to provide grants, scholarships, and direct community investments across the Northern Nevada region. Former President and CEO Chris Askin led the organization for over 22 years, stewarding its early growth into a civic anchor. The foundation's strategy blends traditional grantmaking with direct real estate development, focusing on affordable and transitional housing. Its project portfolio includes The Village on Sage Street, a modular housing complex operated by Volunteers of America; Golden Valley Homes, developed on city-donated land; and the City Cottage residential project. These initiatives are executed through subsidiary structures, including the Community Housing Land Trust, LLC, and supported by partnerships with private developers like Par Tolles and public entities such as the City of Reno. The organization holds an estimated $189 million in assets, functioning as the steward for numerous charitable funds. Its board includes Allison Gorelick, a private developer serving as Vice Chair, Sy Johnson, COO of Renown Health, and Bonnie Read of Duraflex International. The foundation is an accredited member of the Council on Foundations and has maintained National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations certification since 2006. In May 2026, the foundation continued to be led by Dunkelberger, sustaining its hybrid philanthropic-development model. The foundation's structural distinction is its direct ownership of a real estate operating subsidiary — the Community Housing Land Trust, LLC — converting charitable capital into tangible residential inventory. This moves the organization beyond a pass-through grantmaker into a primary developer, a rare posture for a community foundation.