Gilroy Foundation executive director Donna Pray announces retirement
Donna Pray has served local nonprofit since 1995
Photo courtesy Gilroy Foundation
Executive Director Donna Pray and Yesenia Gonzalez volunteer at a past Garlic Festival.
By Staff Reports
Donna Pray is the executive director of the Gilroy Foundation who announced her retirement.
Photo courtesy Donna Pray
Gilroy Foundation Executive Director Donna Pray announced her retirement effective April 28. She has served in this position at Gilroy Foundation since 1995.
“Donna has been the face of Gilroy Foundation,” said Karen La Corte, the nonprofit’s board president. “Her leadership and dedication in growing the foundation into what it is today is unprecedented. The Gilroy community has a legacy of giving. We wish her all the best in retirement.”
Pray’s legacy at Gilroy Foundation includes growing the endowment from its earliest beginnings of $280,000, made up of a general fund and five small separate family funds, to its current value of more than $14 million with more than 132 Field of Interest, Donor Advised, Designated, Group and Scholarship funds.
“Gilroy Foundation’s grant giving process is a fair and efficient means of distributing funds,” fund donor Paula Goldsmith said. ” It gives us confidence that our unrestricted family fund is being used wisely to address the many needs in our community.”
When Pray felt the Foundation needed higher visibility in its early days, she organized a fundraiser “Day in the Country” for guests to enjoy wine tasting, silent auction, luncheon, and a live auction. The event brought in $25,000 for the endowment. The 2022 “Imagine” Day in the Country netted more than $110,000 for Gilroy Foundation programs.
The scholarship program is one of Pray’s fondest endeavors because the money can make a difference in a student’s education. She takes pride in working with the young people to ensure everything goes as planned.
Many notes Donna receives read something like this: “Thank you again for your generosity and support. I will continue to work hard and succeed in my future endeavors. I hope one day I can give back to my community and offer the support you have so fondly given me.”
Most notably among many of Pray’s accomplishments was the foundation’s response to the 2019 Garlic Festival shooting. The tragedy brought lives to a halt with the shock of the violence.
Within hours of the event, Pray had received a phone call from Silicon Valley Community Foundation checking on the foundation workers in the wine booth that they knew would be working at the festival. That same night, SVCF made an initial donation of $10,000 to create the Gilroy Garlic Festival Victims Relief Fund. The next day, Pray fielded calls and ended the day with $250,000 in donations and pledges.
