Valley Foundation Fund

The Valley Foundation Fund was born from the foresight of the Valley Chamber of Commerce, which in the late 1970s formed a Foundation Feasibility Committee to explore the establishment of a dedicated foundation to serve the Valley’s five towns: Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton.

The committee, led by William E. Hoblitzelle III, recognized the importance of securing local control over charitable funds while leveraging the established infrastructure of TCF. In 1979, Attorney Charles Kingsley said that a Valley-based foundation should one day be able to assume full control of its own fund.

On July 31, 1980, Henry W. Bassett, a prominent Valley business leader and philanthropist, made the first contribution of $2,000 to what was then called the Valley Fund. This fund, later renamed the Valley Foundation Fund, was intended to serve the long-term philanthropic needs of the Valley. Bassett and his colleagues envisioned a future where the Valley would have its own community foundation, dedicated to addressing local needs. That vision became a reality 24 years later with the help of Valley philanthropists and leaders who worked hard with TCF to establish VCF in 2004.

“People from the Valley have always been very benevolent minded,” said Sharon Closius, VCF’s President and CEO. “Harry Bassett and the Valley Chamber had the foresight to lay the foundation for a community-based philanthropic vehicle, long before VCF existed.”