Year-End Letter to the Community 2025

December 18, 2025

As we turn over the last pages of the 2025 calendar, we want to take a moment to again thank Maria Sanchez, who is retiring after more than 25 years with the American Savings Foundation. In her role as Director of Grantmaking and Community Investment, Maria has helped shape our long-standing commitment to after school programs for middle school youth. She has continually set a standard of excellence across all areas of our grantmaking. We wish her the very best!

Entering 2026, we mark another significant milestone – the Foundation will be celebrating our 30^th Anniversary. Since awarding $63,000 in grants and scholarships in 1996, the Foundation has now contributed a total of over $80 million to the communities we serve. It’s a remarkable testament to how a perpetual Foundation can make a big impact today, while also maintaining its ability to meet future needs and support future generations.

We’d like to share some planned highlights for the coming year:

On April 28^th the Foundation will mark our 30^th anniversary with a special event. We will host a keynote speaker, Alex Sheen, founder of because I said I would, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering people with resiliency skills and mental health habits to face the adversities of life. We will share more information and an invitation to the community soon!
Our team is growing. We hope you have all met Camille Thomas and Jim Williams, our grants program officers. Next month, we will announce the addition of a new scholarship program assistant. Together with Heather Hokunson and Noreen Cannamela, our small, dedicated professional staff is positioned to maintain and expand our impact into the future.
We project that our total giving in grants and scholarships will reach $3.5 million next year. This is our highest contributions budget in over 15 years, since the impact of the 2008 economic crisis. The application for Scholarships is now open – please help us spread the word. There is no minimum GPA to apply. We accept applications from students living in our 64-town service area who have a big dream, and for whom financial resources for college or career training can make a big difference.
We are also now accepting applications for Program Grants, After School Grants, Community Grants and Capital Grant letters of intent. For more information, deadlines, and applications for each of these grant opportunities, visit our website.

Our Board of Directors is comprised of 16 community leaders, founding board members, and past American Savings Foundation Scholars. They work together to establish the strategic direction for the Foundation’s work. Our volunteer Grants and Scholarship Committees are also made up of local community leaders, including more than a dozen past ASF Scholars. We are proud of the ways that our staff, board, and committees connect the dots between our legacy and the future, to help us continue to meet the evolving needs of the communities we serve.

This is our lasting commitment.

Charles J. Boulier III Maria Falvo

Chairman of the Board President & CEO

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