The Bella Vista Foundation (BVF), carrying forward the legacy of sisters Georgiana Gerlinger Stevens and Jean Gerlinger Kirkwood, focuses on enhancing communities through literacy, healthy living, youth development and empowerment, environmental restoration, and support for young children.
The Pre-3 Support program aims to build resilience among families facing adversity or trauma. It supports projects that promote connections between parents/caregivers and their community, incorporate trauma-informed practices, create supportive environments for building self-confidence, offer parenting education, and adhere to research-based practices with continuous evaluation for improvement. The grant prioritizes the well-being of children and families by strengthening their support networks and enhancing parental skills and knowledge.
We give precedence to entities whose leadership and program personnel mirror the communities they assist.