Accomplishments | Our Mission | Recognition
Site Use | Llewellyn Bixby, Jr. Endowment Fund
2007-2008 Board of Directors | Donor Form

Giving Opportunities

Welcome to Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation. Invest in History! Foundation donors are critical for the successful stewardship of this National, State and Long Beach Historic Site! Your charitable contribution to "The Partners Fund" helps preserve and tell the many stories about inspirational people who lived and worked at the Rancho, and to demonstrate how their lives contributed to the growth of our multi-ethnic urban community.

The Partners Fund combines gifts to create a place of adventure, fun and excitement. The educational programs and family based activities at the historic landmark provoke within our visitors a sense of enthusiasm and inquiry, leading to a lifelong appreciation of our community's history.

History of Accomplishments

Preserving Our Cultural Heritage
Shortly after incorporation, the foundation funded a comprehensive Master Plan with its initial partners The John & James Knight Foundation, The Spring Street Foundation and The Bixby Land Company. The idea for such a plan was proposed in a Self-Study report funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The plan provides a detailed guide for innovative ways of interpreting the 19th Century site for our 21st Century visitors. Most importantly, the plan recommends the restoration and reconstruction projects that will play an integral role in preserving the site for future generations.

The Rancho Los Cerritos Master Plan won national acclaim as a "Save America's Treasures" project in 1999; a distinguished "2001 Design Award" from the California Preservation Foundation in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of historic preservation; and, in 2003 a "Merit Award" presented by Long Beach Heritage.

Following completion of the plan, the City of Long Beach received $1,600,000 in public funds on behalf of the Rancho through the 1996 Los Angeles Park Bond Act, FEMA and Proposition 12. With these grants, safety issues were addressed. Construction was completed in the areas of seismic retrofitting, disabled visitor access, and roof and woodwork restoration. The Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association added to the excitement by funding the restoration of the 1930s orchard designed for the Bixby family by Ralph Cornell, a well-known landscape architect of the time.

Work continues on Master Plan recommendations. The Rudolph & Daphne Munzer Foundation has generously funded architectural designs for entryway improvements and these plans should be available by 2004; and the LeBurta Atherton Foundation has made an initial gift for the proposed Visitor Center. Additionally, design work for the arroyo restoration, perimeter landscaping and California native garden has been funded by a generous grant from the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy.

Interpretive Programming
Museum, school and family relationships are effective partnerships in educating children. Teachers, students, caregivers and parents look to historians for bringing our cultural heritage alive, in an exciting and educational format.

The City of Long Beach provides for staff salaries and basic operational costs, yet it is only with support from our philanthropic partners that we are able to fund the many special initiatives that make local history fun and stimulating.

The J. Paul Getty Trust has provided a summer intern through the foundation since 1999. The intern assists in researching collections and planning family events. The Earl & Lorraine Miller Foundation funded the production of a popular video now used in our Speakers Bureau program. This video served as an important classroom outreach tool while the Rancho was closed for construction projects in 2001-2002. Public Corporation for the Arts has also generously underwritten family and children's programs.

Planned Giving
The Llewellyn Bixby, Jr. Endowment Fund

Managed by RBC DainRauscher, this growing investment fund was established in 1996 through a bequest from Llewellyn Bixby, Jr. and The Bixby Family Trust. Please consider adding Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation as a beneficiary to your will or living trust, as a recipient of your estate, your retirement funds or a portion thereof. Your tax advisor can explain the many tax benefits your estate and your heirs will receive by making this important gesture today. Let us know of your bequest so that we can recognize you as a contributor to the Llewellyn Bixby, Jr. Endowment Fund.

*Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation recommends that you always consult your tax advisor, accountant and/or legal advisor when establishing a planned gift.

Board of Directors 2006 - 2007

OFFICERS Lee Shoag - Chair Mary Stanton - Vice Chair Lovetta Kramer - Secretary Jean Bixby Smith - Financial Officer

DIRECTORS Barbara Bixby Blackwell Robert Cardoza Craig Carter John Fielder David George Mary Hancock Hinds Vicki Holden Harriett Ibbetson Eve Kilger William Lorbeer Margie Newell Charles Parks Rosi Pedersen Craig Smith Rob Webb

Associates of RCF Paula Bloeser Jack Dilday Christopher Steinhauser Sheri Beebe Shirlee Bouch Gloria Bryant Steve Conley Lorie Merrill Steve Salyer James Sullos Ken Velten

Special Thanks Website Underwriting:
TOSHIBA 
Employees Community Fund of Boeing California
Bess J. Hodges Foundation
Will J. Reid Foundation

Accomplishments | Our Mission |  Recognition
Site Use | Llewellyn Bixby, Jr. Endowment Fund
2007-2008 Board of Directors | Donor Form