Part-time residents are essential to the healthy functioning of our community. Without their time and philanthropy, Park City would not be the place we know and love today.
Park City Community Foundation board member Tom Raffa and his wife Kathy built their lives and their businesses in Washington D.C., first coming to Park City to explore the mountains and all the activities the landscape has to offer. They fell in love with the community, so much so that their “part-time” home in Park City has grown to become their primary home. Their deep love for the community, its philanthropic energy, and enthusiastic problem-solving spirit, was the main draw.
Having worked in the nonprofit sector for 30 plus years, Raffa recognized an opportunity to engage fellow newcomers to Park City and show both new and part-time residents the many ways they can get involved with the community they love so dearly.
“To live in a resort community is just so special,” said Raffa. “But if you look deeper, you can see that it is the nonprofits and the folks dedicated to these nonprofits and their missions that truly make this place wonderful.
As part of their contribution to the community, Raffa wanted to create a “tool kit” for folks to explore Park City’s nonprofit sector, a guide that highlights the best of the best nonprofits in Park City and allows all individuals to explore and support the community causes that they care about – whether they have lived in town full-time or part-time for weeks, months, or decades. And thus, with the help of Park City Community Foundation, the Park City Giving Guide came to be.
“Our entire community, no matter how long they have lived here or how often they are here, has an obligation and an opportunity to make the Park City community even more vibrant,” says Raffa. “There is a lot of joy in giving – giving your dollars, giving your time, sharing your opinions and ideas, whatever it may be. Whether you have lived here for your entire life, or have lived here for a few months, there are so many benefits that come with participating in the community. Park City Giving Guide is meant to raise awareness of what the nonprofit sector in Park City is doing, and why everyone should want to be involved and want to help them on their missions.”
Long-time community member and former Park City Community Foundation board member, Bill Coleman, first came to Park City in the 70s. He and his family grew deep roots in the Park City community and helped build the infrastructure that would allow for the growth of the once mining town. To Coleman, tensions, growth, and new additions to the town are not new. He still remembers when he was dubbed a “long-haired hippie” in the 70s amongst the local miners who came before him.
Now Senior Vice President of Commercial and Project Development at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Coleman has sat front row to the growth of Park City for almost 50 years; observing and contributing to innovative solutions as the community has evolved. To him, the time, dedication, and dollars, that part-time community members and newer residents offer to Park City is a wonderful thing. He sees the philanthropic gift of care to be an invaluable asset to the development of the community.
“Once a newer resident gets a familial feel for our community and ownership in it, they start to take on some of the community concerns as their own, and what comes from that is a philanthropic attitude towards place. You can go through example after example, the benefits (of new and part-time residents) are staggering,” explains Coleman.
Part of that benefit is the robust growth of the nonprofit sector in Park City. In 2020 alone, Park City Community Foundation’s Live PC Give PC generated $3.4 million dollars for Park City and Summit County, thanks to the generous contributions of time, money, and energy, from all types of community residents.
“There are a lot of new people who are caring and giving, and this isn’t just a part-time home for them anymore; it’s their home,” adds Raffa. “Newer residents have a responsibility to explore and get involved, and longtime residents have a responsibility to reach out and welcome new folks, new opportunities, and new perspectives to help make Park City an even better place. The more you get involved in the community, the more you’ll see the joy in participation and giving. It’s up to the people to engage. I’ve lived my life doing it and I’m just a happier person because of it.”
You can be part of the exciting work in Park City’s nonprofit sector by checking out the Park City Giving Guide and supporting Park City Community Foundation and our amazing nonprofit community.
Posted in: Donors, Board Members, Giving Guide