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There Is A Place At The
Table For Those Who Stand
Up For Community
E
lizabeth (Beth) Schuler not
only stands up for community;
she dives “all in” into the
causes she cares about.
Schuler is a Trustee and fund advisor
with the Community Foundation of
Western Nevada. In this capacity she
is a driving force on the Community
Foundation Initiatives Steering
committee. Her passion and that of
her late mother, Jan Monroe, is helping
adolescents and young adults without
family.
The Community Foundation of
Western Nevada is a public charitable
foundation that serves families and
businesses in our area. Donors are
drawn to work with the Community
Foundation in part because it accepts
appreciated property and complicated
charitable gifts to establish charitable
donor advised funds or scholarships.
Beth’s family is planning to sunset
their private foundation into a donor
advised fund at the Community
Foundation in the future.
Not content to just recommend grants
from the charitable fund, Beth gives
her considerable energy and precious
time to support local nonprofit
organizations serving youth.
Philanthropy is
a family value
Beth became aware of the specific
problems facing “unattached” young
adults as she was growing up. Jan
Monroe, a business owner, frequently
hired employees from this population
to lend them a hand. When the family
moved to Reno they established
the V.I.P.S. life and career coaching
program with the Reno Rodeo
Foundation. “My mom and I taught
classes to and casually mentored
aging-out-foster-youth. Over time
we grew close to this population in
Reno.” As the Community Foundation
Initiative focused on homeless youth it
became apparent that this population
had no central place to turn to for
important services, comfort off the
streets, or a listening ear. Community
activist and advocate for young people,
Lynette Eddy, decided to open a drop-
in center.
By Margaret Stewart
L.toR. Jan and Chuck Monroe Tristan, Mike, Trevor, Beth and Tasha Schuler with horse, Rosie.