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On Nov. 17, Cassandra Kartashov assumed the role of CEO of the Community Foundation for San Benito County, following an extensive search process in the wake of the July 2024 retirement of former CEO Gary Byrne.
Kartashov brings more than 15 years of experience working with nonprofits, including the Humboldt Area Foundation, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County.
Kartashov sat down with BenitoLink to discuss her experience as a past recipient of Community Foundation assistance, her growth as an administrator and her views on the foundation’s importance to the San Benito Community.
BenitoLink: What is your experience coming into this?
Kartashov: I started my career in nonprofits in 2009 after graduating from college. I immediately started working with AmeriCorps, and they had a program called Maximum Legal Services that helped people interested in going into law. It was designed by attorneys in Hawaii who noticed that when a child had a bad accident, and money came to them, families would often spend it within a few years. This nonprofit managed the money so it would last.
It was a good experience, but it turned out law wasn’t for me. I moved back home to Humboldt County in 2010. It was a difficult time to find a job due to the recession, but I landed an entry-level position at the Humboldt Area Foundation, the community foundation where I grew up. I worked there for just short of a decade.
What did you like about working there?
At first, it was just a job, but I fell in love with it because I saw its impact. My very first day of work, I had to learn the database. You learn it by creating a profile for yourself. I got an error message saying it was a duplicate. I found out I was already in the system—I had been benefiting from that community foundation my entire life and didn’t know it. I received a scholarship that helped me go to college. When my parents split and my mom couldn’t afford medicine for my ear infection, the foundation had a medical award that I received. My mom also benefited from scholarships that helped people see specialists in the Bay Area.
What kinds of projects were you involved in?
One was a scholarship hub, because scholarships are hard to find. We created a one-stop shop for all scholarships in the county. I was the first in my family to go to college and received scholarships. My last year in college, I didn’t get student housing, and it took two months to get my federal check, so I was homeless for two months. I know what it feels like to fall between the cracks when the system doesn’t work. That is the lens I take to all of this: how can we make things better so that a student doesn’t end up sleeping on a couch?
I became more interested in grants, exploring how we can support major community issues by awarding grants to nonprofits as our partners to help solve problems. I really fell in love with that work.
Why did you leave that foundation?
I was headhunted for a position with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in the Bay Area. I took that job, but I realized my love for philanthropy is really community-based. I just wanted to be back at a community foundation. In 2020, I became the director of grants and programs for the community foundation in San Luis Obispo. I wanted to work in a rural community and do good work.
Why did you leave that job?
Because of my husband. During the pandemic, he could commute from the Bay Area, but then he had to return to work. We also had a baby. I had a “come to Jesus” incident when she was almost one; I was in a car accident and broke my wrist. My husband took a week off, but then had to go back to work, and my mom got COVID. I was alone with a baby I couldn’t even pick up or change.
I realized we just didn’t need to do this; it was too hard. I knew I needed to relocate to the Bay Area, but I was nervous because I love rural communities. Then this position became available, and it was the best of both worlds. My husband doesn’t have to leave his job in Sunnyvale, and I don’t have to give up my passion for working at community foundations in rural communities.
What made you interested in coming to Hollister?
I’m attracted to the challenge here. San Benito is unusual because people often haven’t heard of it; it feels forgotten. I want to put San Benito on the map as a thriving community. I also like the challenge of the recent growth and creating a sense of community among new residents. The CEO role was my next step, but I took it seriously as a new mother. I talked to the board about how you don’t see many mothers with young children as CEOs because systems don’t support that. I want to do something different without sacrificing my professional or personal side.
What was your sense of what is already working at the foundation?
What is working is that this foundation is incredibly lucky to have a strong board. They are tremendous leaders. I want to focus on developing more opportunities for the community to give to our grants program so we can increase support for nonprofits.
I also think the camaraderie among staff members is working. I was impressed by the committee of volunteers that put on Philanthropy Day. San Benito is unique because of the energy with which people give to their community—financially, with expertise, or volunteering.
What are your priorities right now?
The first task is to develop a new strategic plan. Ours is outdated because there was a transition period. I’ve also had a hard time accessing data, such as community needs reports. I want the next iteration of the foundation to be centered on and led by community members, and it’s nice to start with what the data says. It’s a big hole because I want to attract outside funding to support San Benito, and I need data points to leverage my network of larger foundations.
What’s the strongest asset right now besides the board?
The community itself. If we can lock arms around developing a North Star for what we want this community to look like, there is a lot of opportunity. With the population increase, the sense of community can get lost, and I’m interested in how the foundation can help hold onto the good that was there before.
I don’t want it to be a bedroom community. I want the people of San Benito to know that there’s nonprofits doing incredible work and one day they could be volunteering for it or being a donor and another day they could be needing those services.
How do you bring the newcomers into the foundation?
I’m one of them. I want to have conversations with executive directors about what’s working to bring people in so we can share that knowledge. We shouldn’t work in a vacuum.
How can the community support you besides donations?
I’m interested in learning from community members, so making time to meet with me is one way to do that. Another is asking nonprofits, “How can I better support you?”
What do you see as a one-year goal?
We will have a new strategic plan in place. We would have our North Star and more community awareness of needs because the planning process will include donors and nonprofits, not just the board. These are the things we are focusing on as a roadmap for the work moving forward.
I love thinking about sitting down next year to talk about all the things we’ve accomplished. There is just so much potential; sometimes I stay up at night buzzing about it. I’m just so excited for the future.
Contact Cassandra Kartashov at ckartashov@givesanbenito.org.
Community Foundation for San Benito County
440 San Benito Street, Hollister
831.630.1924
Hours
Monday through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Gary Byrne leaves Community Foundation
Community Foundation for San Benito County announces new CEO
The Founding of the Community Foundation for San Benito County
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