Vest Foundation

We started out as a small group of people wanting to help our kids by filling in the gaps of what our underfunded school system could provide.  And so, we officially formed Valley Educational Support Team in 2011. The first couple of years we were learning the ropes and taking baby steps, but by the third year we were ready to grow and stretch our wings. In March of 2014 we held our first ever Vest Fest, and were shocked at how well we did in our fundraising efforts. It was in January 2015 that we paid out our first college scholarships to our 2013-2014 school year recipients, followed later that year by our first grants to the schools.  Over time, some board members have retired, and new board members have been added, but our mission has been constant.  It became apparent that we had inadvertently limited ourselves in our fundraising capacity by forming as a private non-profit foundation. Fast-forward to 2024 where we made the decision to form a new public non-profit foundation under the name Vest Foundation, and here we are re-born and ready to stretch our wings once more.  We are two separate entities and identities, but our purpose remains unchanged. For more details on our history, please see our timeline below.