Gallaher Family
Philanthropy
Bill & Cindy, natives of Sonoma County, have raised their five adult children in Santa Rosa. As a family with five generations of Gallahers residing in Santa Rosa, they are deeply committed to the welfare of the local community.
2023
Anova Center
for Education
Santa Rosa, Ca
Anova Center for Education is a K-12 school serving students with high functioning autism located in Santa Rosa, California. In 2017 the school was destroyed by the catastrophic Tubbs Fire and since then, nearly 150 students have been learning in portable classrooms in a nearby parking lot.
The school was $20 million and 5+ years away from breaking ground on a new project in 2023 when the Gallaher’s learned of the project and decided to help.
Gallaher Companies & OSL Construction donated project management, architecture, design, and landscape while Bill helped to orchestrate a construction loan through Poppy Bank, at a favorable rate – reducing the total project cost by more than $12 million.
The new campus is scheduled to reopen for the 2024-25 school year.
2023
Elsie Allen Scholarship Foundation
Windsor, Ca
In June of 2023, The Gallaher Family made a $1 Million gift (by way of Preferred Stock with an 8% yield paying $80,000 in dividends annually) to the Elsie Allen High School Foundation, a 10-year-old non-profit which provides scholarships for low-income students seeking a brighter future.
2023
Boys & Girls Club
of Sonoma Marin
Santa Rosa, Ca
Cindy & Bill Gallaher orchestrated the newly built Boys & Girls Club in west Santa Rosa. The 25,000 sq. ft. facility boasts a commercial kitchen, dance studio, art and science/technology lab, full-size gym, and community room that will serve up to 2,500 children annually.
A total contribution of more than $5 million, Gallaher Family donated the land, helped to orchestrate below market rate financing through Poppy Bank, and donated project management, engineering, architecture, landscaping, and interior design through their companies Gallaher Companies and OSL Construction.
2022
Athena House & Hope Village
Santa Rosa, Ca
In 2022 Cindy & Bill rescued Athena House and Hope Village from shutting down by purchasing the 2.5-acre campus. Athena House was a well-known residential treatment facility and sober living program serving women and their young children experiencing alcohol and other substance abuse disorders. At that time, as the number of drug fatalities was rising, the number of treatment beds for low-income women was simultaneously declining.
Over the next two years, Cindy led the family’s $7 million gift and mission to redesign, build, and reopen a state-of-the-art campus while ensuring that none of the women still involved in the program were displaced.
Bill & Cindy have entered a long-term lease agreement, leasing the campus to the community for $1 per year as an ongoing contribution..
2017+
Redwood Empire Food Bank
Santa Rosa, Ca
The Gallahers and their family have been longtime supporters of the Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB), a leader in the community working to end hunger.
After the Tubbs Fire in 2017, the Gallaher family along with their two companies OSL Construction and Gallaher Companies rebuilt homes under market rate in Coffey Park and Fountaingrove and donated the profits to REFB to help support those experiencing food insecurity.
Bill and Cindy have also participated for several years in a holiday fundraising effort by matching donations totaling $3.2 million.
1994
Windsor Senior Center
Windsor, Ca
While developing Brooks Creek Housing Development, Cindy & Bill Gallaher designed, built, and gifted the Windsor Senior Center to the Town of Windsor.
The Center offers the senior community and members of the Brooks Creek Development a wide variety of recreational activities, legal, social, and financial resources, fitness & aquatics, and many other community benefits.
1990-2003
North Bay Adoptions
Santa Rosa, Ca
Cindy & Bill Gallaher founded and funded North Bay Adoptions, a non-profit corporation in operation from 1990 to 2003. Cindy was the organization’s Board Chairperson during those 13 years.
North Bay Adoptions facilitated the adoption of over 300 foreign born children by North American families including their 3 youngest children.