The Almanor Basin Community Consortium

The Almanor Basin Community Consortium was formed in 2019. The Consortium and its sector meetings are to become platforms for the mixing and sharing of ideas, visions and projects of the different organizations, businesses, and peoples of the Lake Almanor Basin to produce a vision for our future, enhance our quality of life, and work toward creative solutions to our current and future challenges.

The Town Plaza

The Town Plaza is an initiative for the advancement of community health, education, and cultural and recreational opportunities. The Town Plaza will be a community destination that will feature educational events, music, festivals, craft fairs, children’s activities, cultural performances, and public art.

As an economic development driver, it will contain a public market space that will create opportunities for various food and retail entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses. As an event and year-round activities location it will become a regional destination that will bring residents as well as travelers into the Town of Chester, stimulating the economy of the town.

Workforce Housing

The shortage of housing and shortage of affordable housing is threatening the livelihood and character of our region, our community members, and our businesses. The goal of The Almanor Foundation is to bring people together to accelerate solutions to achievable local housing, supporting short-term and immediate action, while focusing on long-term solutions.

In August 2022 the foundation funded a 6-month project to produce a comprehensive and systematic approach to affordable housing within the Lake Almanor Basin. The path forward will look at each of the stakeholders in the process and evaluate where

and when each can affect change toward a shared vision of increasing the affordable housing stock. This process will look to create an educational road map to understand the process of housing from financing to occupancy that reveals the interdependencies of each industry and stakeholder. Our goal through this process is to map the ecosystem that is housing and highlight where change can be made via influence or control of each of the stakeholders.

Wildfire Relief & Recovery

Our Wildfire Fund supports rebuilding and revitalization of communities impacted by wildfire.

Tragically, the wildfires have become more dangerous, happen more frequently and are incredibly destructive in recent years. More specifically, our region has suffered immensely. The impact of these fires has been felt by everyone in our region, and it will take many years of collaborative work for us to rebuild and revitalize homes, health, and wellbeing for all of our neighbors.

Our goal is to work collaboratively with the nonprofit, government, philanthropic and private sectors to accelerate recovery and rebuilding to create a thriving, resilient and even stronger region.

When someone has a vision, or a project they think will benefit the community, or make a positive change, opening a fund at The Almanor Foundation allows them to make that positive change, a reality quickly and effectively.

With a TAF fund they are given the freedom to work the project and build the dream without the costs and administrative hours that come with it. Without the need to hire expertise in administration and accounting they can immediately begin to raise the money needed to do the work that they envision, and without needing to form their own non-profit organization.

Below are examples of the different type of Funds opened with TAF:

Carlos Espana Memorial Fund, Almanor Rail Trail Project

The vision of the Trails Committee is to establish a continuous recreation corridor around the lake and east to the Bizz Johnson Trail in Lassen County. The committee has worked with federal, private and commercial landowners to link a system of informal trails around the Lake Almanor Basin that will provide healthy, outdoor recreational opportunities for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.

The Almanor Rail Trail is a 12-mile segment of this master plan, beginning in Chester and following the Collins Pine Rail Trail through the Olsen Barn Meadow, across the Causeway, along Lake Almanor and ending at Clear Creek Junction and Highway 147. Donated funds will be dedicated to the completion of this trail and ongoing maintenance.

Defend Lake Almanor Project Fund

The Defend Lake Almanor project fund supports the efforts to defend, preserve and protect the ecology, environment and economy of Lake Almanor from any adverse decisions made on behalf of the relicensing of Project 2105: Upper North Fork Feather River Hydroelectric Project by the Federal Energy Resources Commission (FERC).

Chester Cemetery Rebuild Fund

The Chester Cemetery was burnt over during the Dixie Fire of 2021. The Cemetery District is working to rebuild cemetery with trees and foliage for the families of the community.

Lake Almanor Area Chamber Fireworks Fund

The Chamber hosts two Fireworks Spectacular events each year over the skies of Lake Almanor and Chester. One on the 4th of July off the Lake Almanor Peninsula, the other over Rogers Field (Chester Airport) on New Year’s Eve. This fund allows tax deductible donations to these two important events to the community and visitors to the area.

Plumas Sun

The Plumas Sun provides coverage of local government, including the Plumas County Board of Supervisors, county government and the City of Portola. Information about up-coming events provided by local, state and federal organizations will be posted on its website

If you are reading this, you most likely have an idea, a vision, or a project that you think will benefit your community. You want to make a positive change. You want to serve. And you question the best way to go about it. Opening a fund at The Almanor Foundation (TAF) will allow you to make that positive change, and your dream a reality quickly and effectively.

What you get when you open a fund at TAF

When you open a fund at TAF you are given the freedom to work the project and build your dream without the costs and administrative hours that come with it. You are put into the driver’s seat of your project without the need to hire expertise in administration and accounting. Instead, you can immediately begin to raise the money you need to do the work that you envision, and without needing to form your own non-profit organization.

How TAF works

TAF charges an administrative fee to our funds. This fee makes it possible for us to offer the financial, marketing, and procedural support and systems that funds need to thrive. All without the recurring expense of building out those resources on your own.

How to get Started

First connect with TAF staff at Admin@AlmanorFoundation.org or call 530-268-5422. Our staff will listen to your ideas and share the ways that we can help.

We offer a variety of funds that include donor-advised funds, scholarship funds, memorial funds and impact funds that allow you to raise charitable dollars to support an organization or a cause.

Judy Chynoweth, Chair

Judy, a resident of Chester part or full time since 1997, has served on several area non-profit boards including the ABC Center, Plumas Rural Services and Plumas Arts. Her skills in facilitation, board training, strategic planning and results accountability have been a huge asset to The Almanor Foundation.

Julie Childers, Treasurer

Julie moved to Lake Almanor in 2001. She has over 30 years of accounting experience retiring as controller of Collins Pine and has served on the board of directors of the ABC Center in Chester as well as Plumas Rural Services and the Lassen Association at Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Carla Parsons, Secretary

Carla has been in the financial services industry for 41 years and has been a financial advisor for 24 years working with clients at her Edward Jones office in Chester. She has lived in Chester since 1988 and is an active member of the Lake Almanor Elks Lodge.

Joyce Ruschhaupt, Director

Joyce a resident since 2006 is a estate broker and has served on the California Association of Realtors State Board, the Plumas Association of Realtors, the American Cancer Society State Board, the American Lung Association, Central Valley Community Hospitals Foundation and currently co-chairs the Elks Christmas Angels.

Tom Greely, Director

Dr. Thomas Greely a family medicine doctor in Concord, California in practice for over 20 years, was affiliated with multiple hospitals, including John Muir Health-Concord Medical Center and John Muir Health-Walnut Creek Medical Center. Recently retired he lives at Lake Almanor with partner Cliff Fahey.

The Support Team for TAF is small but mighty with one employee, a volunteer executive director, and a marketing consultant.

Susan Bryner, Executive Director

Susan’s family has lived in the Lake Almanor area since the 1970’s. She moved to the family home full time in 2003 opened a bookstore in Chester and became active in the community. She is a past president of the Lake Almanor Area Chamber of Commerce and a founding director of the Feather River Tourism Association. Susan’s masters is in psychology and she is a licensed real estate agent. She and her husband Tim own and operate 5 Coldwell Banker offices across Plumas County, including Kehr/O’Brien Real Estate in Lake Almanor, Pioneer Realty in Quincy, and Chandler Real Estate in Portola.

Susan can be contacted at Sbryner@AlmanorFoundation.org 

Melissa Lopez, Operations Manager

Melissa was raised in the San Francisco Bay area, graduated from CSU Monterey Bay and moved to Plumas County with her two children and husband in 2020. She began her professional career in the Special Education field before moving to the nonprofit sector where she was the Program Director of MEarth, an environmental education nonprofit. There she started an internship program for high school and middle school youth, led several fundraising events a year, and grew and managed youth programming. Melissa is on the Board of the Feather River Co-op and is Secretary of Plumas County Children’s Council.

Melissa can be contacted at Admin@AlmanorFoundation.org 

Katherine Sansone, Consultant, Sansone+ PR & Marketing

Katherine, a new local, having moved to Lake Almanor full-time in 2019, has been coming to the lake since she was a child. As the founder and principal of SANSONE+ PR & MARKETING since 1986, Katherine remains busy with clients such as The Almanor Foundation while participating and contributing to her new community. Katherine volunteers on the development committee for the Town Plaza and is Chair of the Lake Almanor Community Foundation for the LACC community.

Katherine can be contacted at katherine@sansoneplus.com