Foundation History

The original idea for the formation of the foundation resulted from a conversation between Simi Valley Chief of Police Paul Miller and Simi Valley Police Captain Dick Wright sometime in 1994. The discussion centered around the fact that, during the past 15 years, the people of this community had made generous, unsolicited donations to the Police Department for such programs as Canine and D.A.R.E.

The other concept that entered into the discussion was the fact the Simi Valley Police Department had made good use of both the State and Federal Governments’ forfeited asset programs to the tune of over six million dollars. These funds had been utilized to enhance such programs as narcotics enforcement, department communications, computer equipment and crime prevention programs. At the time that this discussion took place, it was evident that the laws governing the forfeited asset programs had changed which made it more difficult for police departments in general to collect such assets. This was also coupled with the fact that criminals had become more sophisticated in moving large supplies of cash so that large busts had become a thing of the past.

As a result of these two factors, it became readily apparent that the Police Department would no longer have access to this adjunct funding which it had generated during the past several years. What, then, could be a possible solution to provide additional funds for such programs as crime prevention, canine and D.A.R.E.? Given that our citizens had shown great generosity in making unsolicited donations of money for these programs, why not provide a vehicle that would permit them to receive a legitimate tax deduction for such donations? Thus, the idea for the Foundation was born.

Early in 1994, Paul Miller retired from the position of Chief of Police. He was elected to the Simi Valley City Council in November 1994. Miller pursued the idea with city staff and on September 30, 1996, the City Council approved an agenda item which authorized the establishment of the Simi Valley Police Foundation. The original board of directors as authorized by the City Council consisted of two City Council Members, the Police Chief, the City Manager, a Public Member and six members to be appointed by the Foundation Board.

Subsequent to the City Council’s authorization to form the Foundation, the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws were written and applications were submitted to both the State and Federal Governments to be recognized as a nonprofit corporation. In May 1997, we received our notice of nonprofit status from both the Federal Government and the State of California. The Foundation is now a recognized 501(c)3 corporation.

During the time that followed, we began our board member recruitment and held monthly board meetings to begin the process of organizing our effort. A media conference was held on January 20, 1998, in the Community Room at City Hall, 2929 Tapo Canyon Road, Simi Valley, to publicly announce the Foundation’s presence in the community and its goals for the future.

In fiscal year 2012-2013 the Foundation provided over $100,000 in supplies and equipment in support of the Police Department’s programs, including three trained police K9’s and AED’s for every marked police vehicle.