Ernest Posey and the Posey Family Foundation Named 2024 Bernard Osher Philanthropist of the Year

Anne Paul King, President of the Network of California Community College Foundations and Ventura College Foundation Executive Director, led the Network of California Community College Foundations in announcing Ernest Posey and the Posey Family Foundation as recipients of the 2024 Bernard Osher Philanthropist of the Year award. The annual recognition honors individuals or organizations whose outstanding philanthropic contributions have made a significant impact on California’s community colleges.

This prestigious award, established in 2009, bears the name of Bernard Osher, whose historic commitment to student success created the $76 million California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment. Each year, the Network selects honorees who embody this same spirit of transformative generosity.

One of Mr. Posey’s most impactful contributions is the Posey Low-Interest Nursing Loan Program, created in 2019 and administered by the Pasadena City College Foundation. As a proud alumnus of Pasadena City College (PCC) and later Harvard University, he recognized the financial barriers faced by students in healthcare fields. The program provides microloans at significantly reduced interest rates. To date, it has issued more than $800,000 in loans to 74 students, with zero defaults and five students already having repaid their loans. The program has recently expanded to support students in PCC’s dental hygiene program and continues to benefit future educators as well.

King praised the Posey family’s impact across the California Community College system:

“The majority of California’s higher education students attend community college—an engine for building an educated workforce, driving social and economic mobility, and transforming lives across the state. Strengthening California’s community colleges through philanthropic giving is critical, now more than ever.”

The Ventura College Foundation joins the Network in celebrating the Posey family’s extraordinary legacy of giving and their role in transforming lives through education.