The Desert Community Foundation was established in 1999 as a public nonprofit organization to provide opportunities for individual donors to make lasting contributions to the desert communities of the Coachella Valley today and in the future.
The Desert Community Foundation was founded by Ronald E. Gother, after an informal feasibility study was conducted. Ronald Gother, along with Jack Shakely, President Emeritus of the California Community Foundation, interviewed nonprofit executives, community and business leaders regarding the role and benefits of a local community foundation.