For the Love of Art and Community: How Rich and Victoria Brooks Are Helping Placer County Artists Thrive

When Rich Brooks was 13 years old, someone handed him a camera, and something clicked — not just the shutter, but a way of seeing. He thought seriously about photography school, but his family steered him elsewhere, worried the arts wouldn't pay the bills. He studied chemistry and finance instead, built a career in corporate mergers and acquisitions, and eventually settled in Placer County. He never stopped loving photography. And he never forgot what it felt like to be told that art might not be enough.

A photo taken by Rich Brooks

That quiet memory is part of what drives the Brooks’ support of the Placer Artists Tour Endowment Fund at Placer Community Foundation, which they give to through their Donor Advised Fund at PCF. The fund backs the Placer Artists Tour — an annual event bringing together roughly 120 local artists — and helps participants not only gain visibility but learn the business side of a creative life: pricing, marketing, and the confidence to show their work at all.

"Artists have to put themselves out there and be truthful about who they are," Rich said. "This has local impact that affects people around you that you can actually talk to."

One of Victoria Brooks' paintings

His wife, Victoria, knows that world from the inside. After earning a degree in graphic design and working in television, she returned to her creative roots by enrolling in the California Art Institute to studying oil painting.  She taught oil painting around the world and spent 15 years teaching at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Rocklin Fine Arts Center, and Sun City Fine Arts Center, and participating in the Placer Artists Tour nearly since its founding. Her current work focuses on portraits of Historical Native American women; she donates a portion of every sale to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center. She is also a signature member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society and the American Impressionist Society, as well as an Artist Member of the California Art Club.   

"I feel so blessed within my own life," Victoria said, "that I just want to give back — especially to artists who don't make a lot of money."

The Brooks’ had supported a range of causes over the years but wanted something more intentional — local, visible, lasting. Working with PCF staff to establish their Donor Advised Fund gave them that structure. "I felt safer giving the money to PCF knowing they're using it for the community," Rich said. The endowment model appealed to them precisely because it thinks in decades: the fund grows and gives indefinitely, an accelerant, as Rich puts it, for artists who need resources to develop their skills. Recognition was never the point. "Giving back doesn't have to have your name on it," he said.

Victoria puts it simply: "Giving back is what makes you a better person."

For anyone considering their own philanthropic journey, the Brooks’ advice is direct: find where your passion lies, then find a way to support it that doesn't require you to be the one holding the brush. "Meet with PCF to understand the mechanics," Rich said. "They're not complex." Victoria agrees: "PCF is a safer way to give. They make sure it's going to go to the right people at the right time."

The Placer Artists Tour Endowment Fund (https://placerartiststour.org/endowment-fund/) is actively seeking donors who share that commitment. Contributions are matched, meaning every new gift goes further. To learn more, visit placercf.org or contact Placer Community Foundation directly. The artists are already here, doing the work. What the fund needs now are more people willing to help them keep going.