Left: Charles Brouse, 1919

Charles E Brouse

Charles Emory Brouse was born in Ohio and, in 1892, came to the Moreno Valley area with his parents. Moving to Riverside, Brouse decided to improve his position, taking classes at Riverside Business College and joining the Orange Growers Bank as a bookkeeper. When the bank failed as a result of embezzlement of funds by Cashier Tom Hays, Citizens Bank (later called Citizens National Trust and Savings) took over and Brouse joined the new management. Brouse worked his way up to vice president and succeeded W.B. Clancy as president when Clancy died suddenly.

Brouse, with his wife Clara, founded the Community Foundation in 1941. According to the foundation, “Brouse’s original bequest established an endowment to benefit students attending Riverside City College …. In the years that followed, the foundation gradually adopted a broader focus – funding health and human services, civic benefit programs, arts and culture, and a variety of other causes.”