Community Foundations Help Workers Displaced by Federal Shutdown
As the partial shutdown of the federal government enters its second month, a growing number of U.S. community foundations are stepping up to provide funding and other support to impacted workers and nonprofits.
In Washington, D.C., the shutdown is affecting an estimated 285,000 federal government and contract workers. In turn, it is wreaking havoc on the region’s economy and putting a huge strain on nonprofits that provide help with food and shelter, utilities, and social services.
As the need has grown, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has started setting aside and raising money to help nonprofits address the most critical needs.
Read More
First We Bind the Wounds, Then We ...
A Pittsburgh Foundation leader reflects on the changing role of community foundations in an era of mass killings, bigotry, and hatred.
Raising money to bind the wounds is only the first step. What happens after that?
Read More
'It's Sort of Like Being Santa Claus All Year Long': Why Donors are Choosing DAFs
Why are donor-advised funds growing in popularity?
For many donors, the answer to that question centers not on tax benefits, but on convenience and flexibility.
“It’s sort of like being Santa Claus all year long,” Marie Stapinski, a DAF account holder at the Pittsburgh Foundation, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Read More
How Community Foundations Can Spur Community Development Through Opportunity Zones
The federal Opportunity Zone tax incentive program is designed to spur economic development and job creation in underserved communities across the United States by providing significant tax benefits to investors.
A new white paper by the Community Foundation Public Awareness Initiative explores the vital role community foundations can play in leveraging opportunity zones as a tool in their communities.
Read More
A Decade-Long Journey to Transform Rural Libraries in Georgia
When Steve Kendall was growing up, the highlight of his week was the family trip to the local library. At an early age, his parents taught him that knowledge was power, easily found in the pages of books. He and his wife, Laraine, attribute much of their success to their lifelong love of reading.
Intrigued by research showing better outcomes for children who were able to read on grade level by third grade, they wondered what rural libraries could accomplish if they were empowered with focused funding to get children excited about reading.
That shared love of reading led the Kendalls to start the Georgia Rural Library Initiative (GRLI), a decade-long series of investments in rural county libraries in partnership with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.
Read More
Wisconsin Foundation Inherits a Cheese Factory, Creates a Legacy
Marilynn Taylor of New London, Wis., was president of Wohlt Creamery LLC, a manufacturer of processed cheeses and one of the city’s 10 largest employers.
She died Feb. 25, 2017, at age 71, leaving her entire business, including the building, equipment, 60 employees and a lot of cheese, in the care of her estate representative and the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.
The Community Foundation found a buyer for the business, and kept all workers employed — ensuring that it remained a stable employer.
What’s more, the sale of the cheese processing business and manufacturing facility will net the Community Foundation about $5.8 million. In addition, the foundation received additional assets from Taylor totaling about $2.5 million.
Read More
Community Foundation Plays Leading Role in Wildfire Relief Efforts
As natural and man-made disasters continue to grow in number and intensity, community foundations are increasingly being leaned on to provide support to affected communities.
Read More
Foundation Awards $750,000 to Help Those Affected by Hurricane Florence
Foundation for the Carolinas has distributed its first round of grants to help those affected by Hurricane Florence.
It joins community foundations in several other regions of the country that have set up and administered funds to support those who have been affected by hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, mass shootings, and wildfires this year.
Read More
A New York Community Foundation Focuses on Ending Childhood Lead Poisoning
The Central New York Community Foundation is investing $2 million to help address a significant problem in its community — the prevalence of lead paint in homes in Syracuse.
More than 11 percent of Syracuse children tested in 2017 were shown to have elevated blood lead levels — an alarming figure that impacts not only their health, but also their ability to learn and develop.
Read More
By Investing in Capacity, a Texas Foundation Helps Nonprofits Succeed
Nonprofits need more than money to be successful. They also need knowledge and support.
That’s why many community foundations actively invest in programs that help nonprofits build their capacity. Rather than simply writing grants to support individual programs, these foundations instead actively work to help nonprofits become more self sufficient and productive.
Read More
