November 12-18 is National Community Foundation Week, and The Community Foundation for Crawford County wants to use this time to raise awareness of their local impact and the importance of community foundations in general. Community Foundations hold endowment funds that provide a permanent source of income for nonprofit organizations, schools and other good causes. They also hold scholarship funds which seek to alleviate college debt, as well as increase our education attainment level. Finally, they are also a grantmaking public charity dedicated to improving the quality of lives for their community. Here locally, those grants have differed greatly in purpose and include everything from helping North Central State College Foundation establish the Crawford Success Center, giving to the American Red Cross to support local blood drives, and also granting to the Crawford Partnership to support economic, community and workforce development.
For more than a century, philanthropic institutions have served as a trusted partner and resource whose effect can be seen in the lives of millions and in the vibrant neighborhoods that continue to thrive through their mission-driven work. Here locally, the Foundation always holds an Evening of Philanthropy for their donors, where the Spirit of Philanthropy award is always given to a supporter.
“Community Foundations have the reach, expertise, and relationships to address some of the most pressing issues impacting individuals and families nationwide,” said foundation President, Lisa Workman. “We are more determined than ever to collaborate with partners to deliver the innovative and lasting solutions that will help our communities to thrive. The Foundation would especially like to recognize and thank our supporters on Nov. 15th, which is National Philanthropy Day!”
Community foundations are independent, public entities that steward philanthropic resources from institutional and individual donors to local nonprofits and represent one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy. As community foundations find solutions for communities large and small, urban and rural – it is the collective work of these organizations that will have the most profound impact. Community Foundation Week was created in 1989 by former President George H.W. Bush to recognize the work of community foundations throughout America and their collaborative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address community problems. As The Community Foundation for Crawford County asserts in their tag line, “Home is Why!”
