The Clintonville Area Foundation joined more than 780 community foundations across America celebrating Community Foundation Week, Nov. 12-18.
For 28 years, the effort has raised awareness about the increasingly important role of these philanthropic organizations in fostering local collaboration and innovation to address persistent civic and economic challenges.
Established in 1995, the Clintonville Area Foundation’s mission is to enhance and improve the social, cultural, educational, health and general well-being of people in the Clintonville area.
In 2000, it became a geographic affiliate of the Appleton-based Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.
Since 2000, the CAF has awarded nearly $400,000 in grants from charitable and scholarship funds created within the CAF by individuals and families.
The CAF has had a busy year. They awarded $10,699 in grants to six charitable organizations serving the Clintonville area. These grants benefited a range of community causes and were awarded from the variety of charitable funds within the community foundation.
These grants were announced at an annual grant distribution event that was held in February.
CAF has a total of 25 funds. Each of these charitable funds has been started by passionate individuals looking to give back to the community in ways of their own choosing. The reach of the grants and scholarships generated by these funds stretches far and wide.
For the first time in its history, the combined assets of these funds surpassed $1 million as of June 30. These funds attracted over $68,000 in contributions and awarded grants totaling $36,725 to non-profit agencies.
View the complete CAF 2017 Community Report by visiting their website at www.cffoxvalley.org and click on Clintonville Area Foundation under the Partners tab.
This year’s Clintonville Foundation 2017 scholarship recipients collected a total of $9,000 to go toward their post high school education. These awards were announced at the Clintonville High School Awards Night event held in June.
Last December, with funds from the Clintonville Community Fund and the Viola Behling Health Fund, a grant of $2,000 was awarded to Navarino Nature Center to support the purchase of new ski and snowshoe trail equipment.
Navarino is also currently working on building a new Outdoor Education Resource Facility, to contain a workshop/program room, and a loading area for wagon tours and trolley tours. This includes their Senior Safaris which offer seniors the opportunity to go on a wagon/trolley tour of the wildlife area with nature center staff and volunteers.
An all-new format was utilized for this year’s annual fundraiser event. It was held at Marion Body Works, instead of the familiar banquet hall setting. The event attracted well over 100 patrons to the manufacturer’s new facility in Marion.
It was here that this year’s Community Hero was named by its founder, Dan Olk. Sue Aschliman was honored for her many years of tireless contributions to the community. The proceeds from the Fund Raiser go into the Foundation’s Community Service fund for grants back to the community.
“Community foundations impact lives, solve problems, and improve futures,” said CAF Advisory Board Chair Connie Carpenter. “We are more determined than ever to bring our community partners together to find innovative and effective solutions for some of our most challenging social problems and advance the most promising of opportunities to benefit our residents.”
Community foundations are independent, public entities that steward philanthropic resources from institutional and individual donors to local nonprofits that are the heart of strong, vibrant communities.
The CAF is currently seeking applications for projects or new programs with clear goals and financial accountability, and for which a moderate amount of grant money can make an impact on an area of need. Grants are made for a broad range of purposes in the area of arts and culture, health and human services, community development, education and environment. Organizations eligible to receive grants are those determined by the IRS to be public charities. The application deadline is Dec. 1 at 4 p.m.
Community foundations represent one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy. Every state in the United States is home to at least one community foundation—large and small, urban and rural—working to advance solutions on a wide range of social issues. Community Foundation Week, created in 1989 by former president George H.W. Bush, recognizes the work of community foundations throughout America and their collaborative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address community problems.