COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF HOWARD COUNTY JOINS NATIONWIDE CELEBRATION TO RECOGNIZE THE LOCAL IMPACT OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

November 6, 2020 -- The Community Foundation of Howard County will join in a nationwide celebration, November 12-18, 2020, to recognize the increasingly important role these philanthropic organizations play in fostering local collaboration and innovation to address persistent civic and economic challenges.

For more than a century, community foundations 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. During this time, community foundations come together to share and reflect on the stories of impact over the past year.

The Foundation started with $10,000 in funding in 1989. Since its beginning, the Foundation has awarded more than $16 million in grants to make our community a better place. This amount includes approximately $13.4 million in grants to nonprofits and $2.6 million in scholarships, with an additional $4.2 million in Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships.

“Foundations offer an opportunity for donors to support current and future needs in the community,” said Greg Aaron, President of the Community Foundation of Howard County. “In addition to building sustainability for nonprofits, we are working 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 and represent one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy. The Community Foundation of Howard County recently announced the receipt of a $150,000 Community Leadership Implementation grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to fund mental health and addiction services navigators in Howard County.

“The Foundation conducted 16 community conversations to determine what residents felt was important to the future well-being and growth of their community,” said Aaron.  “The results revealed that participants wanted a mentally healthy and drug-free community as one of their aspirations. The additional navigation services will help to reduce barriers for those seeking mental health and substance abuse services.”

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. This was most evident amid this year’s coronavirus pandemic where over $1 billion was distributed by community foundations in response to the crisis. Additionally, community foundations went beyond the money to help their communities adapt during this critical time—supporting charities, schools, nonprofits, and small businesses through partnerships with public institutions in cities, states, and in cooperation with the federal government.

In response to the pandemic, the Community Foundation of Howard County created a Rapid Response grant application to supply funds for immediate and critical needs.  The Foundation has awarded more than $80,000 in Rapid Response grants to nonprofits providing services related to COVID-19.

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.

The Foundation seeks to serve donors and make grants to nonprofits to benefit the citizens of Howard County.  For more information about the Community Foundation, contact Greg Aaron at (765) 454-7298 or greg@cfhoward.org. The Web site www.cfhoward.org contains information about making gifts to endowment funds, scholarships and grantmaking.