IMPACT Awards $8,175 Grant to Open Doors Emergency Shelter!

The vote is in! Open Doors Emergency Shelter will be the recipient of this year’s IMPACT Grant!! The grants committee reviewed over 50 community needs applications and narrowed the ballot for the grant award to three options. IMPACT members voted and Open Doors is the 2015-16 grant recipient.

The Open Doors Project, which is aimed at ending the cycle of homelessness, will equip key personnel working for/with Open Doors with the tools they need to educate and train their guests on opportunities and locally available resources that may help them escape the cycle of homelessness. So much more than just basic job training skills, Open Doors guests will also gain insight to how other local agencies and assist them with needs such medical treatment, counseling, and financial counseling which often hinder someone’s effort to escape homelessness.

Please join IMPACT and The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County on Sunday, August 21st for the presentation of the Grant to Open Doors. The presentation celebration will be at Purcell Park, Shelter Number 2 from 4 pm to 6 pm. Click here for more information or to register for the event. In addition, IMPACT Board Members will be on hand to share several new and exciting opportunities that will be available as a part of IMPACT. Not only will the 21st be a great opportunity to celebrate IMPACT’s partnership with Open Doors, but its future as an organization dedicated to making a lasting impact in our community.

2015 IMPACT Harrisonburg grant to ‘On the Road Collaborative’

2015 IMPACT picnic food

IMPACT Harrisonburg Executive Committee members Mike Frazier and Billy Robinson serve BBQ to On the Road Collaborative’s Executive Director, Brent Holsinger.

IMPACT Harrisonburg, the first giving circle of The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County, recently presented their first grant check to On the Road Collaborative at a picnic held at Purcell Park. On the Road Collaborative is a 501(c)3 for-purpose organization whose mission is “to empower young people on the margins with the opportunity, skills and confidence they need to excel in school and fulfill their promise.” The organization currently works with middle school children at Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg. The celebratory family-style picnic held on September 13 was hosted by IMPACT Harrisonburg members and attended by Brent Holsinger, On the Road Collaborative’s Executive Director, as well as members of the organization’s board of directors and staff members of The Community Foundation.

2015 IMPACT picnic Melissa2

Melissa Mayhew, IMPACT Harrisonburg member and staff member of The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County, talks with a board member of On the Road Collaborative.

IMPACT Harrisonburg is a giving circle for young leaders in the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County community. IMPACT was established in 2014 for individuals in their twenties, thirties and forties to engage in meaningful philanthropy and learn about local nonprofits, while affordably leveraging their charitable dollars. The organization offers an opportunity to meet new people socially and professionally, as well as a chance to make a bigger impact collectively than individuals can alone.

2015 IMPACT picnic Luke2

Luke Hartman, board member of On the Road Collaborative

Events are held by IMPACT Harrisonburg throughout the year and offer social and educational opportunities for members, as well as for other individuals in the community. Collective dues are granted out annually to an organization chosen by a membership vote. Each member has one vote in the grantmaking process. IMPACT Harrisonburg utilizes the Community Needs list of funding requests when considering its annual grant recipient. The 2015 grant of almost $15,000 to On the Road Collaborative marks the first grant in IMPACT’s history.

The enrollment period for IMPACT Harrisonburg 2016 membership is now open. Contact Melissa at The Community Foundation with questions regarding membership and how you can become involved.