Posts

Local Nonprofits Receive 2023 Funding from The Community Foundation

/in , , , , /by

Local Nonprofits Receive Funding from The Community Foundation

Harrisonburg, VA – Giving season is upon us and The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County is celebrating. The Community Foundation reports a total of $159,518 will be granted to twelve organizations in their Fall 2023 grants cycle. Programs and projects like ‘Meals on Wheels’ by Valley Program for Aging Services and ‘Operation Free Pet Healthcare’ by Anicira are among the funded grantees. Over 60 organizations submitted applications. “Our grant funding process is difficult, especially because we receive so many wonderful applications each year. All are deserving of funding. We encourage nonprofits to apply for our grants next year as our grant awards will increase substantially.” – Ann Siciliano, Director of Program Services, TCFHR. Fall 2023 grant awards will be distributed to Harrisonburg-Rockingham nonprofit agencies by year end.

2023 TCFHR Competitive Grant Awards:

Fund Grantee Purpose/Project
Community Endowment Valley Program for Aging Services Meals on Wheels
Valley Arts & Culture Fund Oasis Fine Art & Craft Beyond Restaurant Mural
Valley Arts & Culture Fund Rockingham Ballet Theatre Costume Storage Improvement
Janet Sohn Endowed Fund The Salvation Army The Salvation Army Emergency Shelter
Mary Spitzer Etter Endowed Fund Arts Council of the Valley Development of New Arts Council of the Valley Website
Alvin J. Baird, Jr. Program Endowed Fund Blue Ridge Free Clinic, Inc. A Free Clinic Bridge to Health
Alvin J. Baird, Jr. Program Endowed Fund Cross Keys Equine Therapy Parent/Grandparent Caregiver Trauma Group
Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts Arts Council of the Valley ACT ONE
Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts OASIS Fine Art & Craft `Wild and Wonderful – Animals “Captured” in Paint!
Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts Virginia Quilt Museum Creating a multi-purpose space for hands-on learning and programs
Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative Sprung Subfloor
Hildred Neff Memorial Fund Wildlife Center of Virginia Treatment of Sick, Injured, and Orphaned Wildlife from Harrisonburg and Rockingham County
Hildred Neff Memorial Fund Cat’s Cradle Pet Retention for Low-Income and Other Vulnerable Populations
Hildred Neff Memorial Fund Anicira Operation Free Pet Healthcare

Grant distributions come from funds held at TCFHR and are determined by Grants committees. Nonprofit organizations awarded all participated in a competitive application process. Per TCFHR policy, grants are made without regard to factors of gender, race, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. For more information, visit TCFHR’s website, www.tcfhr.org.

Contact: Ann Siciliano, 540-432-3863 or ann@tcfhr.org

Website: www.tcfhr.org

About The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County (TCFHR) 

TCFHR makes charitable giving easy, acting in the best interest of our donors and partners to facilitate bold philanthropic initiatives for a stronger, healthier community.

###

Spotting opportunity: Moving from a commercial fund to The Community Foundation

/in , /by

Spotting opportunity: Moving from a commercial fund to The Community Foundation

Although a donor-advised fund, which is becoming a more and more popular charitable planning tool, can be established through a national financial institution, The Community Foundation offers its donor-advised fund holders much broader services, more personal attention, and deeper connections to the nonprofits whose work is essential to effecting positive community change. Unfortunately, many attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors are simply not aware that a donor-advised fund established at The Community Foundation is in most cases a far better fit for their clients than a donor-advised fund set up at a “commercial gift fund.”

As you meet with your clients about year-end planning, be sure to ask whether they’ve established a donor-advised fund and if so, where it’s housed. If a client’s donor-advised fund is not at a community foundation, but instead was established through a national provider, please give us a call. We would be happy to talk with you and your client about the ease and benefits of moving the donor-advised fund to The Community Foundation.

The Community Foundation offers donor-advised fund holders the same tax and administrative benefits as a commercial gift fund, including:

  • Online access to the donor-advised fund to view balances, contributions, and grants
  • Simple process for requesting grants to favorite charities
  • Streamlined tax reporting, often represented by just one letter to provide to an accountant at tax time, even when the donor-advised fund is used to support dozens of individual charities throughout the year
  • All back-office administration, tax receipts, recordkeeping, and other requirements for the donor-advised fund’s 501(c)(3) status
  • Favorable tax-deductibility of contributions to the fund

Unlike standard commercial gift funds, though, The Community Foundation offers high-level, customized services to its donor-advised fund holders, including:

  • Concierge-level service by knowledgeable staff to structure estate gifts to charities and accept gifts of appreciated stock or complex assets such as real estate or closely-held stock
  • In-house experts who have a finger on the pulse of community needs, the strengths of specific nonprofits, and how to structure grant making for the highest possible community benefit
  • Opportunities to collaborate with other donors who care about similar issues and forums to tap into local and national subject matter experts
  • Opportunities to go deep into specific issue areas, both through education and hands-on involvement
  • Assistance with structuring and measuring the impact of grants
  • Family philanthropy and corporate giving services to foster a well-rounded, holistic approach to philanthropy
  • Administrative fees that are reinvested into The Community Foundation, itself a nonprofit, to help support operations, grow its mission, and help even more donors support the causes they care about
  • Hands-on assistance from local experts who understand both local and distant needs, and welcome the opportunity to research and identify causes aligned with donors’ goals and priorities
  • Staff members who live in the community they serve and often personally know the leaders and staff of grantee organizations and regularly hear about their needs first-hand

Keep an eye out for clients’ donor-advised funds at commercial gift funds. You’ll be doing a tremendous service for your client, and you’ll be helping the local community. You will also be fulfilling your own professional responsibilities by exploring the opportunity for a client to move a donor-advised fund to The Community Foundation. At The Community Foundation, hard-earned assets receive the attention they deserve as your clients strive to make a difference in the causes they care about the most.

 

 

This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice. 

Local Nonprofits Receive Funding from The Community Foundation

/in /by

Harrisonburg, VA – It feels like Christmas over at The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg  and Rockingham County (TCFHR)! No, it is not quite time for the holiday, but TCFHR is in the giving spirit since they are soon issuing Fall 2022 grants to nonprofit organizations. This year’s grants total $152,235 to 13 local nonprofits, more than TCFHR has given out in years past. The largest distribution ($55,000) coming from the Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts. Dr. Earlynn J. Miller was honored posthumously at AFP Shenandoah’s National Philanthropy Day for her contributions at JMU as well as her generously giving approximately $5 million to establish three endowments at The Community Foundation that will support the arts forever.

The monies will go to organizations addressing needs in:
Animal welfare (Anicira, Cat’s Cradle, and Wildlife Center of VA) made by Hildred Neff Memorial Fund
Arts & Culture (Arts Council of the Valley) made by Mary Spitzer Etter Endowed Fund, (OASIS Fine Art & Craft) made by Valley Arts & Culture Fund, and (Arts Council of the Valley and Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative) made by Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts
Children and Youth of Divorced Parents (Family Life Resource Center) made by Sean Warner Memorial Fund
Healthcare (Adagio House, Blue Ridge Free Clinic, and Strength in Peers) made by Alvin V. Baird, Jr. Program Housing (Central Valley Habitat for Humanity) made by Janet Sohn Endowed Fund
Greatest benefit to Harrisonburg and Rockingham County (Blue Ridge CASA and First Step) made by The Community Endowment Fund

Grant distributions come from funds held at TCFHR and are determined by Grants committees. Nonprofit organizations awarded all participated in a competitive application process. Per TCFHR policy, grants are made without regard to factors of gender, race, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. For more information, contact Ann Siciliano at ann@tcfhr.org.

 

Read more about Community Foundation grant awards.

Great Community Give 2023 Nonprofit Registration Opens Today!

/in , /by

Great Community Give 2023 Nonprofit Registration

Will Launch on National Philanthropy Day

Great Community Give (GCG) is back for its sixth year! The GCG Planning Team will open registration for interested nonprofits on National Philanthropy Day, November 15th.

Returning and newly participating nonprofit agencies can sign up for GCG 2023 at www.greatcommunitygive.org. Registration will remain open until February 15, 2023. Eligibility requirements include having IRS 501(c)(3) tax status and located in and serving Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

Great Community Give is an initiative hosted by The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County (TCFHR), raising millions for area nonprofits since its beginning in 2018. The annual, sunrise to sunset, giving day event champions local causes by inspiring charitable giving to Harrisonburg-Rockingham nonprofit organizations. In April 2022, over 7,000 donors raised $1,727,289 for 125 organizations, bringing the initiative’s overall grand total to $5,117,703.

Nonprofits have big plans for this upcoming GCG, including Valley Associates for Independent Living. According to their Executive Director, Gayl Brunk, GCG 2023 donations will support the recently acquired, nationally ranked, Cardinals Wheelchair Basketball Team.

Amanda Bomfim, Program Officer at TCFHR is committed to making the 6th year a success. “Our team wants to be bold in our support of the nonprofits. Our GCG 2023 goals are to raise $2 million and to reach 8,000 donors. I am motivated to reach more community members in the sixth GCG especially since it will be easier to give. Donors may now contribute to their favorite organizations using the mobile payment service, Venmo.”

Great Community Give will be on the third Wednesday of April on April 19, 2023, 6:30am to 8:00pm. For questions about Great Community Give, contact TCFHR at 540-432-3863.