Community Foundation Update (10/17/20)

California

The East Bay Community Foundation, the Akonadi Foundation, and the City of Oakland's Cultural Affairs Division have announced a first round of grants through Belonging In Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund, a new multiyear initiative focused on supporting community-centered cultural projects that imagine a racially just city and amplify the voices of communities most impacted by systemic racism and inequality. Selected from more than a hundred proposals, twelve projects in disciplines including comedy, dance, filmmaking, music, storytelling, and theater will receive grants of $25,000 each.

The Orange County Community Foundation has announced that its 24-hour online fundraising campaign, Protect and Preserve, raised $147,271 from more than three hundred donors in support of efforts to sustain and protect the county's ecosystems. The funds will support seven local nonprofits with a shared commitment to environmental education and conservation of natural resources. 

The San Diego Foundation has awarded grants totaling $1.3 million through its Early Childhood Initiative in support of efforts to increase access to affordable, quality early care for children in San Diego, strengthen families, and support a competitive regional workforce. Grants ranging from $150,000 to $200,000 were awarded to eight nonprofits, including Episcopal Community Services, the Parent Institute for Quality Education in partnership with the Chicano Federation of San Diego County, and Somali Family Service of San Diego.

Idaho

The Eastern Regional Council of the Idaho Community Foundation has announced grants totaling nearly $228,000 through its Forever Idaho East Fund, with fifty-nine organizations working in Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, Butte, Caribou, Custer, Franklin, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison, Oneida, Power, and/or Teton counties receiving awards. In a departure from past years, this year's grants were unrestricted and nearly all were fully funded.

Illinois 

The Chicago Community Trust has announced the launch of Together We Rise, an initiative aimed at ensuring that the communities hardest hit by COVID-19 are able to build back better and stronger. With more than $25 million in initial contributions from local donors as well as corporate commitments from JPMorgan Chase and PepsiCo, the initiative will focus on increasing employment, strengthening small businesses, and spurring catalytic development in underinvested neighborhoods in the greater Chicago area.

Louisiana

The Greater New Orleans Foundation has announced a new round of grantmaking from its Environmental Fund and Pratt Stanton Manor Fund, which is focused on helping older adults live dignified, meaningful, and independent lives. Recipients include the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, which was awarded a grant of $5,000 in support of its Climate Action Equity Project; Giving HOPE, which will receive $25,000 for its Senior Feeding Program; and Rebuilding Together New Orleans, which was awarded $20,000 in support of its Safe at Home 2020-21 program.

Massachusetts

The Harwich and Chatham funds at the Cape Cod Foundation have awarded a joint grant of $3,500 to the Friends of Harwich Early Childhood Advisory Council in support of an eight-week in-home program for young children in the two communities. Every child participating in the program will receive a Family Activity Kit and access to interactive Zoom meetings with educators focused on helping them develop their language, fine motor, and problem-solving skills, while parents will receive coaching designed to help them build on their child's interests.

Michigan

The Kalamazoo Community Foundation has announced the appointment of Erycka Hunter as human resources director and Frances Vicioso as community engagement and communications intern on its Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Kalamazoo team. Hunter, who previously served as executive director of human resources for Flint Community Schools, will work with HR team members to develop an employee-centered, equitable, and high-performance culture for the organization, while Vicioso will support social media and other communications as part of a comprehensive community-based process focused on racial healing, narrative change, and systemic transformation.

Nebraska

The Omaha Community Foundation has announced grants totaling $143,357 from three of its specialized grant funds: the Creche Early Childhood Fund, Jetton Charitable Fund, and the Richard A. Shaw Fund. Sixteen nonprofits received grants in support of their efforts to expand access to arts and culture for local youth and educational enrichment programs for underserved children.

New York

The Westchester Community Foundation, an affiliate of the New York Community Trust, welcomes applications for COVID-19 Technology Technical Assistance Grants of up to $25,000. The grants are aimed at helping grantees manage the challenges of remote work and stabilize their service delivery efforts over the long term. Nonprofits can apply to be matched with an IT managed-service provider that will conduct an assessment of the organization's technology assets and cybersecurity protocols and develop recommendations and a budget for additional hardware, software, and staff training and cybersecurity needs. The deadline for applications is October 30.

North Carolina

The Winston-Salem Foundation has announced the first investment through its new Inclusive Economy Portfolio, a mission-aligned investment fund focused on supporting local businesses and organizations working to advance social change. The $100,000 investment in Piedmont Business Capital will be used to provide loans through the nonprofit community lender's Black and Brown Ownership Loan Program to businesses owned by and benefiting people of color in Forsyth County.

Pennsylvania

Local community leader Robert E. Rigg has been named an emeritus board member of the Chester County Community Foundation. The "emeritus" honor is given to retiring directors who have made outstanding contributions to the growth and success of the foundation. A partner at the Rigg-Darlington Group, Rigg has supported the foundation since 2008, serving as board chair, chair of the investment committee, a member of the finance committee, and a member of its strategic initiatives task force.

South Carolina

The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry has announced a $54,784 grant to the Beaufort County School District through its Student Tech Connect Fund, which was established with the aim of providing critical technology resources to ensure that all students have the tools and connectivity they need for distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant will support the purchase of Creative Curriculum Digital Curriculum for sixty-four pre-K and early childhood special education classrooms. 

Vermont

The McClure Foundation, an affiliate of the Vermont Community Foundation, and the Vermont Department of Labor have released an updated list of Vermont's most in-demand jobs over the next ten years. The McClure Foundation also identified seven "best bet" career training programs, which will be made more affordable and accessible to Vermonters with support from the VT COVID-19 Response Fund.

Washington 

The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound has announced the launch of Thurston Strong Partnership Grants, a CARES Act-funded $1.5 million grant program for nonprofits in Thurston County. In partnership with Thurston Strong, an economic recovery initiative led by the Thurston Economic Development Council, the foundation will award grants ranging between $10,000 and $20,000 to nonprofits that have been impacted by COVID-19. Applications will be accepted through October 30 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the funding runs out.

The Kitsap Community Foundation has announced that its president and CEO, Kol Medina, is leaving after eight years to  take over as president and CEO at the Blue Mountain Community Foundation in Walla Walla. Since joining KCF in 2012, Medina has helped the foundation grow its assets from $3 million to over $13 million and was instrumental in launching Kitsap Strong, the Kitsap Great Give, and the Kitsap Center for Nonprofit Excellence.