Recognizing the Impact of Community Foundations

By Delene Porter

During the week of November 11th, 2013, the Athens Area Community Foundation will join more than 750 community foundations across America for the 24th Annual Community Foundation Week to tell the stories of lives changed, jobs created, and communities transformed through philanthropy.

“Great communities have community foundations and ours is no exception,” says AACF Board Chair Bill Douglas.  “We’re relatively young compared to foundations in other parts of Georgia, but we’re making an impact and growing fast,” he adds.  Founded in 2008, AACF stewards over $1.9 million in philanthropic resources from institutional and individual donors to local nonprofits.  “Our dual role as a promoter of philanthropy and a catalyst for positive change makes AACF unique,” says Delene Porter, AACF President and CEO.  “This year our donors have made $112,000 in grants to 20 diverse organizations.  But our role doesn’t end with grantmaking.”  With AACF as their platform, these donors have helped build community alongside AACF staff and volunteers who:

·      Convened a Financial Literacy working group for local agencies and banks, resulting in a new Voluntary Income Tax Assistance site to serve 125 individuals in spring 2014, returning over $250,000 to low & moderate income households

·      Advanced access to healthcare by providing capacity building to the Athens Health Network as it trained 50+ lay health educators to share healthcare knowledge in their spheres of influence

·      Provided technical assistance to organizations of all shapes and sizes- Citizen Advocacy, the Junior League of Athens, and Caterpillar’s CAT CARES committee to name a few- to help them more effectively meet their missions   

·      Promoted strategic philanthropy and planned giving to civic, church, professional and educational associations like AACF’s Osher Life Long Learning Institute class entitled “You don’t have to be a Rockefeller to leave a legacy in your community”

·      Facilitated the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce’s L.E.A.D Athens Health & Human Services Day, which gave 30 young professionals a chance to experience Athens’ social safety net, reflect on personal beliefs, and find ways to improve our community.

·      Increased educational opportunities at all levels by working with Ebeneezer Baptist Church West to provide scholarships; participating on Athens Tech’s GOAL Scholars search committee; supporting Malcom Bridge Middle School’s new Leadership Development Program; exploring nature with the Wild Intelligence program; and providing professional development opportunities to nonprofit Executive Directors through the Boumbulian Social Entrepreneurs Fellows program.  

“We handle the nuts-and-bolts of accepting gifts, managing assets, and making grants, so donors can support the issues they care most about while making a collective impact on the entire community that is bigger, more responsive, and longer lasting than what can be done alone,” Porter says.  AACF provides needed leadership that is a trusted resource for other local nonprofits.  It also provides for a system of sustainability for our community, in good times and in bad.  Through AACF’s Agency Fund Program, nonprofits take advantage of the community foundation’s base of pooled Funds which minimizes risk, reduces investment charges, and maximizes returns.  AACF stewards over a quarter million in operating endowments for existing nonprofits.  “Everyone, from parents who wish to teach their children and grandchildren about giving, to a nonprofit planning for its long-term future, wants to meet community needs: to be resilient, to be self-relient, to be creative.”  

“As we all saw with the recent government shutdown, philanthropy provides a critical bulwark against uncertainty,” says Porter. “Place-based philanthropy engages community leaders to improve lives through direct action, and is not subject to political whims or partisan bickering.” 

AACF has grown quickly in the last few months- donors have created four new Funds and committed over $150,000 to AACF’s operating endowment.  “This is about more than an improving economy, it’s about our community’s desire to invest in its future,” Porter says.  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 or small, urban or rural—that is advancing solutions to a wide range of social issues. The 2012 Columbus Survey found that as the nation continues through a difficult economic recovery, grants by community foundations increased by 21% since 2006.

Launched in 1989 through a proclamation by former president George H.W. Bush, the first Community Foundation Week included a congressional briefing about the work of community foundations throughout America and their collaborative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address community problems.

AACF is a tax-exempt, public foundation created by and for the people of Athens-Clarke, Oconee, Barrow, Jackson, Madison, and Oglethorpe Counties. Our mission is to help passionate donors leave permanent legacies, serve as a well-informed grantmaker, and shape effective responses to community needs through collaboration.  As a public grantmaking foundation AACF builds community by encouraging long term giving through endowment Funds created by caring donors.  For more information, please visit www.AthensAreaCF.org