|
Aurora, IL - The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley is proud to announce that nineteen local social service, health, and humanities agencies were approved a total of $378,208.00 in grants from the Community Foundation this past spring for various capital projects.
These agencies were recognized by the Community Foundation at its Grantee Recognition Ceremony on Thursday, June 29, 2017 held at Waterford Cancer Resource Center in Aurora.
More than eighty community members attended the ceremony including Community Foundation board members John Diederich (Chair), Austin Dempsey, Rick Guzman, Jane Harris, William Skoglund, Duane Suits, and Scott Voris. Former Foundation chairman Mark Truemper, Mayor Kevin Burns of Geneva, and representatives of the National Foreclosure Settlement Program were also in attendance. Board members, executive directors and key staff of local agencies were present to be recognized for their ongoing service to our community.
Jeff Hartman,
Community Foundation President & CEO, welcomed the guests to the event and acknowledged their dedication to the community. "Everyone in this room is committed to supporting a cause of great importance in our community," Hartman said. "Thank you for dedicating your time and talents to serving the Fox River Valley."
|
|
 |
| Nicole DeLarm and Windy Kopecky |
|
Other speakers included Windy Kopecky and Nicole DeLarm of
Equine Dreams, an
organization which provides
Equine Assisted Activities to children and adults
with special needs at no charge
. They gave a testimonial about a grant they received from the Community Foundation to purchase a new tractor, which assists with daily operations such as maintaining horse trails and plowing snow. "Thank you to the
Community Foundation for their continued support," Kopecky said. "
Generous foundations like theirs allow deserving charities and organizations to offer so many wonderful services to our communities."
|
|
|
Josh Beck
|
Josh Beck presented on behalf of the
Kane County Office of Community Reinvestment. The Community Foundation manages a multi-million dollar grant provided through
the National Foreclosure Settlement Program. This multi-year grant is a collaborative of the Attorney General's office, Kane
County Office of Community Reinvestment, the Community Foundation,
Habitat for Humanity of the Northern Fox Valley,
Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity,
Housing Continuum Inc.,
Spillane & Sons Inc. and
Joseph Corporation. This partnership provides purchase and foreclosure counseling services to families who find themselves in need and supports the redevelopment of
homes to change the face of our neighborhoods. An owner of one of the renovated houses, Maj Marquez, gave a testimonial about her experience with Habitat For Humanity.
|
|
|
|
Scott Voris (center) with members of Fox Valley Orchestra
|
|
Scott Voris, Community Foundation Distribution Committee Chairman and President of Fuse LLC, presented infor
mation about trends in the grantmaking program. The Community Foundation has seen an increase in the number of grant applications over the past two years. "These are challenging times, especially without a state budget, for community agencies who want to make the most impact with the dollars they have," Voris said. "The Community Foundation is proud to partner with and offer support to organizations in the Fox River Valley through our grantmaking program."
Voris acknowledged the nineteen agencies receiving grants and outlined the projects they support. The funded capital projects include building renovations and property repairs, educational and training materials, technology equipment, and the construction of a historical flag monument. Each of the following agencies were then presented with a certificate of recognition.
The Community Foundation is grateful to Waterford Place Cancer Resource Center for graciously hosting the event at its facility. Kelly Huggins, Program Development and Operations Manager for Waterford Place, spoke on behalf of the center, which
provides services and support, free of charge, to anyone impacted by a cancer diagnosis. Huggins also gave tours of the facility, which included a look at the audio/visual equipment the center purchased with funds from a recent Communit
y Foundation grant.
We offer a tremendous "Thank You" to Maryll Moon and Alexander Pope of the Rush Copley Foundation for generously organizing the catering for this event. Their support was invaluable to the success of the ceremony. We also wish to thank Shaefer Greenhouses Inc. for donating beautiful floral centerpieces for the tables.
Click here
to view more photos from the ceremony.
For more information about the Community Foundation's Grantmaking Program, visit our website.
Letters of Intent for the Fall 2017 Grant Cycle are available August 1, 2017.
About the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley
The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley is a non-profit, tax-exempt, philanthropic organization that administers individual charitable funds from which grants and scholarships are distributed to benefit the citizens of the Greater Aurora Area, the TriCities and Kendall County, Illinois.
Founded in 1948, the Foundation provides a simple and powerful approach to charitable giving. Individuals, families, businesses and organizations have the opportunity to custom design their own named funds that reflect their charitable goals and interests. Since its inception, the Community Foundation has grown to more than $82 million in assets and has awarded more than $64 million in grants and scholarships.
For more information on the Foundation, visit www.CommunityFoundationFRV.org.
|
