News release from the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne:
Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne Donates $10,000 to the Flint Water Crisis
(February 8, 2016) – Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne has donated $10,000 of emergency funding from their Community Grantmaking Fund to the Flint Child Health and Development Fund, which is held at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
Community Foundation Board member, Health Commissioner Dr. Deborah McMahan, recently wrote an article in the Journal Gazette about the dangers of lead poisoning. “Our responsibility as a community is to, as much as possible, ensure that all kids have safe drinking water and live in a home that won’t silently negatively affect their potential to learn and grow,” said McMahan.
The Flint Child Health Development Fund, established at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, is a supplemental resource to the ongoing pursuit of state and federal funding, and aims to ensure long-term change for the better in response to the Flint water crisis.
“The ability to respond quickly to emerging needs and provide emergency funding to assist victims of crisis is an essential function of the Community Grantmaking Fund,” said David Bennett, Executive Director. “It is common for community foundations to reach out to other communities in times of crisis. Should a disaster befall us, I would expect other community foundations to do the same.”
The Community Grantmaking Fund is comprised of donations from many generous community members and represents the core grantmaking program of the Community Foundation. The fund allows for dollars to be targeted to the areas of most pressing need as those needs change over time.
Emergency grants may be made to nonprofit organizations to address both short-term and long-term urgent funding needs created by an unforeseen event(s) that will significantly affect the organization’s ability to continue operations, to operate safely, or to accommodate an unexpected need due to an immediate increase in services. Examples of unforeseen events include: natural disasters (e.g., fire, flood, tornado, storm damage, etc.) and accidents (e.g., serious auto or train accident where many people have been affected).
About the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne
The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne is a public charitable foundation serving Allen County since 1922. The Community Foundation had assets of approximately $140 million at December 31, 2015, and awarded more than $6.5 million in charitable grants and scholarships in that year. The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne exists to serve as a community leader to improve the quality of life by building permanent endowments, promoting effective grantmaking, fostering philanthropy, stimulating community dialogue and helping donors achieve their charitable goals.
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