The first grant presentations were recently made from The Fund for Halifax County. Shown left to right are: Halifax Fund Advisory Committee members Logan Young, Bill Kelehar and Mayor Carroll Thackston; Community Foundation Director Debra Dodson; South Boston-Halifax County Museum Board President Paul Smith; and Bill McCabe, Southern Virginia Botanical Gardens Board Vice President Bill McCabe and President Dr. Charles Stallard.
( Halifax County – October 24, 2012) -The Fund for Halifax County has awarded its first grants, thanks to the work of the Halifax County Advisory Committee. The committee consists of a few prominent members of Halifax County who wish to see the county grow and prosper. After carefully reviewing the nine applications received, they chose The South Boston-Halifax County Museum and The Southern Virginia Botanical Gardens and Environmental Education Center Inc. to receive a grant of $500 each. They presented the checks on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at the Botanical Gardens at Edmunds Park in South Boston.
The Fund for Halifax County is a unique opportunity for citizens, organizations and businesses to help build an endowment to improve and enrich lives in Halifax County. The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region hopes to continue to grow this unrestricted fund to enable more grants to be given in the future. The next cycle of grant applications for The Fund for Halifax County will be taken in August 2013.
Anyone can make donations to The Fund for Halifax County. Checks should be made to The Community Foundation, with the Halifax County Fund specified, and mailed to 541 Loyal Street, Danville, VA 24541. Online gifts can be made through www.cfdrr.org. Gifts of stock, life insurance, and personal property can be accepted, as well as will bequests.
The Fund for Halifax County was introduced April 21, 2010 at a Chamber Business After Hours hosted by The Community Foundation with The Prizery. The Fund was established after a $10,000 gift from the Chastain Home of Halifax was given to meet the minimum requirement for an endowed fund. The fund’s current balance is $12,600, thanks to numerous smaller donations.
The Community Foundation has made over $1,000,000 in grants in Halifax County since its formation in 1996. In 2003, the Chastain Home for Gentlewomen gave a gift of $1,030,000 to The Community Foundation to provide three years of grantmaking to charitable organizations assisting elderly women in Halifax County. In 2000, a gift from the estate of Benjamin M. Sugg established a fund to provide annual grants to the Clover Cemetery. In 2011, the South Boston Medical Fund was established for indigent care and general Halifax County charitable causes. Currently a donor is working to raise the $10,000 minimum to endow the Gideon Miller Cancer Fund in memory of the former employee of Wells Fargo in Halifax County.
The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region is a fully tax-exempt organization. It has total assets of more than $23 million, with 102 different funds under its umbrella.
The Foundation began in 1996 as DPC Community Foundation with a core service area of Danville, Pittsylvania and Caswell Counties. In 2004, the Foundation changed its name to The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region to offer its services to Martinsville/Henry County and South Boston/Halifax County.
For more information on The Fund for Halifax County or establishing a charitable fund of any type, contact the Foundation office at 434-793-0884 or visit the web site www.cfdrr.org.