The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region featured stories of impact by donors and grant recipients at its Appreciation Luncheon held Thursday, November 12, 2015 at the Danville Golf Club.
Nearly 200 supporters heard from speakers representing three areas of The Community Foundation’s work – Give, Receive and Impact. Lauren Mathena shared how the Dan River Autism Awareness 5k helped to build the Autism Education Fund. Karen Harris described God’s Storehouse mission to distribute food to those in need. Peter Howard, Community Foundation Board Chair, described how the RiverBank Fund initiative is starting to make an impact.
Debra Dodson, Executive Director, stated, “This is such a great opportunity for us to thank our many supporters. We thank them for proving that together we can truly make a difference. Through their support, this past year we have helped to save lives, given hope to college students, filled our community with music, and relieved much suffering.”
Some highlights of The Community Foundation’s impact this past year include: –
a) Receiving gifts of $4,316,297 from hundreds of donors
b) Awarding 82 scholarships of more than $146,000
c) Awarding grants of $1,916,781 to 157 organizations
d) Continuing to build the RiverBank Fund
e) Continued to build the Fund for Halifax County
f) Convened a quarterly Funders Forum
g) Serving as the fiscal agent for National Fund for Workforce Solutions-Dan River Region Collaborative
h) Selling our 6,300th engraved brick for the local Veterans Memorial
Donors established 10 new funds under the Foundation’s umbrella, giving the Foundation total assets of $29,366,999 as of June 30, 2015. The Community Foundation has returned more than $17 million in grants and scholarships to the region since 1996.
New endowment funds began since July 1, 2014 include:
• Buck-Wayland Fund
• Steven Bruce Daniels, Jr. Scholarship
• Gail and Walter Gunn Scholarship
• Douglas Mildred “Mickey” Hayes Scholarship
• Eliza Patterson Hines Memorial Scholarship
• D. Webster Jr. and Elizabeth S. Marshall Fund
• Mary Neil Literacy Fund
• Rippe Fund for Temple Beth Sholom
• Rotary Club of Chatham Endowment Fund
• The Wednesday Club Endowment Fund
The Community Foundation’s mission is to improve and enrich the lives of people in our community by encouraging the generosity of donors. Donors may establish their own endowment fund to support particular areas of interest or may make unrestricted gifts to any existing fund.
For more information, contact the Community Foundation at 541 Loyal Street, Danville, VA 24541, (434) 793-0884 or visit their web site www.cfdrr.org.