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The Gail and Walter Gunn Scholarship has now been endowed with The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region.

The Gail and Walter Gunn Scholarship was created to provide scholarships to local African American students with a preference for those studying business or with an entrepreneurial interest. Applications will be accepted in January and February 2016 at www.cfdrr.org for the 2016-17 school year. Donations can still be made to the Gail and Walter Gunn Scholarship to help the fund grow and support more students.

Other people who wish to support a new or one of the existing 43 Community Foundation scholarships can make donations to The Community Foundation, with the specific scholarship designated, 541 Loyal Street, Danville, VA 24541.

The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region is an independent, public charity established in September 1996 by a steering committee of local civic leaders to gather permanent funds to support our area. The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region is a public charity with total assets exceeding $25 million.

While the Foundation works with donors to establish funds to benefit any geographic area, our primary service area is Danville/Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. Donations are also being sought to build up resources for South Boston/Halifax County, with consideration being given to other neighboring counties.

The Community Foundation is fully tax-exempt as an organization described in Sections 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code.

For more information on the Gail and Walter Gunn Scholarship or The Community Foundation, contact the Foundation office at 434-793-0884 or visit its web site www.cfdrr.org

The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region is now accepting grant applications from 501(c) 3 charitable organizations serving Halifax County. One or two grants are typically awarded of $1,000 or less per cycle. Applications must be submitted online. The deadline for all applications is September 30, 2015.

The Halifax County Advisory Committee will review the applications and recommend which organizations will be awarded later this year.

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. Major General Carroll Thackston presented the Foundation with the first gift for The Fund for Halifax County in 2010. Thackston served on the Community Foundation Board of Directors for six years. Other Halifax County representatives have also served on the Foundation’s Board. Logan Young just retired after six years on the Foundation’s Board and Finance Committee and William Kelehar just joined the Board effective July 1, 2015.

Several other funds with The Community Foundation also benefit Halifax County.

• The South Boston Medical Fund was created with The Community Foundation in 2011 to support indigent care in Halifax County and general Halifax County charitable causes.
• Benjamin M. Sugg established a fund in 2000 to provide annual grants to the Clover Cemetery.
• The Gideon Miller Cancer Fund was endowed in 2014 and will award its first grants in 2016 to organizations that assist cancer patients and their families in Danville, Pittsylvania County and Halifax County.
• The RiverBank Fund just awarded two of its first grants to Halifax County Department of Tourism and the Roanoke River Basin Association for projects in Virginia and North Carolina earmarked for the protection and revitalization of the Dan River.

The Community Foundation continues to encourage donations of all sizes and types to help build The Fund for Halifax County or any of these other funds. Checks should be made to The Community Foundation, with the fund specified, and mailed to 541 Loyal Street, Danville, VA 24541. Online gifts can be made at www.cfdrr.org. Gifts of stock, life insurance, and personal property can be accepted, as well as will bequests.

The Community Foundation has made over $1,000,000 in grants to Halifax County organizations 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.

The Community Foundation is a public charity established in September 1996 by a steering committee of civic leaders to meet a variety of social, educational, cultural and other charitable needs in the Danville, Pittsylvania County and Caswell County area, as well as Halifax County and Northern North Carolina.

The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region announced today eight grant awards totaling $237,500 from the RiverBank Fund. The Fund was established last year to gather donations throughout Virginia and North Carolina earmarked for the protection and revitalization of the Dan River.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following grants were approved by The Community Foundation’s RiverBank Fund Advisory Committee and Board of Directors:

Dan River Basin Association – ($92,000) To implement, the “Dan River Water Master Plan,” which combines local master plans, water quality improvement, river access development and regional promotion for the entire Dan River Basin watershed.

Roanoke River Basin Association – ($41,000) To improve citizen access to the Dan River in Halifax County through a new ramp at Leggett’s Bottom and to expand e-coli testing and benthic macroinvertibrate monitoring and analytical testing of water column and sediments in Halifax and Mecklenburg counties to the entrance of the Dan River into Kerr Lake in coordination with the Dan River Basin Association.

Pittsylvania County – Parks and Recreation – ($30,000) To provide a “pledge” to help create a river access point along the Dan River west of the City of Danville along the Route 58 bypass if other required funds are raised.

Halifax County – Department of Tourism – ($30,000) To promote the Southern Virginia Wild Blueway as a safe and protected environment and a tourist destination. Grant funds should be used towards a marketing campaign including a video, and other promotions of the Blueway to a larger market. Regional coordination with other organizations is requested to include information from the entire Dan River Basin where possible

City of Danville – Parks and Recreation – ($24,000) To assist in development of Sandy Creek Park, a 6.9 acre tract of land located on Riverside Dr. adjacent to the current Dan River Church center.

Piedmont Land Conservancy – ($15,000) To develop a Lower Mayo River Recreation and Access Plan for the portion of the river extending from the Business 220 crossing downstream to the confluence of the Mayo and Dan Rivers, and including Big Beaver Island Creek through the town of Madison up to Mayodan’s Farris Memorial Park.

Rockingham County Schools – ($5,000) To help construct and equip an outdoor classroom on Big Beaver Island Creek, an important tributary to the Dan River, so that a minimum 150 students each year can participate in water monitoring programs and other environmental education.

Stokes County Arts Council – ($500) To support river education and awareness at the 41st Stokes Stomp Festival on the Dan, including Dan River Company children and adult canoe/kayak demonstrations, NC River Angler fishing demonstrations, boat and swimming river safety clinics, rubber duck race, river conservation information, festival marketing, and stand-up paddle board demonstration.

Eligible programs had to address at least one of the five focus areas:

1. Responsibly address water quality for regional residents and companies.

2. Encourage new development that ecologically features the River.

3. Improve the cleanliness of the River and the Basin and help protect it from environmental threats.

4. Increase access to the River for family-friendly sports, recreation and entertainment.

5. Effectively promote the River to build regional pride and encourage tourism.

A regional advisory committee was formed to help guide the development of the fund and the strategic disbursement of grant funds.

Donations to the RiverBank Fund are still being sought from individuals, organizations and businesses that have interest in helping to improve the quality and caliber of life all along the Dan River. Duke Energy has been a major contributor to the fund, with a $250,000 donation in 2014. Donations may be made online at www.RiverBankFund.org.

The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region is a public charity established in September 1996 by a steering committee of civic leaders to improve and enrich area lives through the generosity of donors and has already returned more than $17 million in community grants and scholarships. The office can be reached at 541 Loyal Street, Danville, VA, 24541, (434) 793-0884 or at www.cfdrr.org or www.RiverBankFund.org

Northern Pittsylvania County has received more than $170,000 in grants and scholarships from The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region since it began in 1996. An additional $820,000 has been awarded to Chatham area and general Pittsylvania County organizations. The complete listing of grants was shared at a June 23 luncheon for Northern Pittsylvania County supporters, grant recipients and potential donors at Mama Rosa’s restaurant. Information was also shared about the online grant cycle for nonprofit organizations with an August 3, 2015 deadline.

Pittsylvania County donors have also established 10 endowment funds within The Community Foundation, including:

• W. Earl and Elise M.G. Allen Fund (1998)
• Margaret Spruce Floyd Scholarship (2003)
• Ray M. Harris Scholarship (2004)
• John L. Hurt Scholarship (2003)
• Larry Donald Huskey Fund (2009)
• Herman and Helen Melton Historical Fund (2003)
• Audrey Millner Fund (2000)
• Pittsylvania County Animal Shelter Fund (2008)
• Richard Ramsey Scholarship (2010)
• Florence P. Wagner and Jennie Lee Wagner Scholarship (2008)

Fourteen Pittsylvania County citizens have served on The Community Foundation Board, including currently serving members Angeles Atkinson, Brenda Blair, Rev. Ed Pope, Paul Thompson and Lewis Wall. Four Pittsylvania County Board members have served as past presidents – Ben Davenport, H.F. Haymore, John “Eddie” Herndon, Jr., and H. Victor Millner, Jr. Additional Pittsylvania County residents who have served on the foundation Board include E. B. Fitzgerald, III, Donald Merricks, Audrey Millner, Robert W. Scearce, Jr. and Vaden Wright.

“All of Pittsylvania County has been a part of our core service area since The Community Foundation began,” said Debra L. Dodson, Executive Director. Donors, organizations or businesses may start their own endowment funds for as little as $10,000 and scholarships for $25,000. Once a fund is established anyone can make designated gifts to that fund.

The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region is an independent, public charity established in September 1996 by a steering committee of local civic leaders to gather permanent funds to support our area. The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region is a public charity with total assets exceeding $29 million.

While the Foundation works with donors with local ties to establish funds to benefit any geographic area, their primary service area is Danville/Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. Donations are also being sought to build up resources for South Boston/Halifax County, with consideration being given to other neighboring counties.

Community agencies can now submit grant applications online. The deadline is August 3, 2015. The next scholarship application cycle will begin January 1, 2016 and will be available online. For more information, contact the Foundation office at 434-793-0884.