Dream Big. Start Small. Create an Acorn Fund with CFDRR.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” We know it can seem daunting to start an endowed scholarship or fund at The Foundation. But we want you to know whether you have a seed or a bigger nut, your donation can make a difference for years to come.
One of the funds available at CFDRR is an Acorn Fund. An Acorn Fund allows donors, whether they are individuals, families or organizations, the opportunity to build an endowment over time. This means you can give a small gift (germinate the acorn), and you have three years to add to this fund to help it grow into a mature tree. During those three years, in order to help your Acorn Fund grow, CFDRR waives fees until the fund is fully endowed. After that, grants are awarded from the investment income the fund collects, which leaves your fund’s principal intact to ensure its longevity.
If for some reason the fund does not reach maturity after three years, donations to the fund remain tax-deductible and still benefit our service area. The fund’s balance will be held by The Foundation as a part of our unrestricted endowment funds and will allow our Board of Directors to award grants to the most pressing needs and opportunities in the Dan River Region.
The Foundation now has 196 funds, some of which started as Acorn Funds. Our generous donors have created a veritable forest that spreads its branches over our region.
Acorn Fund Fast Facts
- $10,000 starts an endowed fund
- $25,000 starts an endowed scholarship
- Until full funding is reached, an Acorn Fund is a restricted non-endowed fund.
- Gifts to an Acorn Fund can come from anyone (friends, family, businesses, organizations, etc.) over the three-year period.
- Any money given to start an Acorn Fund is irrevocable.
- An Acorn Fund can be used to start any of our endowed fund types: Unrestricted, Scholarship, Field of Interest, Designated or Agency Fund and Donor Advised.
Every spring, the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region opens up four grants cycles that run from January 1-March 1. In addition to these four grants, The Foundation awards funding from Donor Advised, Designated and Field of Interest funds. This year, The Foundation awarded $205,869 in grants during the first quarter.
Keokee Grant Recipients ($2,239)
Recipients of this year’s round of Keokee Fund Grants were:
- Danville Public Schools Activ8 STEM Academy, which will use the grant to purchase materials that work with its set of round robots called Sphero to fund onsite educational enrichment programs via the StarLab; and
- The Danville Science Center, which will use the grant to support its portable planetarium.
Arts & Cultural Fund Grant Recipients ($6,163)
This year’s recipients of our annual Arts & Cultural Fund were:
- Smokestack Theatre Company, which will use its grant to support production costs of the annual Ghosts and Gravestones Historical Tours in the River District; and
- The Haus of Fashion, which will use its grant so support Danville Fashion Week.
Autism Education Fund Grant Recipients ($5,824)
- The Danville Science Center received a grant to provide sensory friendly programming; and
- The Smokestack Theatre Company, which will use the grant to provide sensory friendly movie showings.
Marshall Family Fund Grant Recipients ($95,983)
- Averett University received a grant to provide scholarships to local students with financial need.
- The Boy Scouts of America/Dan River District-Blue Ridge Mountains Council received a grant to promote and support scouting in the Dan River Region.
- Grace Design Community Church received a grant to repave their parking lot.
- The Free Clinic of Danville Fund received a grant to make annual grants from the fund to nonprofit organizations to provide medical services, including, but not limited to, behavioral health, hearing, speech, dental, screening and medical education targeting uninsured and underinsured adults (ages 19-64) residing in Danville and Pittsylvania County.
Donor Advised Funds ($4,528)
- Torrey and Shelley Blackwell Fund
- Alexander Heath Light & Mary Nelson Light Mission Fund
- Herman and Helen Melton Historical Fund
- Miller-Woodbury Fund
Designated Funds ($65,301)
- Robert R. Blackwell and Lick Fort Primitive Baptist Church of Rockingham, NC
- Tony and Steve Smith Blanch Baptist Church Cemetery Fund
- Davis Family Fund
- Debra Dodson Fund
- Captain James A. Reith Veterans Endowed Fund
- Gantsoudes Family Fund
- Main Street United Methodist Church Fund
- Mt. Hermon Baptist Church Youth Mission Fund
- Virginia Elizabeth “Besty” Robertson Fund
- B.C. & Annie Lee Owen Fund
- Cruising to a Better Future Fund
- Eileen and Joseph Stendig Family Fund
- Benjamin Sugg Fund
- Urban Bible Fund
- G. Brooks Powell, Jr., Police Community Engagement Fund
- Caswell County Veterans Memorial Fund
- Yanceyville United Methodist Church Cemetery Fund
Field of Interest Funds ($25,831)
- Captain William E. Price Veterans Endowed Fund
- Community Impact Fund
- Dominion Eye Center Fund
- Wayles R. Harrison Memorial Fund
- Claudia Vernon Smith Fund
- Veterinary Emergency Treatment Fund
- Bob and Barbara Newnam Fund
Our annual Competitive Grant Cycle will open June 1 and close at the end of July. This grant opportunity is for projects to be funded and completed during the 2026 calendar year. Nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)3 tax-exempt status in good standing, as well as approved government entities, may apply.
For more information on how to prepare for the application process, visit the Grants page on our website.