Community Pulse: Welcome to November, the month to celebrate thankfulness!

As part of thankfulness, November is National Philanthropy Month – a time to encourage all of us to give our time, talent, and treasure to the charities and causes that we care about. Between now and Dec. 31, please consider a charitable gift to your favorite charities. We also encourage you to give of your time, whether you ring bells for We Care or go shopping for a family or senior that you’re sponsoring for the holidays. We nonprofits will also take your talent – we invite you to join a board of directors or chair a special event committee. There are so many quality nonprofits serving Grundy County that I’m sure you’ll find one or two addressing the causes that you care about.

The week of Nov. 12-18 is also National Community Foundation Week, created in 1989 by former President George H. W. Bush to “recognize the important work of community foundations throughout America and their collaborative and innovative approach to working with the public, private and nonprofit sector.”

We at the Community Foundation of Grundy County are very proud of our ability to collaborate and design innovative approaches to grant-making, donor funds and improving the overall quality of life in Grundy County.

As you may know, we offer four different types of donor-designed funds where you the donor can design a fund to meet your charitable goals. Donor-advised funds are the most flexible where you make an initial deposit, take the immediate tax benefit, and then grant to any 501(c)(3) in the U.S. at a time that best fits you. A designated fund is for a specific charity serving Grundy County. We can send those grant checks quarterly, twice a year, or annually so that the charity has a steady source of income.

A field of interest fund is created by a group of donors who collectively want to support a cause, whether it is education, the arts, historic preservation or mental health. You as a group decide the local charities grant to. A scholarship fund is also incredibly flexible, considering the wide array of students these days, whether high school seniors heading out for their first taste of adulthood, students trying to finish college, older residents going back to school for a career change to meet the needs of Grundy County’s workforce shortage.

Another way that the Foundation collaborates is through our various stakeholder networks. We convene or participate in the Behavioral Health Alliance, the Senior Network, the Grundy Partnership for Children, the Grundy Area Planners and the Grundy County Interagency Council. By networking with those doing the work, we can strategize how best to use our grant funds.

We are also happy to just be behind the scenes for two very important networks: one is the Young Philanthropists at our area high schools. These students meet throughout the year and each spring we give each team $5,000 to grant to the nonprofits doing the work that the students care about.

The second is 100+ Women Who Care of Grundy County, who are back to meeting in person in 2022. By pooling their $100 each, they can write one large check each quarter – usually larger than we can as individuals. It’s fun to know that in one hour each quarter we can send on average $4,000 to one charity serving Grundy County!

Please join the charities of Grundy County as we celebrate National Philanthropy Month! As you can see, there are all sorts of ways for you to serve and give. The choice is yours and we appreciate all that you do for Grundy County!

On a personal note, thank you to our nation’s veterans – I am thankful for their service and sacrifice for our great nation!

Remember: Give you. Give Grundy.