Contact: Nancy Johnson, Foundation Coordinator Phone: 877-253-4380
Community Foundation Week is November 12-18, 2011
Willmar Area Community Foundation Continues Growth
Kandiyohi County, Minn. – During the week of November 12-18, 2011, Willmar Area Community Foundation (WACF) will join more than 700 community foundations across America for Community Foundation Week.
Community foundations are independent, public entities that help improve the lives of people in a specific geographic area. They bring together the financial resources of individuals, families, and businesses to foster local collaboration and innovation that address a community’s social and civic challenges. The foundations vary widely in size, from less than $100,000 to more than $1.7 billion.
“Community foundations impact lives, solve problems, and improve futures,” said Dean Anderson, WACF Foundation Director. “In a down economy, with limited resources and a growing need for services to help families in need, we are more determined than ever to bring our community partners together to explore and fund solutions and initiatives that tackle our most challenging problems.”
Thanks to individuals, families and businesses, WACF has grown to nearly $7 million in assets and awarded $2.2 million in grants to Kandiyohi County nonprofits since its inception in 1998. Anderson added that ”in spite of great successes, it is vital the Foundation continues to receive gifts. There are many ways to contribute including planned gifts, donor advised funds, or field of interest funds to name just a few. We hope anyone interested will contact us.”
Community foundations represent one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy. Every state in the United States is home to at least one community foundation—large and small, urban and rural—that is advancing solutions to a wide range of social issues. Despite the recession, giving by the nation’s 100 largest community foundations actually increased slightly in 2010 to $3.7 billion and exceeded prerecession levels seen in 2006 and 2007.
WACF is affiliated with the Central Minnesota Community Foundation, which administers more than 500 funds totaling more than $65 million. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org/Willmar.
