11 Organizations are Impacted
Willmar, Minn. – The Willmar Area Community Foundation (WACF) announced today the recipients of $104,300 in grants to support eleven organizations who serve the Kandiyohi area communities. The WACF grant round has four focus areas – youth, elderly, diversity and Vision 2040 implementation projects.
The two largest grants were awarded to Safe Avenues to help with replacement of their crisis phone system and for their Harmony Visitation Center and to Community Basics Inc. to support adding a 2 car garage to their facilities. Sara Carlson, Executive Director of the WACF, says “These grants are focused on equity, innovation and expansion of critical community resources that fit our priority areas. We are very pleased to be part of making these organizations stronger, more resilient and better positioned to serve our residents into the future”.
Complete List of Spring 2017 Grant Recipients:
- $25,000 to support the addition of a 2 car garage that will provide a large intake area as well as large workshop are for volunteers to prepare distribution of household furnishings to clients at Community Basics, Inc.
- $25,000 to support the replacement of the crisis phone system and for the Harmony Visitation Center at Safe Avenues.
- $15,000 to provide education support to Somali youth at a homework center in downtown Willmar through the Iftiin Somali Youth Organization.
- $10,000 to partner high school staff and local businesses to work with high school students experiencing a variety of barrier on learning soft skills, work experience, job skill development and school credit through the Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota.
- $7,500 for elevator replacement and improve ADA accessibility at the Barn Theatre
- $5,000 to support Call for Justice which connects low-income Minnesotans with available legal resources.
- $5,000 to support the Atwater Area Historical Society in their preservation of historical documents and artifacts.
- $5,000 to provide advocacy, education, wellness and social inclusion services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Kandiyohi County through Advocacy and Inclusion Matter.
- $4,800 for seniors mentoring at-risk youth while fishing through Let’s Go Fishing –Willmar Chapter.
- $2,000 for financial literacy lessons to elementary students in the Willmar, MN school district.
The Willmar Area Community Foundation (WACF), in affiliation with CommunityGiving, is a public charity that attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. Since 1998, WACF has grown to over $17 million in assets and awarded $5.2 million in grants to local nonprofits. CommunityGiving is a collaboration of community foundations united under a single framework to create efficiencies that maximize the impact of our donors. The core foundations working with CommunityGiving include the Alexandria Area Community Foundation, the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and the Willmar Area Community Foundation. Collectively, CommunityGiving administers more than 650 funds totaling more than $123 million. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org/Willmar.