CFMDIN Celebrates Giving During Community Foundation Week

More Than $3.6 Billion in Grants Paid Out by U.S. Community Foundations in 2006

MUNCIE, IN - The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. will join more than 770 community foundations across the United States in celebrating charitable giving during Community Foundation Week, November 12–18. Community foundations gave approximately $3.6 billion last year to help fund programs impacting health care, the arts, the environment, education, disaster relief and a host of other issues.

 “Community foundations are at the heart of our cities and towns. We know the places of need in our area, and we can direct resources to solve those problems,” said Roni Johnson, President of The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc.

Community foundations are one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy in the United States, with total assets of more than $51 billion. Every state in the U.S. is home to at least one community foundation. Although community foundations make up only 1 percent of all U.S. grantmaking foundations, they account for more than 9 percent of all foundation giving. While the community and clients each foundation serves vary greatly, every community foundation shares in the commitment of improving the lives of others.

“Community foundations are catalysts for positive change within both urban and rural areas,” said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations. “Donors of all income levels and from all geographic regions are finding community foundations to be an ideal way for them to easily give back to their community in a meaningful way.”

Across the nation, community foundations help create stronger hometowns where families want to establish roots, with recreational parks, social service programs and scholarship opportunities for promising local students.

Community Foundation Week began in 1989 with a proclamation from former president George H.W. Bush and a congressional briefing on community foundation activities. The observance has made donors seeking to maximize their philanthropic dollars aware of community foundations’ charitable activities and services. For more information on The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. please call 747-7181 or visit www.cfmdin.org.

Source: The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc.