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$650,000 in Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region grants help bridge tough economic times
11/29/2009

NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE

November 29, 2009

For more information, contact:    Tammy Williams
VP Marketing & Development
(920) 830-1290 – twilliams@cffoxvalley.org   

$650,000 in Community Foundation grants help bridge tough economic times

APPLETON, Wis. – Thirty-one charitable organizations in the greater Fox Valley hurt by the poor economy will get help from $650,000 in grants announced today by the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.

The money is being awarded through Bridge Grants, a temporary program the Foundation created this year in response to indications that the poorly performing economy was hurting contributions and increasing service demands for many area nonprofits.

“Our focus with this program is to give historically stable organizations a little help with their operating expenses to get through this particularly difficult economic period,”  Curt Detjen, Community Foundation president and CEO, said. “By no means is this an all-inclusive list of worthy nonprofits facing economic challenges, so we encourage people to check with their favorite charities and maybe help out a little more this year if they can.”

The Bridge Grant applicants described significant fallout from the poor economy and demonstrated that they had already taken measures to meet the challenge. Some nonprofits suffered from government budget cutbacks. Others lost support when individual donors and corporate sponsors were hit by the downturn. The nonprofits responded with job cuts, program reductions, employee wage freezes and other cost-cutting measures.

The grants – ranging from $3,000 to $43,000 – were awarded after review by a committee of community volunteers and Foundation staff. Recipients include 18 organizations working in health and human services, six in arts and culture, five with youth, one in animal-welfare and one community development group.

Charitable organizations could request a Bridge Grant of up to $25,000, but were asked to document their entire need. The committee saw compelling enough need to recommended grants of more than $25,000 to six applicants. The list of the grants awarded, the recipients’ remaining need and contact information for anyone interested in providing additional support are available at www.cffoxvalley.org/bridgegrants.

The largest grants, $43,000 each, went to affordable housing provider The Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities and Valley Packaging Industries Inc., a vocational training and employment center for the disabled and disadvantaged that suffered both from county funding cuts and the loss of a major customer for its repackaging services. The grant to Valley Packaging covered only 10 percent of the overall need the organization reported in its Bridge Grant application in October.

The Housing Partnership charges rent based on a percentage of the tenants’ income, normally requiring about a 25 percent subsidy from other sources. As the tenants’ incomes have gone down, Housing Partnership’s subsidy has grown to 43 percent, putting its budget into deficit. The grant covered about one-fourth of its reported financial need.

Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley received $34,000, or 85 percent of the need it reported in its October application. It saw such a dramatic increase in clients unable to pay fees and a reduction in insurance reimbursements, that it stopped accepting new low-income clients, a policy it can now reconsider because of the Bridge Grant support.

Housing repair assistance agency Rebuilding Together Fox Valley lost funding for several projects already in the works when a major project sponsor had to scale back its contributions because of the poor business climate. Rebuilding Together received a $25,000 grant, 64 percent of the need it reported on its October grant application.

The mission of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region is to strengthen our community for current and future generations by helping people make a difference in the lives of others. Since its founding in 1986, donors to the Community Foundation have enabled it to award more than $125 million in grants to nonprofit organizations from hundreds of charitable funds under its administration. The Foundation is among the largest certified community foundations in Wisconsin. Affiliated community foundations are located in Chilton, Clintonville, Shawano and Waupaca. Go to www.cffoxvalley.org to learn more.