Betsy Day, President: Our Juggling Act

Thursday, 09 December 2010 15:16

Juggling a lot of different tasks and keeping them all on track is a skill that our Community Foundation team exercises every day. Currently, we are finishing up the fall grantsmaking cycle that utilized our first online grant application.  Feedback from the nonprofit applicants has been very positive, with a few expressing surprise at the new process’s ease and convenience.  Our team is now building the new online scholarship application that will launch on December 15^th. Please keep your fingers crossed that this new technology allows the scholarship season to go as smoothly as the grants process.  

Additionally, we are working on our Widening Circles Society campaign, which supports our efforts to maximize our outreach into the community.  This campaign provides the underpinnings of much of what we do to widen our circle of impact in Frederick County – thusly, the name of the Widening Circles Society campaign (a little corny but we like it!). 

Also, we are in the midst of conducting a community-wide needs assessment.  Current and prospective donors frequently ask us what the most pressing needs are in Frederick County and where they can make the most impact with their philanthropic dollars. Quite frankly, we don’t have a solid answer for them, especially in these rapidly changing times.  The needs assessment will identify the areas that could benefit the most from our grantsmaking and our donors’ generosity.  We are anxious to share the needs assessment’s findings with you at the end of May.  Stay tuned…

And lastly, very importantly, year-end giving is upon us.  While the national news outlets report that charitable giving is down, our experience is that people still have charitable intentions that they want to fulfill through the Community Foundation.  Donors are starting funds to memorialize their loved ones, adding to already existing funds to support their favorite causes, and including the Community Foundation in their estate plans. Interest rates and the economy may play into their decisions, but their desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves is the driving force for their charitable decisions. 

Add this to the usual activities, and we are juggling like crazy!

However, this ability to juggle makes us nimble, focused and constantly aware that what we do is For Good.  Forever. For Frederick County.    

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