Community Foundation Seeks Public Input on Needs Assessment Project through April 25

Frederick, MD – April 13, 2011: The Community Foundation of Frederick County is spearheading a major community needs assessment study to determine the most pressing areas of human service needs in Frederick County. The public’s participation in the study is needed via a short online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FredCoPublicSurvey. The survey will close on Monday, April 25, 2011, at 5 p.m.

The online survey provides an opportunity for the public to prioritize specific areas related to health, youth issues, and basic human needs they believe to be the most critical now and by 2021. The Community Foundation will use this data, along with data from focus groups, interviews, and nonprofit organizations, to develop new guidelines for its strategic grantsmaking and to create benchmarks for future evaluation of impact.

“The public’s input via this short online survey is extremely important to the overall success of this project,” said Betsy Day, Community Foundation President. “This data will expand and deepen our understanding of information collected in earlier phases of the project, and will help answer the many questions about pressing needs in our community.”

The needs assessment study is being conducted by the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance of University of Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University. The full report is expected to be available to the public in May, 2011.

The Ausherman Family Foundation, the Delaplaine Foundation, PNC Bank, and United Way have joined forces with the Community Foundation to fund the study. These partners have a shared interest in providing meaningful grantmaking in Frederick County and want to ensure maximum impact.

As a leader in grant and scholarship funding, The Community Foundation of Frederick County has given back more than $26 million to the community since 1986.  To learn more about the Community Foundation, please call 301.695.7660.