11/15/10 In grateful recognition of Marshall County’s charitable organizations and the concerned individuals who donate their time, talent and material resources to them, the Marshall County Board of Commissioners has designated the week of November 12 through November 18, 2010, as “Marshall County Community Foundation Week” and has issued a proclamation in observance of the week.
Marshall County Community Foundation will join more than 700 community foundations across America for Community Foundation Week activities. For more than 20 years, the effort has raised awareness about the increasingly important role of community foundations in fostering local collaboration and innovation to address civic and economic challenges.
In recognition of the week, Marshall County Community Foundation will help convene a community conversation on economic development. “With a growing need for services to help families, we are more determined than ever to bring our community partners together to find innovative and effective solutions to challenges we face” said Jennifer S. Maddox, President and CEO. “Marshall County Community Foundation is stepping up and getting more creative in how we provide support that people need.”
Community foundations represent one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy in the United States according to Foundation Center. Every state in the U.S. is home to at least one community foundation—large and small, urban, and rural—that is advancing solutions to a wide range of social issues. Although community foundations make up only one percent of all U.S. grant making foundations, they account for more than 10 percent of all foundation giving. “America’s community foundations are on the frontlines of a tremendous shift in philanthropy and how we do business differently in a high-tech, rapidly changing world,” said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations. “These organizations are leading the charge by bringing communities together, galvanizing resources, and maximizing their impact to advance the public good.”
Launched in 1989 through a proclamation by former President George H.W. Bush, the first Community Foundation Week included a congressional briefing about the work of community foundations throughout America and their collaborative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address community issues.
