Community Foundation of Chattahoochee Valley Helps People Make a Difference
Tuesday, December 16th, 2014
Community Foundation of Chattahoochee Valley provides a platform for individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits to give back to their community. Want to support education-related projects? The foundation will do the research and identify who is doing the best work in your area of interest. Want to get the tax benefits of giving right away but take your time deciding how to invest your funds? Donors receive a tax deduction when they make a gift to the foundation but have the flexibility to direct their giving over time. Want to maintain your privacy? The foundation enables giving without any online scrutiny.
"We provide a venue for people who want to make a difference," said Community Foundation of Chattahoochee Valley President and CEO Betsy Covington.
"We have more than 200 different funds and $108 million in assets. End of year is an incredibly busy time as people move to capture tax savings for 2014. We started five new funds in the last week."
Since Community Foundation of Chattahoochee Valley officially launched in 1998, it has received $162 million in donations and made grants totaling $81 million, according to Covington. Current assets are $108 million due to investment returns, which have also funded the foundation's office and staff.
"Our business model pays significant dividends for the community and our donors," Covington said.
"Giving through the Community Foundation is easy and flexible. We understand the needs of our community and the legalities of donating."
Investing in Education
Over the last several years, an emphasis on education-related giving has emerged at Community Foundation of Chattahoochee Valley, according to Covington. That's very much in line with other Community Foundation programs around the country.
"About 39 percent of our grants have been directed to education-related projects and programs. Our donors understand the importance of developing a qualified workforce to enable our community to move forward in a technology-driven world," Covington said.
Education-related giving through Community Foundation of Chattahoochee Valley includes gifts made by alumni to specific colleges as well as local giving to support primary education. Social services and the arts are other areas that consistently attract donor giving through the foundation.
"We also see a lot of interest in investing in ways to promote smart growth in our community such as strengthening the urban core and supporting walkability," Covington said.
"And in the last 12 months the issue of homelessness has received more attention. People are interested in projects that look for ways to solve the problem rather than treat the symptoms."
Many Ways to Give
In addition to establishing their own fund to make gifts directly, donors have the option of making a gift to a community endowment fund. The Community Foundation board of directors oversees payouts from this fund.
"Our endowment fund has about $100,000 available for grants this year," Covington said. "These unrestricted funds give us the flexibility to respond to community needs as they arise."
The foundation also has field-of-interest funds that support specific areas of interest or specific geographies, and scholarship funds. Multiple giving options are part of what makes giving through Community Foundation easy and appealing to donors.
"Our foundation is 16 years old and every day is still something new. I've come to realize that people are at their happiest when they are being generous," Covington said.
"It's exciting to help people make a difference and it's exciting to help build a prosperous Chattahoochee Valley."
More information on Community Foundation of Chattahoochee Valley is available at www.cfcv.com.
