| Leaders of the West Virginia Grantmakers Association (WVGA) are
pleased to announce that the WVGA received two major grants recently.
The grants are expected to help several West Virginia areas receive more grant money.
WVGA
President, Amy Owen, and Board Chair, Judy Sjostedt, said that the Ford
Foundation awarded $200,000 to the WV Community Foundations Consortium, a
program of West Virginia Grantmakers Association. The funds will be
dedicated to strategic planning and development of the overall organization.
This grant supports the WVGA's work of building community-based philanthropy
throughout West Virginia and its goal to build a network of all grantmakers
in the state. In addition, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation presented
$75,000 for to encourage local leadership development and creation of
community-based philanthropy in targeted regions of the state.
In our region, Diane Ludwig, LKADC Executive Director and a lead
organizer of the new community foundation for Wirt and Calhoun Counties,
said that they are very excited about these resources coming into the state
to help everyone.
"We're just a month old, but it's nice to see that the
national funders are willing to help out. We encourage folks to contact
any of us to learn how to 'give where they live' - right here in Wirt and
Calhoun Counties."
In 2001, the WVGA began working strategically to build the capacity
of West Virginia's community foundations. The organization seeks to
encourage participation in all types of organized philanthropy and giving in
West Virginia - private and corporate foundations - as well as community
foundations.
It is governed by an elected board and supported by grants for
special projects. Coupled with previous support from the Benedum
Foundation, these new resources from Ford and Babcock are expected to
improve the sustainability of WVGA's work toward its longer term goal of
building local endowment programs and to strengthening charitable giving
within all 55 counties.
WVGA also credited Verizon Foundation for
sponsoring its Web site, www.givetowestvirginia.org, and the Appalachian
Regional Commission for providing key training support.
WVGA Chairman Sjostedt also serves as co-chair of the Nonprofit
Capacity Focus Team of "Vision Shared." She said that West Virginia is
ranked nationally as among the U.S. "Philanthropic Divide" states, referring
to those ten with a significant gap between needs and permanent endowment
and private foundation resources available to meet such needs, affecting the
capacity of the state's nonprofits to accomplish their missions.
Sjostedt said that it is critical to build a network of capable
intermediary organizations in order to attract larger grants. She said,
"national and regional funders, like Ford, Babcock, and Benedum, recognize
the value of strong intermediary organizations such as WVGA in carrying out
statewide work that affects the local level. Many funders seek an economy
of scale in making grant investments to obtain the greatest possible
impact."
The Consortium states it has worked deliberately toward this end,
"looking to what we can for all of West Virginia," said WVGA President Owen.
She added, "This is a very dynamic time for our organization. Things are
now moving into position where we will be able to create an infrastructure
vital to the support of West Virginia's charitable growth and the needs of
nonprofits, education, municipalities, and faith-based organizations."
The
initial emphasis of the statewide organization's approach has been to aid
and support West Virginia's 23 community foundations and county endowment
funds.
For more information, contact Amy Owen via the WVGA website,
www.givetowestvirginia.org or contact Judy Sjostedt at the Parkersburg Area
Community Foundation, at 428-4438 or e-mail info@pacfwv.com.
Locally, contact
Diane Ludwig at the Little Kanawha Area Development Corporation, 275-4231 or
354-7797.
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