Generosity is powerful. Whether in the form of a large donation, time spent volunteering, or an everyday act of kindness, generosity changes lives and improves communities – and it inspires others to do the same.
At the Clayton County Foundation for the Future, our mission is to ignite the generous spirit that is at the heart of our community and encourage our neighbors to spread and instill it in others across our county. We have a front row seat to our community at its best, because we see the ways that generosity is making our region a thriving, welcoming place for everyone.
This National Community Foundation Week – November 12 through 18 – is a time to recognize the power in community philanthropy and celebrate the ways big and small that our neighbors make a positive impact by giving back.
Many of us have experience with donations. Maybe we have supported an organization or a cause we care about; maybe we have been the beneficiaries of a charitable gift. For many of us, giving back is ingrained in us from a young age, and living generously becomes one of our individual values.
Community philanthropy takes this value and amplifies it. It reflects the idea that everyone has something to give, and, at the same time, no single person or organization alone can drive lasting community impact. Imagine hundreds of people across the county giving what they can to support a common goal, such as helping our children succeed in school, assisting families with basic needs, or supporting access to brain health resources.
We at the Foundation have the honor of being a resource and partner for anyone who wants to invest in the place they love. By convening, learning from and listening to people from all corners of the region, we develop a deep understanding of the issues communities face. Then, we work with charitable-minded people to open funds that support causes they care about or contribute to existing funds that can address these issues. Just this year, the funds supported by people in our region have paid out $310,000 to nonprofits and community projects.
There is perhaps no more potent example of community philanthropy in action than the Small-town Dreams Initiative.
Three years ago, a former resident of Eastern Iowa approached our host foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, and expressed an interest in supporting small, rural towns like the one where he grew up. Together they built a challenge grant program, which he seeded with a $1 million gift, that would empower neighbors to raise matching funds and build $450,000 endowment funds for their towns. These funds are invested and grow over time, granting out a percentage each year that can be invested back into the community.
Ten Eastern Iowa communities took part in the inaugural year, and thanks to a second $1 million gift, the program has expanded to another 10 communities. Most participating towns have fewer than 2,000 residents, yet they are meeting the lofty fundraising goals thanks to the generosity of the residents. The people leading the efforts locally find that there is virtually unanimous support for giving back to strengthen their town for the future. In Clayton County, many towns have risen to the challenge. A campaign has been completed with the Foundation of Cornerstone Communities, three are ongoing in Volga, McGregor and Elkader, and the Clayton County Foundation for the Future has accepted the challenge to build its own endowment for the benefit of the entire county.
Communities that have built their endowments have used initial payouts to tackle needs like downtown revitalization, public safety, children’s reading proficiency and outdoor recreation. There are still challenge grants available for other self-determined, high-performing communities.
If philanthropy means “love for humankind,” community philanthropy is about love for the people we call neighbors and the place we call home – and few communities are as deeply generous and passionate as ours. It brings us at the Community Foundation such joy to help people give back to this incredible place and make it even better than it is today.
Learn more at dbqfoundation.org/ccff, or reach out to me by phone or email at ccff@dbqfoundation.org or 563-880-6044.
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