Good Works PEOPLE
PL ACE
PROSPERIT Y
SPRING 2014
I have been leading CFWNC for more than four years now, and it can still be a struggle when asked to describe what we do. Every book, blog or article on strategic planning will confirm the need to be able to explain what you do in a 30-second elevator speech. I am an English major and words fail me. So, imagine my relief when a recent blog post by a peer helped me find clarity amongst the complexity of the community foundation world. I happily share my learnings here with you. For years our field has sought to devise ways to measure the good we facilitate in the regions we serve. Yet it is next to impossible to quantify 2,663 grants (the actual number we distributed last year). But it is important to understand how we benefit the area we serve and to meaningfully measure what we do… when we can. Community foundations constantly adapt to the economies in which we operate and changes in the regions we serve. Some community foundations have large discretionary endowments to support strategic initiatives. Others, like CFWNC, have grown through the creation of donor advised funds and therefore have limited discretionary dollars to invest. We are a collection of many funds; the great majority, 85 percent, is either donor advised, nonprofit endowment or designated to benefit a specific nonprofit. This 85 percent does great work in our region. Last year, donor advised grantmaking and nonprofit distributions totaled more than $8.3 million of the $11.4 million we distributed. These grants and distributions support thousands of nonprofits, programs and schools each year. Think about the benefit to a nonprofit of a recurring grant made from the same donor advised fund year after year or the nonprofit that can budget with dependable spendable income from assets managed by CFWNC. While these grants may not generate headlines, they do represent “an infusion of community capital—sustained funding that creates a vital, vibrant nonprofit sector.”
We have invested a great deal of time thinking about what kind of impact we want to have and trying to figure out the best way to track it. While you can quantify some activities, others are difficult, if not impossible, to measure. CFWNC does not have a single programmatic focus or a singular source of funding. Instead, we serve thousands of causes through our work with donors, our grant programs and our services for nonprofits. The truth is that all the ways we serve our region add up to major impact that is not ours alone. Nonprofits, fundholders, generous families and Elizabeth Brazas, President philanthropists work with and through The Community Foundation to serve Western North Carolina. Service is core business; collaboration and partnership are our core values.
Photo by Michael Oppenheim.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
So what do we do? We help donors and nonprofits achieve their philanthropic goals now and forever. That’s the “what”; ask me “how” and words won't fail me. My answer will be longer than 30 seconds, because it will be a story, one of many like those that follow on these pages. These are stories of people and their passions, organizations and their missions, our region and its needs. Our role is different in each one. Sharing “how” will take longer than an elevator ride because it should; and really, if we can, shouldn't we be taking our time… and the stairs?
C F W N C and B l u e R idge R egional H ospital F o u ndation f u nd P u rchase of Ultraso u nd E q u ipment for Yancey C linic
Photo courtesy of Blue Ridge Regional Hospital Foundation.
The Community Foundation and the Blue Ridge Regional Hospital Foundation partnered to purchase urgently-needed ultrasound equipment for the Blue Ridge Medical Center Yancey Campus. The equipment will support better care for Mitchell, Yancey and some Madison County patients. An estimated 2,000 OB/GYN patients will benefit from the ultrasound equipment each year, and primary care doctors at the clinic will also use the ultrasound for expanded diagnostics. The Community Foundation contributed $18,500 in matching funds - $10,000 through the Janirve Sudden or Urgent Need (SUN) grant program and $8,500 with other CFWNC discretionary funds. The Foundation’s SUN Grants assist human service organizations experiencing an unforeseen, unbudgeted crisis impacting their ability to provide critical services. “Recruitment of physicians for our hospital clinics has been challenging for the past two years with fewer doctors seeking to practice in rural areas,” said Nancy H. Lindeman, Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Regional Hospital Foundation. “We did not anticipate having a fulltime OB/GYN at the Yancey Campus. When we retained an OB/GYN physician to work out of our Blue Ridge Medical Center in Yancey County in August 2013, after the budget for FY2014 was in place, there were no funds earmarked for this type of equipment. Faced with budget constraints, we needed help to purchase the equipment. We are truly thankful for this generous measure of support for the patients in our rural communities.” “The fact that the clinic now has a physician focusing on women’s healthcare needs in Yancey County, where no OB/GYN services were
Dr. Bryan Murphy puts the new ultrasound equipment to use at the Blue Ridge Medical Center Yancey Campus.
available, and that this physician has access to the necessary equipment is a vast improvement in the level of service for patients,” said CFWNC President Elizabeth Brazas. “Prior to the purchase, patients were required to make a 30-mile round trip to Spruce Pine for ultrasound diagnostics, and the time and money involved represented a significant barrier for many women. We were pleased that the hospital was able to meet our match to fully fund the purchase.” Applications to the SUN grant program are accepted on a rolling basis. To date, more than $113,533 has been distributed in 17 counties.