Share Your Treasure

ALISON BARBERI

President/CEO Greenville Area Community Foundation

Time. Talent. Treasure. We’ve heard those three words over the years, but they ring especially true this year. GivingTuesday provides an opportunity to dig deeper into what those words mean and where you can make the most impact. “You” includes everyone. How many stories have we heard about children who open their hearts to go above and beyond and give back? How many stories have we heard where someone who suffered found it within to think of others? Even a little gesture can mean a lot to someone who needs someone to care. At the Greenville Area Community Foundation (GACF) we work with people who care about sharing their treasure. We spend time with them to sort out their passions and determine which type of endowment fulfills that goal. A family might want to honor a loved one with a scholarship in his or her name. She might want to help the critters in our world that are abandoned. He might have a connection with a local special needs camp and want to help create sustainability for that important community asset. A son might want to memorialize his parents with a scholarship that helps a graduate with higher education. A couple seeks out a way to keep the wellness center operational because it was the center of their later lives. There are no age restrictions. There are no limits on how much can be endowed. There is only satisfaction that comes back to you from giving back to the community. We have donors that you might not expect to have much treasure to share. But every little bit helps and GACF works hard at making the opportunity achievable for all. With one call, a tool can be developed that allows you to support the very community you felt was there for you. Endowment funds are much like savings accounts, but the investment provides earnings to share. Those earnings,

For good. For ever.SM

in turn, support the very entities that make our communities viable. The Greenville Area, Lakeview Area and Montcalm Panhandle community foundations are here for us all. We work for you to help raise up all aspects of a vibrant and healthy community - health, education, food, shelter, human services, arts, recreation, economic development and community improvement. “Enhancing our community” has all sorts of connotations from parks and playground improvements to basic human needs such as food and shelter. Our support of area nonprofits reaches all areas of our community and the people who are seeking to lift themselves up but need a boost. We continue to be in awe of the generosity of this area. There is always more we can do to meet the everchanging needs. Seek opportunities to offer what you feel you have an abundance of: Your time. Your talents. And/or your treasures.

Special Olympics Michigan/ Area Six was awarded $14,400 to help pay for adult registration fees for Summer, Fall and Winter State events for Area Six special Olympic athletes from the Stafford Family Community Enhancement Fund and Ray & Mary Tower Family Funds.