Community Foundation of Abilene : About Us : What We Do
The Community Foundation helps people create grantmaking funds that reflect their own personal charitable interests and goals to meet the needs of your community. Last year (2008), we awarded over $5 million in grants to charities and received more than $12 million in gifts from donors who established endowments. We do this with a small staff and a dedicated Board of Trustees. In essence, we work as each donor's private foundation, but we combine funds for investments and audit. Our charitable missions are diverse, but our combined goal is clear: we want to make living in our Abilene area better for everyone. The Community Foundation of Abilene was begun in 1985 with $750,000 as a gift from the Dodge Jones Foundation because they believed in the power of endowed philanthropy and wanted others to be able to establish endowments to benefit Abilene. Today, the Community Foundation has assets of $70 million held in more than 300 funds that benefit a wide range of causes. When you create a fund with the Community Foundation of Abilene, you can be confident that we will:
- manage your fund prudently with expert, financial oversight;
- connect you to causes you care about and provide you with information on local nonprofits you value, and
- provide a means for you to give back to the community. Through your fund, you become part of a legacy that benefits your community forever.
