NP Roundhouse to set the stage for evening of philanthropy
By Sara Konrad NEWS EDITOR
Iowa Falls Times-Citizen 3/29/08
IOWA FALLS
The audience at this year’s Hardin County Community Endowment Foundation (HCCEF) awards night will see first-hand what kind of effect the foundation’s work has had in the county. The event is being held this year at the Roundhouse in New Providence, which received a grant last year to help pay for improvements at the venue.
Roundhouse co-director Kay Clampitt said the $3,700 grant her organization received in 2007 helped pay for a new sound system. Other contributions for the work included $500 from the Wal-Mart Foundation and $11,000 netted through fundraising. HCCEF Chair Carol Gilbert said the Roundhouse’s success story is just one of many the foundation is proud to have helped facilitate.
“This is exactly the kind of project the foundation encourages,” Gilbert said. “It’s a venue that’s used so much by the community and we hope that by holding our awards night there we’ll introduce even more people to it.”
This year’s award ceremony promises to outshine the past two years, not only with the change of venue, but also in the incre increased interest county-wide in what the foundation is doing. Gilbert said this year, the foundation was amazed at the number of grant applications it received.
“There was definitely a record number of applications this year, which is really wonderful for our foundation as more people are getting to know about us and knowing we can be a significant partner in their projects,” Gilbert said.
After awarding grants to 23 projects in both 2006 and 2007, the foundation received an impressive 42 funding requests for the 2008 grant cycle. The requested amounts this year range from $512 to $5,000.
Gilbert said the awards night, planned for April 8, will feature the presentation of grant awards to 24 organizations. Over the course of a few hours, the HCCEF will hand out about $62,000 in funding.
HCCEF formed in February 2005 as a facilitator of gifts from individuals, families, corporations, private foundations and governmental agencies. The gifts are invested, and the income from endowment funds is used to make grants to public charities that best meet the needs of Hardin County.
Since its inception, HCCEF has facilitated $167,821.69 in investments in Hardin County communities from 69 individual grants.
Gilbert said the increased recognition of HCCEF has not only helped boost funding requests, it’s also brought in more contributions. She said the program April 8 will be as much about education as it is about awarding grants.
“This is our opportunity to promote the need for philanthropy and long-term endowment building so we can continue to meet the needs of the people of Hardin County,” she said.
HCCEF is an affiliate of the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, and during the program April 8, the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation’s director of affiliates, Ashley Canney, will be the keynote speaker.
The awards night at the Roundhouse is open to the public. The program will begin at 7 p.m.
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