Community Foundation Week began Thursday, Nov. 12, and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 18. The Donors Forum of Wisconsin will join more than 700 community foundations across the United States in celebrating this week.
"Community foundations are at the heart of our cities and towns," said Deborah Fugenschuh, president of Donors Forum of Wisconsin. "They are catalysts for positive change within both urban and rural areas. Donors of all income levels and from all geographic regions are finding community foundations to be an ideal way for them to easily give back to their community in a meaningful way."
In 2007, community foundations gave an estimated $4.1 billion to a variety of nonprofit activities in fields that included the arts, education, environment, disaster relief, and health and human services. Community foundations in Wisconsin hold assets totaling over $1.3 billion and have contributed over $6.1 million to local nonprofit activities in 2008.
Community Foundation Week began in 1989 with a proclamation from former president George H.W. Bush and a congressional briefing about community foundation activities. The observance has made donors seeking to maximize their philanthropic dollars aware of community foundations’ charitable activities and services.
