Community Foundation Announces Special Grant Opportunity

August 04, 2016

The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation has announced a special grant opportunity highlighting nine field of interest funds.

Local nonprofit organizations must submit a letter of intent by October 7, 2016 to be eligible. If approved, full proposals will be due December 2, 2016. Proposals will be reviewed and acted upon at the February 16, 2017 board meeting. Grant requests must be a minimum of $2,000.

Proposals will be accepted in accordance with the charitable intent of the following nine funds:

The Fund for People with Developmental Disabilities was created in 2014. Established by the Hancock County Council for Retarded Children and Adults, this fund supports developmentally disabled persons in Hancock County.
The M. Margaret Foster Health Fund was established by Margaret Foster in 2005 to support health-related causes including heart disease, cancer, lupus and arthritis. Foster also established the M. Margaret Foster Women and Children’s Fund in 2005 to support projects and programs of Hancock County agencies that address the issues of women and children in need or who may be homeless because of domestic separation or domestic violence.
Bert and Marlene Rayl created the Greenway Conservancy of Hancock County Fund to benefit the community that has given them so much. With this fund, they hope to support rural areas, the University of Findlay, community and social services, early childcare, education, agriculture, history, military veterans and environmental conservation education.
In 1997, Mary Masters Hollington established the J. William Hollington Fund in honor of her son to support programs for diabetic children residing in Hancock County.
Dr. David and Mrs. Amy Lai created the Lai Wei-zwei, 賴威銳and Lai Hong Tsu-mei, 賴洪春梅Fund in memory of David’s parents with a gift of real estate. The purpose of this fund is to benefit people in Hancock County who are affected by mental illness.
Dick and Lynn McCord came to Findlay for Dick’s job with Marathon Oil and remain active community members to this day. They established the Richard and Lynn McCord Fund in 1993 to support medical needs in our community.
The William J. Moore Fund was established by Mr. Moore’s four daughters. This field of interest fund supports recreational activities for youth in Hancock County interested in hunting and fishing.
In 2013, Jim and Mary Jane Roberts established the Jim and Mary Jane Roberts Fund to continue their lifetime passion for providing assistance to low-income families in Hancock County. Jim and Mary Jane left this gift as part of their estate.
The Anna Van Gorder Fund, established in 2002, provides for the care, comfort and pleasure of elderly persons of Hancock County. Van Gorder left this gift as part of her estate.

“When these donors established their endowed funds, they had specific interest areas they wished to support. While the majority of our field of interest funds support education, these nine funds support other areas,” said Katherine Kreuchauf, president. “Grants have been awarded from these funds in the past; however, when requests in those particular areas of interest are not received the funds may go unused. We know that our community has unmet needs in these areas. And to ensure that we are using the funds in accordance with our donors’ wishes, we decided to announce a special grant opportunity highlighting these nine funds.”

Grant proposals for this opportunity will adhere to the same guidelines as proposals for the Community Foundation’s regular competitive grant cycle. Grants are made to tax-exempt, private agencies classified as 501(c)(3) organizations, and public charities as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. Grants may also be made to governmental agencies. A “Guidelines for Grantseekers” document and related grant forms can be downloaded at community-foundation.com in the “Grants” section.

Questions regarding this grant opportunity should be directed to Program Director Kimberly Bash at (419) 425-1100.