SAMPLE CONTENT FOR INSPIRATION

ANNUAL APPEAL LETTER

Greetings from the community foundation!

As we approach this year’s giving season, we are looking forward to our conversations with you and other donors about how the team at the community foundation can help you achieve your own goals for improving the lives of everyone who calls our region home.

Our community is better because of donors like you who’ve included the community foundation in your philanthropy plans and charitable giving practices. Perhaps you’ve established a donor-advised or family fund here at the community foundation to support your favorite causes. Or maybe you serve on the board of directors of a local organization whose endowment or reserve funds are administered at the community foundation. You might have even established a scholarship fund or field-of-interest fund at the community foundation to further refine your charitable focus. Some of you may be working on estate plans that leave a bequest or beneficiary designation to an unrestricted or family fund at the community foundation. We are so grateful for all of you!

Fall is the season when many of our donors not only ask us to help then with their personal charitable giving strategies, but also ask if there is anything they can do specifically for the community foundation to ensure that the foundation remains able to empower donors, nonprofits, and civic leaders to care about our community now and for years to come. We appreciate this question, and yes! There is indeed something donors can do. Donors can support the Culture of Philanthropy Fund at the community foundation.

The Culture of Philanthropy Fund is dedicated to supplementing the operating budget of the community foundation so that the foundation can hire new staff members, invest in technology, and dedicate resources to growing philanthropy in our region. In years past, for example, the Culture of Philanthropy Fund has underwritten an expansion of our donor education team, covered the expenses of a teen philanthropy institute, and purchased new laptops for our finance and administration teams to be able to work remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic. The flexibility of the Culture of Philanthropy Fund allows the community foundation to quickly respond to needs and opportunities that are above and beyond the current year’s budget.

We would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about our Culture of Philanthropy Fund and explore whether you would be open to making a gift this year. If you’d like to learn more, please reach out to Sally Jones, Director of Community Impact, who can be reached at sjones@greaterblackpointcf.org or 816.935.8771. If you’d like to make a gift, you can mail a check to the community foundation and indicate “Culture of Philanthropy Fund” in the memo line, donate online using the link below, or log into your donor-advised fund and recommend a grant to the Culture of Philanthropy Fund.

/link to donate online/

Thank you, as always, for working with the community foundation to ensure that your charitable giving does the most good for the causes you care about to sustain and build our vibrant region.

2022 highlights

GROWING PHILANTHROPY IN OUR REGION

In 2022, our donors contributed cash, stock, and other assets to their funds, bringing our asset total to $85,248,317 by December 31. It's a big number, but more importantly, it represents the culture of philanthropy in our region and our foundation's commitment to helping it grow. 

SUPPORTING CAUSES OUR DONORS LOVE

Through funds at the foundation, our donors are responsible for $13,639,680 in grants distributed to nonprofit organizations in 2022. What's more, a total of 82% of the support flowed to organizations and causes in the Greater Black Point region, and 30% of grants funded diversity and inclusion efforts.

LEADING ON CRITICAL COMMUNITY ISSUES

2022 put us all to the test as we responded to the needs of our region. Our community foundation convened the Diversity in Giving Fund, together with the Hurlbut Family Foundation and the Greater Black Point United Way. Several forums, open to the public, showed how the Fund makes a difference.

Celebrating the next generation

At the Greater Black Point Community Foundation. you're treated like family. That's why we're celebrating all generations of donors in our 2021 Annual Report. We know you're doing lots of good for Greater Black Point through volunteering, recycling, serving on boards, sharing with colleagues in need, celebrating at community events, and caring about your own health and wellness. Enjoy!

Getting in touch with your good side.

When you think about charitable giving, what pops into your mind?  If you are like most people, you’ll immediately start thinking about money flowing into charitable organizations and worthy causes. You might start thinking about well-known nonprofit organizations. Maybe a few of the your favorite charities in our region will come to mind. 

You might also be thinking about your own charitable giving behavior:

• “I’ve been giving to a scholarship fund at my alma mater for 10 years.”

• “I regularly drop coins in the bucket during the holiday season, and sometimes I throw in a dollar.”

• “Our family has supported the local animal shelter since I was a child, and we always write a check at the end of the year.”

• “We give to the regional hospital foundation in honor of family members who have been treated there.”

• “When I read the news about overseas humanitarian relief efforts, I am compelled to make a gift. I feel so badly for those children who are hungry.”

Now think about the last time you gave money to your favorite charity. How did you feel? Here are a few common answers people give when they are asked that question:

• “Grateful for what I have”

• “Empowered that I can help others”

• “Happy that I can do something for people in need”

• “Fulfilled that I can share what I have with people who do not have enough”

• “Enriched because I know I am making lives better for others”

• “Balanced because I am giving back to the community that has enabled me to be successful”

Does any of that ring a bell with you? If these statements feel even the slightest bit familiar, you are in good company! That's what the foundation is all about. 

Get in touch with our team, and we’ll help you craft a giving plan for your family that meets your goals for your family and your community and makes you feel great about the difference your making in the lives of others.

A gallery of our community