by Amy Owen | Aug 31, 2018 | Uncategorized
In our backyard, there are two families who are likely to never meet. The first just lost the transmission in their car and depend upon three jobs to make ends meet. Thankfully, there are a number of nonprofit organizations that will help them stretch their dollars until they are back on the feet. The other family has been fortunate here in Loudoun County. They are eager to give back. As President/CEO of the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties, my job brings me into contact with both. We often say that our work is to “connect donors who care with causes that matter.” It is what inspires our FacesofLoudoun.org community service campaign. It is what makes Loudoun County such a great place to grow up and grow old. We have a number of fund “instruments” to help our donors fulfill their charitable vision. One of the most well-known, donor advised funds or DAFs, are a philanthropic tool used by many different entities. In our organization, they play an important role in our community. The fact is, over our 19 years serving Loudoun County, we have developed deep expertise in our nonprofit landscape and keen understanding of our community’s needs. DAFs allow us to work directly with caring individuals who seek to philanthropically invest in our community to ensure their gifts achieve the greatest good. Donor advised funds are very nimble and flexible. This is critical when a crisis hits or unexpected opportunities arise: whether it’s advancing a newly identified need or responding to a natural disaster. What’s more, DAFs are actively invested alongside our community endowments allowing...
by Nicole Acosta | Aug 30, 2018 | Uncategorized
As summer comes to an end, the Community Foundation is busy planning and preparing our fall programs. Don’t forget to mark your calendar and register for our upcoming events! Nonprofit Academy The Human Element to Business Development Tuesday, September 11, 2018 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Leesburg Junction Register Here Pam Jones, of Extraordinary Transitions – Long & Foster, will facilitate a two-part discussion during this workshop that will begin with focusing on Communication Skills and Secrets and will conclude with an Evaluation Plan of Results. Building a Wills & Bequests Program for Your Nonprofit Thursday, October 25, 2018 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Leesburg Junction Register Here Amy Owen, President and CEO of Community Foundation, will guide you through building a Wills and Bequest program. Explore ways you can build a program that will attract your donors to your mission with a final gift, often of high impact and generosity. (New to the Nonprofit Academy? Learn more here.) 2018 Philanthropy Summit Thursday, October 18, 2018 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building RSVP Here Join us for a series of conversations with needs and solutions in mind. Learn more from our nonprofit and human service leaders as we explore our community’s roadmap to behavioral health, teen wellness, and substance abuse. Be a part of the dialogue about why philanthropy matters, and how we can work together to strengthen our community. Other Noteworthy and Upcoming Events Making Sense of Today’s Economy and Investing Tuesday, September 11, 2018 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Register Here Estate planning professionals: join the Loudoun Estate Planning...
by Nicole Acosta | Aug 24, 2018 | Community Issues
Faces of Loudoun has some new neighbors for you to meet – and new community needs to learn more about. Have you met Keely? Keely’s perseverance as a mom, coupled with help from a Loudoun nonprofit speech and hearing center, helped her child get the care that he needed to live a happy, healthy life. Have you met Amado? Amado’s resilience, coupled with help from a Loudoun food pantry and community health center, helped him maintain a healthy, sober life after his recovery from alcohol addiction. Have you met Carol? Carol’s passion for making change in our community, coupled with her expertise and leadership skills, help her lead one of Loudoun County’s safety net organizations providing health care to Loudoun residents. What is Faces of Loudoun? Working with leaders from varied backgrounds (educators, grantmakers, grant seekers, faith based, government, and business) the Community Foundation has zeroed in on a missing ingredient in Loudoun County: a strong sense of charitable giving and philanthropy. The Faces of Loudoun is a community service campaign sharing true stories of our neighbors in need to help increase local knowledge, spark increased charitable giving, and promote volunteerism. Don’t miss out on our new stories – follow us on Facebook. Check out more stories at: http://www.facesofloudoun.org....
by Nicole Acosta | Aug 14, 2018 | Endowment
The Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties (CF) is honored to announced that a newly gifted scholarship fund has been created to benefit graduates of Loudoun County High School (LCHS). Henry C. Stowers’s estate created the Loudoun County High School Scholarship Fund with a $665,000 endowment and will make an annual award of approximately $20,000 per year to four students. The award will be renewable for four years for a potential of $20,000 in total support to each LCHS graduate recipient. The first scholarship was awarded to Danning Bisaga, a 2018 graduate of LCHS who plans to attend the University of Virginia this fall and pursue her interest in studying psychiatry or psychology. “This is a wonderful opportunity. Thank you,” stated Bisaga. “This fund is a substantial gift to Loudoun County. We are honored to have been chosen to steward its growth to ensure hundreds of graduates of Loudoun County High School benefit from this incredibly generous gift,” said Amy Owen, president of the Community Foundation. “By all accounts, Henry was a very kind soul who was a ‘giver, not a taker.’ This scholarship fund is an example of his spirit of giving.” Stowers was a lifelong farmer and an avid photographer. He served on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors from 1972 to 1979 and on the Loudoun County Soil and Water Conservation District from 1980 to 1986. He also held leadership positions in many Loudoun County and regional organizations, including service on the boards of the Loudoun County Farm Bureau, the Southern States Cooperative, the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee, and the Planters’ Club. He...
by Nicole Acosta | Aug 7, 2018 | Blog Thoughts
Calling grant seekers! Does your organization serve low income, at-risk, or special needs youth, older adults, or people with disabilities? The Loudoun Impact Fund, a partnership between the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties and Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, is currently accepting proposals for programs that advance youth and elderly welfare, and services for people with disabilities. The Loudoun Impact Fund is a giving circle of annual philanthropic investors who review and recommend grants into our Loudoun community. Each year, members of the giving circle select their top priorities for grantmaking in Loudoun. We request proposals for funding that will positively impact the priorities they selected; you submit a carefully prepared application, requesting funding for your good work. So, you wonder, what might nudge your application to be selected as one of the top-ranked proposals? Here are our tips to help your proposal stand out: The details matter. Carefully reviewing your narrative and budget to ensure you completely answer each question in the application requirements is an important step to make sure the reviewers have all the information they need. But, keep it simple. The art of crafting detailed yet concise messaging related to your organization’s work comes with practice and careful editing. It’s tempting to wax poetic about your proposed project or program; after all, your organization is doing great things, and probably a lot of them! But keep in mind the reviewers are reading many proposals. You want yours to be easily digested and understood. Avoid assuming. Remember, our reviewers may not be familiar with your organization, even if your organization is a previous...
by Amy Owen | Jul 30, 2018 | Updates
Two new leaders have taken on the Community Foundation mantle. Nicole Acosta adds her knowledge and background in a new staffed position, Director of Grants and Nonprofit Programs. Lucky Wadehra joins the leadership team as a newest Board of Director. Acosta will serve as the first contact point for donors interested in grantmaking, among other duties. Acosta will work closely with Amy Owen, president of the Community Foundation and will provide direct support for donor advised funds and giving circles such as 100WomenStrong and the Loudoun Impact Fund, for which she will work directly with donors to ensure a quality experience, focusing on continuous improvement. As the Director of Nonprofit Programs & Grants, Acosta will help guide strategic leadership initiatives within the Community Foundation, as well as directly oversee and direct media outreach and communications and training programs for area nonprofit leaders and organizations. Wadehra, an Ashburn resident, is a Senior Vice President and Business Banking Manager for Wells Fargo’s Business Banking Group in Northern Virginia. Lucky has been with Wells Fargo and in banking and lived in Loudoun County for more than 15 years. Throughout her career, she has held positions in leadership and management roles requiring a strong skill set in customer service, sales, budgeting, financial and business acumen, developing talent and practicing diversity and inclusion. She joins the Board for a three-year term bringing her seasoned business sense to the Community Foundation’s structure and vision. We welcome them...
by Amy Owen | Jan 30, 2018 | Community Issues
For a second year, research conducted by the Chronicle of Philanthropy to measure charitable giving reveals lackluster household giving in Loudoun County. While most of Loudoun’s neighboring counties reported an increase in giving between the study’s release first in 2014 and again in 2017, Loudoun County giving rates have remained flat. The study, “How America Gives,” offers an analysis of the giving patterns of Americans who earn $50,000 or more annually and who itemize charitable deductions on their income-tax returns for 2012 and 2015. Itemized giving of these taxpayers represents nearly 80 percent of all individual charitable contributions and offers the best comparison into giving at local levels and includes giving to places of worship and nonprofits serving education, health, animal welfare, etc. The key measure is the giving ratio: This is the total of a locality’s charitable contributions as a share of its total adjusted gross income. For instance, if itemizing taxpayers in a given area earned on average $100,000 and gave away $3,000, that area’s giving ratio would be 3 percent. If Loudoun County’s giving were equal to the giving rate of Virginia’s overall giving ratio of 2.9%, it would generate and additional $155,000,000 for charity. The first study released in 2014, became part of a stable of research and information that informed the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties’ Faces of Loudoun campaign and supported by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers. The campaign portrays real people in Loudoun County who have relied on the services of local nonprofits addressing homelessness, aging in place, intellectual and mental disabilities, domestic violence, health, addiction, teen suicide,...
by Amy Owen | Oct 15, 2017 | by Amy Owen
Three essential things tie directly to your quality of life: a roof over your head, healthy food on your table, and a job to bring in income. For many Loudoun residents, that trio gets sideswiped by one more essential: childcare. An average full-day of childcare costs approximately $18,000 a year in Loudoun County. That’s $1,500 a month. While the very wealthy can afford to have one parent stay home with the kids, many working-class parents simply cannot afford to go to work. If you’re a single mom, the noose is even tighter as women make about 79 cents for every dollar a man earns. And, single mothers head just over half of all U.S. low-income households with children. Allow me to introduce you to one of your Loudoun neighbors. Michoale is a woman of determination, moving herself up and out of a really difficult situation. Now, proudly in the workforce and earning an annual salary of $30,000, she is also a single mom of two young children. That adds up to as much as $36,000 in full-day childcare. She faces the very real mathematical dilemma of having to quit her job so she can better take care of her family. Something is woefully broken. Loudoun County and Virginia do offer help. The Loudoun County Board of Education has zeroed in on full-day kindergarten covering a bit more than 80% of our children—with a laser beam focus on schools attended by low-income families. That’s a relief to parents with youngsters ages 5 and up. Of course, if your job is 9 to 5, there is still after-school care costs to...
by Amy Owen | Mar 23, 2017 | by Amy Owen
Let’s keep this simple… goodness knows you’re probably busy enough as it is. Still, if you’re interested in making a charitable investment in your community, here are four ideas that are doable and offer impact. Learn. Gaining greater knowledge about your nonprofit community is an excellent first step. Nonprofit staff and leaders know about one another, make referrals, brainstorm with each other, and often meet formally. Invite a nonprofit leader for coffee. Seek out referrals of other nonprofit leaders they see as collaborative, effective, and capable. You’ll gather some helpful insights that can affect your next-step investments. And, if you’re still wondering or confused, come see us at the Community Foundation. We can provide ideas to help you on your path. Volunteer. From loading food, to licking envelopes, to serving as a board member, many nonprofits can put a dedicated volunteer to work. Keep in mind that each charity has unique needs and limited workspaces. So, a decline of your offer isn’t personal. It’s often just practical. Still, be proactive. Visit LoudounCares http://volunteer.loudouncares.org/user/register to match your unique skills and interests with requests from area charities. And, if you have special talents, be sure to bring those up or detail them. Do you love strategic planning? Feel just fine asking a friend for a gift? Love numbers and budgets? Have a background in media, law, or human resources? Those skills are prized in many nonprofit organizations. Share. Charities are challenged by limited resources, to be sure. It’s just the name of the game. Be their ambassador. You can tell their story with friends at the backyard BBQ. You can share...
by Amy Owen | Jan 31, 2017 | by Amy Owen
If you take charitable giving personally, you should let us know. Consider setting up a donor advised fund with the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties. We offer donor advised funds for anyone who wants to stay actively and personally involved in grantmaking. Grant awards are issued to charities in the name of your fund (or anonymously, if you prefer). Gifts of cash, appreciated stock, real estate, or other assets can be donated to the Community Foundation into your fund. It’s a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving. And, because the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties is a public charity, gifts made into a donor advised fund benefit from maximum tax advantages. As for the varied annual tax filings with the IRS and State. . . not your worry. The Community Foundation files one, single document with each entity representing your fund and all the funds under its stewardship. On the investment side, assets are pooled for greater diversification, yet accounted for separately, making creation of a fund with even modest assets (the Community Foundation requires a minimum gift of $10,000 to start a personal fund; $25,000 for a scholarship fund) easy from the start. Donor advised funds also help to create family traditions lasting for generations. Including your children and grandchildren in the joy of giving teaches valuable lessons about life. Family members of all ages can work with the Community Foundation’s professional grantmaking staff to target both local and national issues you care about most. Here’s another advantage: A year-end or lump sum gift made to the Community Foundation...
