Meeting ever-changing community needs.
When you create an Unrestricted Fund, your gift can address a broad range of causes — including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time your gift is made. The Foundation monitors all aspects of community well-being via its grant making programs in the areas of: arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services, neighborhood revitalization, and more. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift enables your community foundation’s program experts to respond to the community’s most pressing needs, today and tomorrow.
Because you set no restrictions on the charitable use of your gift, it has a timeless quality and lets our experienced program staff and board do what they do best — assess community needs and respond by awarding grants to the nonprofit organizations that undertake our community’s most critical work. Unrestricted Funds help your community foundation to support long-term solutions; respond quickly to emergencies; and meet changing social, cultural, educational, or other needs in your community.
Grants are made in the name of the fund you establish, creating your personal legacy of giving. You may make your gift immediately or via your will or other estate planning strategy. If you endow your gift, it becomes a permanent community funding resource.
Creating lasting legacies.
Over the years, Walter and Marie Ausenheimer were quiet, steadfast supporters of many Mid-Ohio Valley charitable causes. As the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation's first executive director, Walter observed firsthand how precious unrestricted contributions were. He knew that such resources were essential for the Foundation's Community Action Grants program to allow the Foundation to respond to the community's pressing current needs. Walter predeceased Marie, and in Marie’s later meetings with her professional advisor, she quietly and carefully went about constructing a bequest to benefit her local community forever. According to a close friend, “Marie understood, from Walter’s own experience, how important unrestricted funds are to the critical work of the Foundation, that’s why she chose to leave her bequest to be used to meet the community’s greatest needs through the Foundation’s grant making.” In 2004, a major gift was received from Mrs. Ausenheimer that significantly increased the resources to support the Community Action Grants program regionwide.
In Jackson County, Mrs. Helen Lester worked with her professional advisor and the Foundation’s staff to craft the Bob and Helen Lester Community Fund as a legacy gift with the Jackson County Community Foundation affiliate. This fund honors Mrs. Lester’s late husband, Bob, and provides a means of giving back to the community as it accomplishes its grant making through JCCF’s Community Action Grants program. “This is my way of giving back to the community that supported us and our business for so many years. By working with the community foundation, I can be assured that long after Bob and I are gone, our gift will continue to support the community we love. I hope this act of appreciation will encourage others to do similar things for our community,” commented Mrs. Helen Lester.
There is so much more we’d like you to know. For more information and ideas on ways to integrate your financial planning with charitable giving, we suggest that you consult your personal professional financial advisor or contact our Executive Director at director@pacfwv.com or 304.428.4438 (toll free 1.866.428.4438).