About the Foundation

Welcome!   

Whether you are considering making a gift, helping a client, planning a bequest, creating a charitable fund, seeking a grant or scholarship, or simply want to learn more about local philanthropy, you're at the right place! 

Your giving makes a real difference in a lasting way through the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) and Regional Affiliate organizations of Doddridge (DCCF), Jackson (JCCF), Mason (MCCF) and Ritchie (RCCF) Counties, and the Little Kanawha Area Community Foundation (LKACF) (Calhoun and Wirt Counties). Our Community’s Foundation is the collective name for PACF and the five affiliates, a non-profit public charity (501(c)(3)) founded in 1963.  

In this section, you can learn about the Community Foundation's mission to strengthen our region, our board and staff, our history, and the charitable funds that make up "Our Community's Foundation."

The Foundation exists because of the generosity of many good people, present and past, concerned about improving our region and who willingly give to help others. Our collection of funds represents the personal stories of many individuals, families, businesses and organizations. We encourage you to visit My Story/Our Stories to review a showcase of these stories and to see the hope and inspiration that builds with each new fund.

Our Mission   

We serve the people of our region by building permanent assets to meet our community’s broad charitable needs, managing these assets efficiently, and applying them effectively in response to our area’s changing needs and opportunities. Our vision is to build an ethic of philanthropy region-wide.

We are committed to:

• Assisting citizens who wish to support the long-term needs of the community with their giving
• Distributing Foundation funds according to the intent of donors
• Offering maximum flexibility and tax advantages to donors of charitable gifts
• Encouraging the Foundation’s permanent resources to grow 
• Nurturing a "sense of community" in meeting local needs
• Serving as a leader and catalyst for philanthropy

Service Area  

We serve Wood, Calhoun, Doddridge, Jackson, Ritchie, Gilmer, Wirt, Roane, Mason, and Pleasants counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio.

Governing Board and Staff

The Foundation is governed by a local Board of regional community leaders. The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation Board is the governing body for the whole; each affiliate has a local advisory committee of citizen leaders from within its community and a seat on the PACF Board. In the list that follows, Affiliate relations are designated by acronyms.

Our Board

Our Staff

Judy Sjostedt – Executive Director
Jane Winters – Manager, Regional Affiliates (based out of our Jackson County office)
Marian Clowes – Program & Development Officer
Rita Smith – Office Manager

 Unless otherwise noted, staff are physically located at The Foundation’s Central Office, 1620 Park Avenue in  
 Parkersburg. Our field office is located at 716 W. Main St., Ripley.

Community Foundation Facts

As tax-exempt public charities created by and for the people of a given area, community foundations are among the fastest-growing types of philanthropy. Community Foundations help people easily and effectively support issues that they care about— today - or tomorrow, via their wills or estate plans. Community foundations often make a better fit for a donor interested in strategic grantmaking than  forming/operating a private foundation or opening a commercial gift fund.

A community foundation can help you create and name a charitable fund that is aligned with your charitable goals, or you can contribute to an existing fund that fits your interests. You can help a community foundation's grant making initiatives that address critical regional issues (to review ours, click here). All donors benefit from their community foundation's local knowledge and strategic approach to grantmaking that improves our community and region.

The first community foundation formed in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio. Today there are more than 700 in the U.S. and over 1,175 in 46 different countries. In 2006, community foundations collectively made $3.6 billion in grants to nonprofit organizations. About 1/3 of the U.S. community foundations are certified as meeting the National Standards for Community Foundations. Our Community's Foundation is proud to be among the elite group certified as meeting standards.

Give where you live and know where it goes

Last year, community support of Our Community’s Foundation and the Regional Affiliates generated: 

• $235,855 in scholarships to 245 students
• $310,104 in competitive grants to 87 organizations for important projects and 9 Humane Societies
• $17,264 in emergency & mini-grants to organizations needing “extra” help
• And, more than $817,000 in directed, designated and advised grants for a wide array of charitable purposes
• Since 1963, we’ve returned nearly $9 million in charitable grants to 600-plus organizations and scholarships to over 3,000 students.
• Less than 2% of Foundation assets are used for administration; annually our administrative cost has ranged from 1.4-1.8%.