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• Nonprofit Leadership Workshop – November 15

  It is more important than ever that nonprofit organizations are able to translate their worthy missions into lasting positive impacts for the people and communities they serve, and arguably it has never been more difficult to do so.  To help nonprofits address these challenges, the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Regional Affiliates (PACF) is bringing national consultant David Grant to the area to provide training for nonprofit staff and board members on Wednesday, November 15, from 9:00 a.m. – noon at the Parkersburg Country Club. The program is co-sponsored by the West Virginia Nonprofit Association (WVNPA) and Nonprofits Lead, a nonprofit capacity building program based at Marietta College.

  This interactive workshop, Leadership for Nonprofit Success, will explore how effective nonprofit leaders think about organizational development; measuring success in areas that resist quantification; forming strategic partnerships, building effective boards; overcoming resistance to change; and creating cultures of reflection and learning.

  “I heard David Grant speak at the West Virginia Nonprofit Association conference last year and, ever since then, I have been wanting to bring him here to share his expertise,” said Marian Clowes, PACF’s Senior Program Officer. “David’s perspective on the sector, which he re-frames as the “social profit sector,” and his methods for assessing success are impactful. I encourage nonprofit organizations from through the region to attend and to bring a team of staff and board members to get the most out of the workshop.”

  David Grant served as President and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation in Morristown, New Jersey from 1998 to 2010.  Now based in Vermont, he consults with people and organizations around the world that have a social or educational mission. He is a member of the Leap Ambassadors Community, a group of over 150 people nation-wide who support nonprofit leaders in creating high-performance organizations.  His book The Social Profit Handbook: The Essential Guide to Setting Goals, Assessing Outcomes, and Achieving Success for Mission-Driven Organizations was published in March 2015.

  Cost to attend is $20 per person ($15 for WVNPA Members), or $50 for teams of three or more. To register, go to https://tinyurl.com/y9b9as93. Online registrations must be made by credit card. For those unable to pay by credit card, contact Marian Clowes at the PACF to register, 304-428-4438 or info@pacfwv.com. The first fifty to register for the workshop will receive a free copy of The Social Profit Handbook.

• Workshop for Grantseekers Offered October 30

  Charitable organizations seeking support for projects that address community needs can learn about the grantmaking programs of the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Regional Affiliates and the Sisters Health Foundation at grant workshops scheduled for October 30. Interested participants can choose from one of two times and locations:

   10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Dora B. Woodyard Library, 411 Mulberry Street, Elizabeth, WV

  2:30 – 4:00 p.m. – Roane County Family Health Care, 164 Williams Drive, Spencer, WV

   Topics to be covered include grantmaking priorities, the application process, effective proposal writing, and grants management. There is no cost to attend.
  
  

  To register, contact Shei Sanchez, ssanchez@sisterhealthfdn.org, 304.424.6080.

• Over $324,000 Raised for Local Nonprofits Through Give Local MOV!

  The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates (PACF) announced that $324,175 was raised through Give Local MOV, the May 1^st fundraising event hosted by the PACF. 

  Nonprofit partners in Give Local MOV 2018 included 47 groups with missions supporting animals; arts and culture; community improvement; education; environment; health; human services; and youth development.  Organizations invited to participate were those with a charitable fund associated with PACF’s family of funds.

  Nonprofits raising the most funds included:  FaithLink, Parkersburg High School Foundation, Parkersburg Art Center, YMCA of Parkersburg, and the United Way Alliance of the MOV. 

  A key benefit of giving to the participating nonprofits on May 1^st was the availability of 1:1 matching funds and incentive prizes.  Several regional sponsors, led by Superior Toyota, supplied matching funds that made the day even more exciting.  In addition, several individuals/businesses offered private challenges to specific organizations and $7,000 in hourly prize incentives encouraged giving.  

  The PACF takes no fee to organize and host the Give Local MOV campaign.  The PACF supplies the secure online giving platform and also covers credit card processing fees, allowing 100% of each donor’s gift to go to its intended agency.  This year, some donors that gave on May 1^st opted to help cover the credit card processing and transaction fees with their donation and the Foundation is very grateful for their support.   

  “Our event sponsors and the local donors who contribute are the critical factors in the success of Give Local MOV,” said Julie Posey, PACF’s Development and Communications Officer.  “Our local businesses once again stepped up and enabled us to make an incredible impact region-wide. And, local businesses are only able to support positive initiatives, such as Give Local MOV, if they themselves have support from local residents.  By supporting local businesses and shopping local, you can help provide for the greater good of our community. We urge everyone to give local and to shop local!” 

  “Since the founding of Give Local MOV in 2014, more than $1.26 million has been raised for the region’s charitable groups,” said Posey.  “It’s amazing how much can be achieved when we work together.  The Foundation’s Board and Staff are proud to be part of such a giving community.”

  The Foundation plans to host Give Local MOV again.  Businesses, nonprofits or individuals interested in having a significant impact for their investment and want to get involved in Give Local MOV 2019 should contact Posey at 304-428-4438 to learn more. 

• Foundation Announces Fall Grants

  “By working together, we can do so much more good for our region,” said Marian Clowes, the Senior Program Officer for the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates.

  The Foundation is once again making an investment in our region by providing over $220,000 in grant support to area nonprofits!  A reception was held at the Foundation’s office on Wednesday, December 6 to highlight the grant recipients and the good work they are doing in the community.

  Through the Foundation’s bi-annual Community Action Grants Program, area nonprofits seek grant assistance to address organizational needs and programs.  To be considered for a Community Action Grant, an applicant must be a private, nonprofit organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a public institution.  Either the applicant or program to be funded must be located in the Foundation’s eleven-county geographic service area (Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio).  Submitted applications are considered for support from charitable funds managed by the Foundation that are designed to support a wide variety of projects and causes throughout the region.

  The fall 2017 Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates grant recipients are:

  ·         Auburn Community Association - $1,280 to repair the roof on the Auburn community building;

  ·         Actors Guild of Parkersburg - $20,000 for the installation of a sprinkler system as part of a multi-year capital renovation project for the theatre.

  ·         Arnoldsburg Elementary School - $6,500 to support the development of a community garden to serve Calhoun County schools and residents.

  ·         Arnoldsburg Volunteer Fire Department - $9,000 toward the purchase of breathing apparatus;

  ·         Belpre Area Multi-Use Trail Committee - $1,200 to provide matching funds for an Ohio Department of Highways Transportation Alternatives Program grant to purchase abandoned CSX railways to expand area trails.

  ·         Boys and Girls Club of Parkersburg - $15,000 to provide operating support for educational and recreational programs and services to benefit area youth.

  ·         Building Bridges to Careers - $1,000 to support marketing efforts related to the organization’s move to a larger facility in order to reach new audiences for youth and entrepreneurial programs.

  ·         Circles Campaign of the Mid-Ohio Valley - $1,300 for staff training through attendance at the Circles Annual Conference.

  ·         Doddridge County 4-H Teen Leaders - $7,824 to purchase new bedframes for the County Park, the site for community residential camps including 4-H camp;

  ·         Doddridge Board of Education - $4,300 to support the backpack feeding program, which provides food on weekends and holidays to Doddridge County students in need.

  ·         Friends of the Gilmer County Public Library - $2,000 to purchase equipment and materials for a new maker space at the library.

  ·         Hope, Inc. - $5,000 for renovations to the shelter’s children’s activity room.

  ·         Jackson County Commission - $2,500 to support the purchase and storage of a mobile cattle unit to be used regionally for 4H and agricultural programming.

  ·         Jefferson Elementary Center - $11,000 for new playground equipment to provide students with a safe place for recreation and physical activity.

  ·         Marietta Community Foundation - $2,500 to support publications and publicity efforts to market the Mid-Ohio Valley’s assets to attract new businesses and jobs to the area through the Shale Crescent initiative.

  ·         Normantown Historical Community Center - $8,000 to help with facility renovations, including a stair-lift and restroom renovations.

  ·         Parkersburg Area Coalition for the Homeless – House to Home - $1,200 to purchase laptop computers to assist the homeless with job and housing searches.

  ·         Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library - $10,240 to construct computer stations as part of the library’s capital renovation project.

  ·         Parkersburg Art Center - $8,020 to provide matching funds to replaces fire-suppression sprinkler heads and the HVAC unit that serve the third floor of the center.

  ·         Regeneration - $3,780 to support the Packs of Plenty backpack feeding program, which provides food on weekends and school holidays to Ritchie County students in need;

  ·         Ritchie County Integrated Family Services - $1.095 to support the purchase of a security system;

  ·         Ronald McDonald House Charities of Morgantown, Inc. - $4,000 to support the Hoss Lodging Fund, to defray the costs of stays for families from the Foundation service area whose children are receiving medical care in the Morgantown area.

  ·         Smithville Community Resale Shop - $1,800 to replace the roof on the thrift shop building.

  ·         SW Resources - $20,000 to expand their facility to provide additional employment opportunities for individuals with significant disabilities.

  ·         The Arc of the Mid-Ohio Valley - $5,012 to purchase audio and video equipment, related technology applications, and telecommunications devices to strengthen and extend opportunities for training on issues that impact children and adults with disabilities.

  ·         The Salvation Army - $15,000 to purchase new bed frames for the emergency shelter, which houses families and individuals who are homeless.

  ·         Washington County Career Center - $5,000 to complete the construction of Phase 1 of an outdoor industrial training facility.

  ·         Waverly Elementary School - $1,900 to purchase slides for the school playground.

  ·         Wesley United Methodist Church - $1,550 to support the Snack Pack Ministry, which provides food for weekends for students in-need at Neale Elementary School in Vienna.

  ·         West Central Beekeepers - $3,000 for purchase of bees and treatments to expand the bee population.

  ·         West Virginia University at Parkersburg Foundation - $9,875 to upgrade the sound system serving the multi-purpose room on campus.

  ·         West Virginia University Foundation - $5,000 to support the Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program, which provides support and mentoring to students with visual impairments in the Foundation’s service area.

  ·         Wirt County Solid Waste Authority - $2,600 to rebuild a loading dock, which is the link between processing recyclables and loading them for transportation to processing stations.

  ·         Wood County Historical and Preservation Society - $4,000 to stabilize the stucco surface on the historic Phelps-Tavenner House.

  Since 1963, the Foundation has served as a model of grantmaking and philanthropic giving in our region. To ensure that the Foundation is best meeting the needs of its eleven-county service area, it has three affiliates that focus their efforts on local fund development and grant making to strengthen their defined communities.   

  The Foundation’s Doddridge County affiliate, the Doddridge County Community Foundation, awarded $12,000 in grants to the following organizations:

  ·         Doddridge County 4-H Teen Leaders - $1,500 to purchase new bedframes for the County Park, the site for community residential camps including 4-H camp;

  ·         Doddridge Board of Education - $9,500 to support the backpack feeding program, which provides food on weekends and holidays to Doddridge County students in need.

  ·         Hope, Inc. - $1,000 for renovations to the shelter’s children’s activity room.

  The Foundation’s Ritchie County affiliate, the Ritchie County Community Foundation, awarded $4,260 in grants to the following organizations:

  ·         Auburn Community Association - $1,220 to repair the roof on the Auburn community building;

  ·         Regeneration - $1,520 for the Packs of Plenty backpack feeding program, which provides food on weekends and school holidays to Ritchie County students in need;

  ·         Ritchie County Integrated Family Services - $300 to support the purchase of a security system;

  ·         Smithville Community Resale Shop - $1,220 to replace the roof on the thrift shop building.

  The Foundation’s Little Kanawha Area Community Foundation affiliate, serving Calhoun, Gilmer and Wirt counties, awarded $2,950 in grants to the following organizations:

  ·         Arnoldsburg Volunteer Fire Department - $1,000 toward the purchase of breathing apparatus;

  ·         Normantown Historical Community Center - $400 to help with facility renovations, including a stair-lift and restroom renovations.

  ·         Pleasant Hill Elementary School - $550 for playground improvements;

  ·         West Central Beekeepers - $1,000 for purchase of bees and treatments to expand the bee population.

• Joining the Hometown Team

  Maybe you’ve never thought of our region’s nonprofits as our “hometown team?” Nearly 1,300 people stepped up for the team recently with their gifts to 43 different causes through the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF)’s Give Local MOV 2017 online fundraiser. 

  Many of us regularly support our State’s colleges and universities, having attended them for a relatively brief time. What keeps us linked long past graduation is often our ongoing allegiance to their teams. As we cheer the team on, we reinforce that connection. Our communities could be incredibly strengthened if we adopted the same connective mindset toward our own hometowns—if we thought of these places where we’ve lived for twenty or thirty or more years, as being similarly worthy of cheering on with our support. 

  Consider our local nonprofits as making up our “team.” They’re the groups that connect with people to give hope, food or shelter to folks in need; create safe and caring places for children; build homes for families and improve lives for vulnerable individuals; ensure stray animals receive humane care; provide great community facilities; and bring arts, culture and meaning into our lives. Their team uniform is service to others. Our communities are better—more economically, culturally and socially vibrant places—because they exist.

  And, as we build our hometown team, let’s remember to add our local businesses, many which are already cutting their margins pretty tightly to stay in business in our small communities that don't offer the sales volume or capacity of big cities on which to base prices. When we buy outside of our area and drop these vendors from our team, we undercut the local market, making it even more difficult to remain in business here. Does anyone really think Amazon’s going to step in to replace local businesses in supporting our youth recreation and school teams, local food pantries, or arts groups and other good things that make this a great region in which to live and raise families? Or that some Columbus dealer will sponsor our local fundraisers? It’s not likely.

  When we remove our sales dollars from local merchants whether buying online or out of area, we are also sending the profits elsewhere. While we may save something, we short-change our own community in the long run. Any extra amount we may pay should be considered a small price to help our hometown team. When we buy local, businesses can give local—it’s that simple.

  Give Local MOV 2017 gave us a great start to building an even stronger hometown team. Going forward, let’s each buy a season ticket and cheer the team on. We’re going to spend a lifetime here so it’s time to join and support the team that’s working to make our region a place where our citizens will have greater opportunities to thrive.

   

  -Judy Sjostedt 

  Executive Director

  Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates

• Investing in Our Next Generation

  The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) celebrated the successful completion of its sixth year of its Civic Leaders Fellowship Program.  A celebratory gathering was held at the Foundation’s office – Vasan Center for Philanthropy – with members of the community, PACF Board of Directors, Civic Leader Hosts, Civic Leaders, and program funders in attendance.

  This summer, twenty-five students were placed with host employers throughout the PACF service region to gain meaningful work experience in their respective fields.  During the seven week Program, first-year Civic Leaders spent their Mondays engaging with one another, learning about the community’s needs and issues, and exploring personal and professional development opportunities.  Second-year Civic Leaders used their Mondays to further their leadership studies, visiting area nonprofit organizations and assessing community needs, and learning about community grantmaking.  Third year students participated in shadowing activities and developed networking skills in preparation for work following graduation.

  Katie Hoover, a recent West Liberty University graduate from Mineral Wells, received her bachelor's degree in human biology and plans to attend optometry school.

  “I participated in this Program to gain experience in my field of interest and to learn more about what my community has to offer,” said Hoover.  “This Program introduced me to the different opportunities this area can offer for a young person, the nonprofits that serve our community, and how civic engagement can lead to a better community.  I also learned more about the optometry field and how an optometry office operates with my placement at Vision Care Associates.” 

  During the reception, a few participants in the Program spoke regarding their experiences.  First-year Civic Leader, Emily Athey, shared about her experiences with Mountain River Physical Therapy.  Jacob Daley discussed his second year with Program and his placement with Wood County Schools.  Tiffany Harvey, who was placed with the Wood County Extension Office, spoke on behalf of the third year class. 

  The seven second year Civic Leaders visited many different area nonprofit organizations over the course of the summer evaluating where to award $5,000 in grant funds.  After much deliberation, the second year Civic Leaders announced that they are awarding a $5,000 grant to Calhoun County Family Resource Network to purchase outdoor playground equipment, picnic tables, toys, a greenhouse, and other supplies for their new Family Education Center.  The new center will offer child care for children ages 0-5, before and after school care, and family programming.

  “The Civic Leaders Fellowship Program is the Foundation’s deliberate effort to address our community’s out-migration of educated young people,” said Judy Sjostedt, the PACF’s Executive Director.  “This is a highly collaborative effort involving many different funders, private individuals, and business leaders who recognize the importance of investing in our region’s next generation.  We have had some great success stories from this Program over the past six years and I know this year’s graduates will go on to do great things in our area”.

  Students completed the summer inspired to contribute to their communities and more knowledgeable about their fields of interest.  Those wishing to learn more about this Program are to call the Foundation at 304.428.4438 or email info@pacfwv.com.