First-Ever Community Endowment Announced

Reno-Sparks and surrounding communities in Northern Nevada now have a charitable pocket of funds to address wide-spread persistent issues and emergency relief. The Community Foundation of Western Nevada is building the Community Endowment, now in its third year of grant-making. As the Community Endowment grows, unrestricted funds generated from its annual invested earnings can be used for critical community needs, including community emergencies. On April 11, at 5:30 PM in Paradise Ballroom at the Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, the Campaign for Our Community Launch will be formally and publicly announced. Chris Askin, Community Foundation CEO said, “If in past years we had more unrestricted charitable funds at the Community Foundation, we could have, for example, helped with housing resources for homeless youth, or with emergency funds for fires and floods we’ve experienced.  This resource will put us all in a better position to take advantages of opportunities as they arise.” Beginning this year, the grants from the Community Endowment will be selected by the Community Fund Advisory Committee. The 15-member Advisory Committee will form annually and consist of eight Community Foundation Board members, three Community Foundation Staff, and four members of the community representing diverse perspective and geographic reach. The beauty of the Community Endowment is that every community member can make a lasting gift of any size. All gifts will be invested together and over time – time is the important element - will grow and generate larger and larger grant funds.  Residents of Northern Nevada are encouraged to consider their community as one of their heirs and leave a small percentage of their estate as a gift in their will or trust, to the Community Endowment at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada. The Community Foundation is aware of $20 million in bequests which have already been written into donors’ estate plans; making clear that this Endowment will be: For good. Forever. There will be a day, generations from now when the Community Endowment is a single, powerful resource that our community will draw upon for emergency relief or creative solutions that can only come through philanthropy. We can’t know the problems that will be challenging northern Nevada communities in the future, but the Community Foundation is sure that the Community Endowment will be a resource to count upon. More information on the Campaign for Our Community can be found at campaignforourcommunity.org or by calling the Community Foundation of Western Nevada at 775-333-5499. ### Established in 1998 as a public charity, the Community Foundation of Western Nevada has distributed more than $120 million in grants and scholarships from 252 charitable funds to strengthen our Nevada home. The Community Foundation serves as a community leader, permanent charitable resource, and a philanthropic advisor in charitable giving.