Above Left: Becky Byers Strand (left) of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation recognized Sue Riley for her matching challenge donation of $10,000 that brought the Cook County Community Fund endowment from $80,000 to its 2008 year-end goal of $100,000.
Dresses were swishing and conversation was buzzing during a social time before the Cook County Community Fund’s sixth annual grant awards at Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Seven groups representing local community projects received a total of $7,000.
The Cook County Community Fund was established by area residents in 2003 to build a permanent endowed fund to meet charitable needs throughout the county. It is affiliated with the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, which started in 1983 and serves nine counties, providing management expertise, administrative support, and the advantage of pooling resources for investment.
Becky Byers Strand of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation recognized Sue Riley, who generated $20,000 for the Cook County Community Fund by donating $10,000 with a matching challenge stipulation.
“She has a big heart for Cook County,” Strand said, noting that Riley has a passion for “bookends” – people at the beginning and end of their lives.
Above: Representatives of area agencies receiving grants from the Cook County Community Fund attended the awards program Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at Sivertson Gallery. From left: Don Hammer of the Grand Marais Art Colony; Dean Grace of the North Shore Collaborative; Patty Nordahl of Cooperation Station; Karl Hansen of the North Shore Health Care Foundation; Paula Sundet of Cook County Higher Education; Howard Hedstrom, Cook County Community Fund board chair; and Diane Booth of the Cook County Extension Office. Left: The crowd mingled amidst the artwork at Sivertson Gallery Tuesday, July 23, 2009 before the 6th annual Cook County Community Fund awards program. Seven local agencies received grants totaling $7,000.
Riley started her challenge after being told that the foundation wanted to increase its endowment fund from $80,000 to $100,000 within the year. She started raising the matching funds anonymously, Strand said, but started having so much fun that she decided to let her identity be known.
“Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching charitable giving,” Strand said.
Riley enabled the fund to reach its goal. It topped out at $100,015, but because of investment trends it went down but is now back up to $96,000.
Advisory board chair Howard Hedstrom thanked everyone who helped the Cook County Community Fund this past year. He expressed appreciation for gifts from the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and from Grand Portage. The grants were just awarded in May, and the funds are already being put to use in the community, Hedstrom said.
Cook County Community Fund grants are usually between $500 and $1,000. Priority is given to fund requests that strengthen community ties between individuals and collaboration between organizations, address underlying causes of community problems, can use modest or moderate grant amounts to solve or soften community needs, need start-up assistance to propose new solutions or responses, or seek to create connections among a diverse cross-section of citizens, increasing community health and hospitality.
The 2009 recipients and their projects are as follows:
Cook County Extension Office – Youth gardening project. Kids will grow a garden this summer, donating a portion to meet local food needs. “We’re growing children through food production,” said Director Diane Booth.
Grand Marais Art Colony – Empty Bowls project that generates collaboration between adult artists and kids to bring donations to the Cook County Food Shelf through a community soup supper.
Cook County Higher Education – Open Doors program to help adults who may have struggled academically in the past.
Cooperation Station daycare facility – Above and Beyond program that helps staff get more training than is required for certification. The grant allowed the purchase of 30 email trainings that will eventually be donated to Cook County Community Education.
Just Kids Dental Health – A partnership with Lakeview Memorial Hospital and Just Kids Dental Health to provide mobile dental services to underserved kids in schools.
North Shore Collaborative – LOTS program (Learning Opportunities through Stories) that provides literacy activities for parents and children and helps families start or add to their home libraries. “I’m excited about building resilience with young children,” said new North Shore Collaborative Director Dean Grace, who has spent much of his career working with troubled youth.
North Shore Health Care Foundation – Hospice program. Foundation Director Karl Hansen said local support of the program is needed in order to obtain grants from certain sources. “It’s a big process,” Hansen said. “I want you to know we’ll be back next year asking for more support!”
Advisory board member Mike LaVigne of Grand Marais State Bank, which provided wine and hors d’oeuvres, thanked the audience for its support. “Without you, this community would die and wither away,” he said.
Some of last year’s recipients talked about how the funds helped their organizations. Jodi Yuhasey of the Violence Prevention Center said the grant allowed them to present a bullying prevention program to local school kids and donate the curriculum to Cook County Schools. Shelby Anderson said the grant enabled the Grand Marais Playhouse to involve a great number of children in a production of the Wizard of Oz. Pat Zankman of the Cook County Historical Society said the money paid for collaboration with Cook County High School to create a set of posters depicting the history of the county.
The Cook County Community Foundation’s existence has helped other local groups set up funds and has allowed them to join the pool of money managed by the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, said Beth Rogers Kennedy. The foundation’s annual report lists 12 other funds that have been established through the Cook County Community Fund.
New board members are wanted. “If you have an interest in giving back to your community,” said Leigh Mathison, an attorney who specializes in estate planning. “I think you’ll find that this is very rewarding.”
Themission of the Cook County Community Fund is “to promote private giving for the public good, and to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Cook County by attracting charitable gifts, making philanthropic grants, and providing responsible financial stewardship and community leadership.”
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