14 Aug Making An Impact
One beautiful thing about the work of our donors at the Fulton County Community Foundation (FCCF) is that their impact spans across the entire county. Thanks to our donors, support is given every year to so many different projects and charitable causes.
While every grant is beneficial to the recipient and to the community as a whole, sometimes a special opportunity comes along for the FCCF to make an even deeper impact. When an organization has a greater need or is reaching for the stars by pursuing a big-picture project, they might apply for an Impact Grant through the Community Foundation.
One example took place in 2012 when the FCCF awarded an Impact Grant to help one organization take strides toward reaching their goal of ensuring that no member of their community goes hungry.
The Kewanna Food Pantry used to be a single room located on the second floor of the Kewanna United Methodist Church. Their ability to store food was limited due to a lack of space, and both volunteers and the recipients of the food had to carry items up and down the stairs.
The group faced other obstacles as well. It was important to them that they offered meat and frozen goods in addition to non-perishable items, but they had very limited freezer space, and therefore had to sort the meat and store it in freezers in varying locations.
Thankfully, the group was graciously offered a new building at a great price, which they anxiously accepted with the help of a $30,000 Impact Grant from the Community Foundation! The new facility is ground-level, making it handicap accessible. It also has a large garage door, where trucks can deliver pallets of food to be more easily received and stored.
Thanks to the help of this Impact Grant and other support from the community, the Kewanna Food Pantry has greatly extended its ability to help meet the needs of local residents. Since 2012, they’ve nearly doubled their average number of visits per year!
The FCCF has supported local food pantries through other grants, including a $35,000 Impact Grant to Matthew’s Market to help with the purchase of a refrigerated truck. The Community Foundation has also held several Food Pantry Summits, during which they’ve gathered leaders from local food pantries in order to share information and resources.
Impact Grants have helped support many other areas of need in Fulton County. In 2012, $70,000 was given to Fulton County Animal Adoption and Education Center in order to help them construct their new building and install a privacy fence. A $38,725 Impact Grant assisted the Manitou Training Center with upgrades to its facilities in 2016.
The Akron Youth League has received more than one Impact Grant. In 2014, the organization received $33,000 for upgrades. In 2015, they received $43,000 to upgrade the baseball and softball facilities.
While all grants are helpful to local organizations and to the community, Impact Grants are special because they help make significant, visible improvements in the community. The FCCF is thankful when presented with these opportunities for change.
The original Kewanna Food Pantry in the Kewanna Methodist Church as it
appeared in 2012.
The current Kewanna Food Pantry. Displayed is about half the food they currently have
in stock. The overhead door where food is unloaded is shown in the background.