Chosen Valley Community Foundation – an affiliate of Rochester Area Foundation – recently had a great write-up in the Bluff Country News about their 2019 Grants:
Things not to be taken for granted, but made possible when granted: Home, connectivity, a good read and robots.
“Overall, we awarded $3,822 in grants for our grant cycle, and the individual grants were to the veterans home project in Preston – which also received the matching grant being offered by the state; the Chatfield Center for the Arts (CCA) for the expansion of Wi-Fi access in the facility; to Chatfield’s Early Childhood Family Education to purchase books and workbooks for parent classes; to Chatfield Community Preschool to purchase 50 books for the Action 100 program; and to Chatfield Elementary School to purchase Botley robots to teach coding,” stated Chosen Valley Community Foundation (CVCF) President Julie Fryer. She listed the contributions that the CVCF recently made to the Chatfield community, using funds raised last fall.
She stated, “Each of these programs or grant requests will have a broad and long-lasting impact on our community. All but the veterans home and the CCA grants fell within our small grants criteria. We received the applications last fall, and from there, they went before our review committee, which made a recommendation to the entire board at our November meeting. From there, we approved recommendations.”
Funds were disbursed early this year, but some purchases were made at the elementary school to allow students to use their new robots and books just before school let out and to prepare materials for this coming school year.
Fryer observed that the books, robots, Wi-Fi expansion and other projects are among numerous ones that CVCF has underwritten with its grants.
“During its 19 years, the foundation has funded a really broad range of programs, including music programs – the bandshell improvements, parks and rec programs – the City Park renovation, educational programs for all ages – from preschool to high school, community education programs, STEM projects such as the Rube Goldberg startup monies, programs for senior citizens such as Help Our Neighbors and technology for the care center and so much more…the list is long,” Fryer said.
In general, she added that the CVCF is willing to look at any proposed project. Criteria for grants include service to a broad audience – either one-time such as a special program, or for years and years, such as the park project. The program should also have other sources of funding or are sustainable such as books for an existing educational program.
“Anything that makes Chatfield a better place to live for everyone is considered,” she added. “We’re lucky because we receive such great applications – the biggest challenge is we just do not have enough grant dollars to fund everything…we have a limited amount to award each year, so we can’t always pick every project.”
Fryer said she doesn’t really have a favorite, she and her fellow committee members mostly love seeing the grants come to life.
“I know every time I see something in the community which I know we helped with, I smile. It’s rewarding to know that we’re able to leverage the donations we receive to help the community,” she stated. “It’s also fun to see the projects come to life and to hear back from our grantees. We hear back from each group, and many times, they send fun photos and thank yous after their projects have been completed.”
The CVCF loves helping the schools out, but the grants it offers are available to any group in town.
“We understand these groups are the backbone of our town and their access to funding is limited and time-consuming to track down,” Fryer said. “We want to partner with them so they can achieve their goals which, in turn, help our entire community. We’d really like people to know that we will review any type of grant if it meets our criteria – it does not have to be education-related. Applications need to be submitted in October, and that’s the only yearly chance, so we encourage folks to reach out to us with questions and start thinking early about community projects. Applications and criteria will be posted in late summer so people can review them.”
Fryer remarked that while CVCF is a helpful financial organization, it also has people power. “We are also not just here to hand out money – if organizations in town need help putting together a project, finding non-financial resources, or just need advice, we can help them, and we encourage folks to reach out to us with ideas and questions. In addition to our yearly grant cycle, we help administer multiple scholarship funds, work with the community to put together Chill Fest, and participate when we can in other community events such as Western Days.”
CVCF’s fundraising is done through various means. “Everything we do is funded by donations. There are lots of avenues through which we can receive donations – employer-based giving or automatic withdrawals; through endowments, estates or trusts; through yearly events such as Give to the Max Day; or individual gifts through one-time donations of cash, stocks or bonds,” she explained.
The CVCF is a 501(c)3 non-profit, and donated funds are managed through the Rochester Area Foundation.
“We invest and allocate these monies with the goal of having a perpetual fund to support programs long into the future,” she said. “Every donation stays in our community and helps our own neighbors. We also have very low administrative expenses. Our community is super-generous, and we’ve found that when we ask, people always step up!”
Fryer concluded, “We are all Chatfield folks, and our board is made up of all volunteers. We are here to help! Not only with money, but with support and resources for projects. We also can work with donors to set up designated funds – such as a scholarship – and we’re happy to help donors navigate through setting up endowments or estate giving.”
Those with questions may contact Julie Fryer at cvcfpresident@gmail.com and donations can be sent to Treasurer Chuck Johnson at Root River State Bank.
The CVCF is also in the process of building a new website, and it should be done within the next couple of months. Fryer said the website will be a much more user-friendly platform where people can make donations, sign up for the newsletter, or apply for grants. The organization also has a Facebook page which is a great place to find the latest news — @ChosenValleyCommunityFoundation.