About
History Our Work
Education Take Action
Give Volunteer

Leadership Giving
Leadership The Tocqueville Society

News & Events
News

Orinda Community Foundation Seeks Applicants for Board Position | Orinda Orinda Community Foundation Seeks Applicants for Board Position
The Orinda Community Foundation (OCF) is searching for a new member for its board of trustees, and is encouraging civic-minded Orindans to apply for this important leadership role.

Foundation brings art to Smithville students Sign up for free newsletters to get more of the Statesman delivered to your inbox.

A class of kindergartners at Brown Primary School focused intently as they stroked bright colors onto a white canvas recently, paint-speckled aprons tied around their waists.

Cammy Snyder of Lost Pines Artisans Alliance stood at the front of the room and talked to the children about primary colors, vanishing points and perspective.

The activity is a part of the nonprofit Smithville Education Foundation’s “Enrichment Days,” when instead of hiring substitutes for teacher training days, the foundation brings in artists from the alliance to teach the children about art and Playhouse Smithville to run sessions about music and theater, said Tina Smith, enrichment day coordinator for the foundation.

Kindergartners at Brown Primary School paint on real canvasses during the Smithville Education Foundation’s “Enrichment Days.”

“It’s not just arts and crafts it’s a basic knowledge of fine arts,” Smith said.

The foundation, which started in response to statewide school budget cuts in 2011, provides the art enrichment days and also offers grants for teachers in the Smithville school district for innovative teaching methods and programs, according to Smith.

Throughout the school year, the foundation puts on six different arts and theater sessions for kindergarten, first and second grade students at Brown Primary.

This year, the arts days were expanded to the elementary school, brought by Principal Tammie Hewitt who was previously assistant principal at Brown Primary. The foundation furnished art supplies for the one session the elementary students participated in, Smith said.

“This is the only exposure kids are getting to the arts until junior high,” Smith said. Donations can be sent to the foundation at: Smithville Education Foundation PO Box 227, Smithville, TX 78957.

To learn more about the foundation visit its website at http://www.smithvilleeducation.org/video/

There are no comments yet. Register Create a New Account Just One More Thing…

We have sent you a verification email.

Create a new password

Don’t worry, it happens. Email sent

We have sent you an email with a link to change your password.

CloseSign in to complete account merge

]]] E@ 96=A E96 4@>>F?:EJ[ E@ >66E E96 4@>>F?:EJ[ E@ D6CG6 E96 4@>>F?:EJ E9C@F89 A9:=2?E9C@AJ]ak^Am

Baldwin County Economic Development Foundation lands $10,750 grant | AL.com

The Baldwin Community and Economic Development Foundation’s efforts to track economic development and job creation initiatives across the county have received a $10,750 boost from the Community Foundation of South Alabama.

The foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance, will use the Economic Opportunity Priority Area grant funds to implement a cloud-based software tracking system.

“This software, its implementation and multi-user cloud-based interface will greatly enhance our efforts across all of Baldwin County,” Lee Lawson, president and chief executive officer of the Baldwin Community and Economic Development Foundation, said.

Rebecca Byrne, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of South Alabama, said the grants are intended to “produce positive change throughout our community” and the Baldwin County foundation’s “commitment to improve economic opportunity” for residents, mirrors her organization’s own.

The Baldwin County Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked ninth nationally in growth for 2013, and eighth nationally in 2014. Census Bureau figures revealed in March that Baldwin County was the second-fastest growing county of Alabama’s 67 in 2014, trailing only Pickens County where a prison skewed the numbers.

click here to learn more about the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance and here to learn more about the Community Foundation of South Alabama.

Give Local results a happy surprise: $4 million and counting – South Bend Tribune: Local

Shawn Stevens, left, Sam Centellas and Janet Evelyn input Give Local donations onto a computer Tuesday at the donation station at South Bend’s Morris Performing Arts Center. Joseph County made up the majority of the top-10 charities nationwide in donations collected, though the county’s charities made up less of that listA as the night wore on, according to Give Local Americaas online leader board (givelocalamerica.org).

When asked, a national spokesperson for Give Local America also observed that this county had a lot of charities participating.

Bill Clinton Defends Clinton Foundation Fundraising From Foreign Governments How they got the money to do those works is now in question.

NBC News is reporting that there seems to be a myriad of questionable bookkeeping issues with the Clinton Foundation and where the money they use comes from. He is especially proud of the good works the Clinton Foundation has done worldwide, like the “Wings To Fly” program, which has sent 10,000 Kenyan kids to high school, where 94 percent graduate and 98 percent of graduates continue on to college.

According to Forbes, the Clinton Foundation made errors on tax forms, not distinguishing between government grants and donations. Though the Foundation has agreed to amend the appropriate tax forms after an investigation is complete, and Hillary Clinton resigned as CEO of the Clinton Foundation when she announced her intentions to run for president, the air of impropriety still lingers over her family’s benevolent foundation.

Still, there were either grants or donations made to the Clinton Foundation by foreign governments while Mrs. This puts their 2010, 2011, and 2012 tax filings in jeopardy, and in need of review.

For all the good the Clinton Foundation does, educating kids worldwide, bringing clean water to barren areas, revitalizing economies around the world, what does this say about those who run the Clinton Foundation?

The Community Give tops $822,000 for Fredericksburg area charities – Fredericksburg.com: Local
The Community Give tops $822,000 for Fredericksburg area charities

The Community Give’s 24-hour fundraising marathon raised more than A $800,000A Tuesday.

As of 1 a.m., the Community Give website was reporting 8,013 gifts totaling $822,265.58, eclipsing organizers’ goal of $750,000.

ARTICLE: Commentary: Fredericksburg area nonprofits tap into digital donation with The Community Give ARTICLE: Fredericksburg-area nonprofits gear up for this year’s online Community Give ARTICLE: Editorial: Community Give boosts online giving to Fredericksburg-area nonprofits ARTICLE: Commentary: Fredericksburg area nonprofits tap into digital donation with The Community Give ARTICLE: Community Foundation holding Community Give event in May

Fifth Third Foundation Awards $10,000 to American Red Cross To Help Illinois Residents Impacted by Recent Tornadoes – MarketWatch Fifth Third Foundation Awards $10,000 to American Red Cross To Help Illinois Residents Impacted by Recent Tornadoes

CHICAGO, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The Fifth Third Foundation has announced a $10,000 grant awarded to the American Red Cross to assist disaster relief efforts for victims of the damage caused by the recent tornadoes in Northern Illinois. Established in 1948, the Fifth Third Foundation was the first philanthropic foundation established by a financial institution.

“We are making this contribution to help the communities hit hardest, so they can rebuild their homes and lives after the devastating tornadoes,” said Nicole Johnson-Scales, SVP, Community Development, Fifth Third Bank (Chicago).

Fifth Third Foundation encourages everyone who is interested in helping the citizens of Northern Illinois with tornado relief efforts to make a donation to the American Red Cross of Northwest Illinois.

The Foundation Office at Fifth Third Bank administers charitable giving for Fifth Third Bancorp. Fifth Third Bank is proud to serve as trustee, co-trustee or agent for over 70 private and corporate foundations. Additionally, the Foundation Office oversees philanthropic giving through the Fifth Third Foundation. About Fifth Third Bank:Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

PORT ANGELES First Federal has reported big gains in profit in the first quarter since its conversion from a mutual, or depositor-owned, savings and loan to a shareholder-owned bank.

Excluding a post-tax $8.3 million expense associated with setting up the new First Federal Community Foundation, First Northwest Bancorp, First Fed’s holding company, reported that net income for the quarter that ended March 31 was $731,000, a 59.3 percent increase over the $459,000 earned in the same quarter last year, according to a quarterly operating report released this week.

Net income was $2.5 million for the nine months through March 31, a 23.3 percent increase over net income of $2.0 million for the same period last year.

“Earnings increased due in part to the larger balance sheet created from the capital raise and the continued improvements in the quality of our loans,” Larry Hueth, First Federal’s president and CEO, told the Peninsula Daily News.

The bank’s total assets from its investments and loans increased $12.6 million, or 1.4 percent, from $924.2 million between December 31, 2014, and March 31, and over nine months it increased $141.5 million, or 17.8 percent, climbing from $795.3 million at June 30, 2014, to $936.8 million on March 31.

Loans “remained virtually unchanged, decreasing $358,000 during the quarter from $493.5 million at December 31, 2014, or 0.1 percent, and decreased $3.0 million, or 0.6 percent, from $496.2 million at June 30, 2014, to $493.2 million at March 31,” the holding company’s quarterly report said.

The full quarterly report is online at http://tinyurl.com/pdnfirstfed.

Stock price up

First Fed stock has gone up.

The conversion was approved by depositors Jan.

Known officially as First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Port Angeles, First Federal’s conversion followed a national trend in which mutuals have switched to stock ownership to raise millions in new capital.

Depositors in January also approved the creation of the First Federal Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that will give money to various groups within the communities the bank serves.

The foundation continues the bank’s long tradition of financial support for nonprofits and community projects.

The three-member board of the foundation is made up of Stephen E. She plans to begin operations in a few weeks.

The new charitable foundation was funded with $400,000 in cash and $9.3 million in stock for a pre-tax total of $9.7 million.

“As a result of this contribution,” the bank’s operating report said, “the company reported a net loss of $7.6 million, or $(0.58) per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, and a net loss of $5.8 million, or $(0.45) per share, for the nine months ended March 31, 2015.

“The contribution to the foundation, on a net tax basis of $8.3 million, contributed $(0.64) to the net loss per share for the quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2015.”

Said Hueth in the quarterly report:

“We are pleased to report our first quarterly results as a public company.