FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: February 16, 2012 Contact: Glen Tautges, Development Officer 877-253-4380
Community Foundation Receives $360,000
Grant Increases Capacity to Strengthen the Alexandria Area
Alexandria, Minn. – The Alexandria Area Community Foundation (AACF) announced today that it will receive $360,000 from the Otto Bremer Foundation over the next two years to increase its capacity to enhance philanthropy in the Alexandria area and strengthen the community.
“This is a significant grant for our Foundation and this community,” said Kelly Jenzen, chair of the AACF board of directors. “Our board looks forward to assessing our community’s needs and identifying specific opportunities to enhance the vitality of the Alexandria area.”
The Community Foundation will reinvest $140,000 of the funds into key community programs over the next few years.
Focused on engaging the community, the Otto Bremer Foundation structured $100,000 of the grant as a community challenge, which will only be released to the Community Foundation once the AACF receives a matching amount in gifts from the local community.
The AACF, started in 1992, began expanding last year to meet growing local needs when it became an affiliate of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF). CMCF has developed a proven model for connecting people and resources to build a better community. Since its inception in 1985, it has grown to more than $65 million in assets in 550 funds, and has partnered with leaders in the Willmar and Brainerd areas to create successful affiliate foundations in both communities. Each of those affiliates has grown to more than $5 million in assets and awarded more than $2 million in grants since 1998.
“Receiving a grant of this size from the Otto Bremer Foundation is very noteworthy,” said Glen Tautges, development officer for the Community Foundation. “It really demonstrates the confidence the Otto Bremer Foundation has in our ability to grow the Community Foundation to meet the needs of the Alexandria area.”
The Alexandria Area Community Foundation (AACF) is a public charity that attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. Since 1992, AACF has helped fund activities that improve the quality of life in the Alexandria area, and the Foundation provides a variety of services to donors, their professional advisors and nonprofit organizations. AACF is affiliated with the Central Minnesota Community Foundation, which administers more than 550 funds totaling more than $65 million. Learn more at AlexandriaFoundation.org.
