The Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation awarded seven grants Nov. 29 for $54,900 to area nonprofit organizations from funds established in the foundation by the Northwest Medical Auxiliary and the Bates Charitable Trust Fund.

The Auxiliary Grants Committee reviews grant applicants and organizations and recommends funding which is later approved by the foundationÕs board of directors.

The following five grants for $40,000 were recommended by the Northwest Medical Auxiliary fund and approved:

• Economic Opportunity Agency Head Start Program — $4,000 to purchase materials for the lending library.
• Life Styles — $10,000 to fund services to adults with development disabilities in Washington County.
• Ozark Guidance Foundation — $10,000 to support the activities of Habberton House and therapeutic day-treatment programs.
• Springdale Police Department — $5,000 for the Shop with a Cop program to purchase gifts for 60 children.
• Springdale High School Band Boosters — $10,000 to assist with expenses to the bandÕs trip to perform in the national July 4 parade in Washington, D.C.

"Our committee was so pleased to recommend this broad range of gifts offered to us for review by the community foundation staff. Each one of these recipients will be able to improve the quality of life for those people they serve," explained Jean Indorf, chair of the auxiliary grants committee.

Two grants totaling $14,920 were recommended by the Bates Charitable Trust and approved. One was Our Farm, which received $10,920 support for two part-time care aides. The Northwest Arkansas Community College was awarded $4,000 to support two scholarships for the health-sciences field of $1,000 each for the spring and fall semesters of 2001.

"We felt that both these grants continue to demonstrate the original mission of the hospital, namely promoting the health field with scholarships to the community college and helping young people with very real emotional and health needs," explained Ed Clifford, chairman of the Bates fund.

Northwest Medical Auxiliary and Bates Charitable were created after Northwest Medical Center of Washington County Bates Medical Center's parent organization, Northwest Health Systems, was sold to Quorum Health Resources and became a for-profit organization.

The Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation helps nonprofit agencies in NWA. It was founded in 1998 as the community foundation of Bentonville/Bella Vista and was expanded to include Washington, Benton, Madison and Carroll counties. A community foundation is a publicly supported, grant-making charity, structured as a group of endowed funds.