Springdale, AR – The Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation awarded seven grants on November 29 for $54,900 to area non-profits 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 Foundation 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 general operating support for services to adults with developmental disabilities in Washington County.
Ozark Guidance Foundation – $10,000 to support the activities of Habberton House and Therapeutic Day Treatment programs.
Springdale Police Department – $6,000 for the "Shop With A Cop" program to purchase gifts for 60 children.
Springdale High School Band Boosters – $10,000 to assist with expenses for the Band's trip to perform in the National July 4th 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.
Both of these donor-advised funds were created after Northwest Medical Center of Washington County and Bates Medical Center's parent organization, Northwest Health Systems, was sold to Quorum Health Resources and became a for-profit organization. The Northwest Medical Auxiliary decided last spring to place its money in the Community Foundation to benefit nonprofit agencies in Northwest Arkansas.
The Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation helps nonprofit agencies in Northwest Arkansas. 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.
