Unrestricted FUNDs
Unrestricted funds provide flexibility to respond to the most pressing needs in the community, which change from grant cycle to grant cycle. This creates endless possibilities for deserving causes and organizations and provides donors the opportunity to ensure their legacy is impactful and able to meet everchanging local needs, even after they are no longer here to see the impact.
Below are several examples of recent grants made from unrestricted funds. To learn more about establishing an unrestricted fund at the Foundation, please call our offices at (740)654-8451.
Decorative Arts Center of Ohio
The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio (DACO) in Lancaster offers exhibitions, programs, classes, and events as part of its mission to enrich the human experience through the arts. The recent exhibition, “Ohio: The Start of It All” drew children and adults alike to learn about the many significant and historical “firsts” attributed to Ohio, and to experience an array of children’s book illustrations including original artwork on loan from the Mazza Museum at the University of Findlay.
The Fairfield County Foundation provided a grant from the Wendel Family Fund in the amount of $30,000 to help fund the exhibition.
Community Heart Watch/Fairfield Medical Center Foundation
More than 350,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in the U.S. each year. Unfortunately, 90% of them do not survive the event. When an AED – automatic external defibrillator – is easily accessible and bystanders are willing and able to use it, the odds of a person surviving a sudden cardiac arrest improve dramatically. That’s why Community Heart Watch and the Fairfield Medical Center undertook the project of placing AEDs in strategic locations across our county.
The Fairfield County Foundation provided a grant from the Fairfield County Health Fund in the amount of $19,525 to help fund the effort.
Harcum House
Since 2008, the Harcum House Child Advocacy Center has guided vulnerable children through turbulent times in an effort to strengthen our community’s response to child physical and sexual abuse. Technology plays a critical role in Harcum House’s ability to offer intervention, advocacy, and prevention education. A recent technology upgrade, made possible through a Fairfield County Foundation grant, helps staff keep pace with increasing caseloads, improve data management efficiency, and expand Harcum House’s service capabilities.
The Fairfield County Foundation provided a grant from the Terry A. McGhee/Sally J. Grimm Community Fund in the amount of $8,240 to help complete the upgrade.
Fairfield Area Humane Society
One of the ways the Fairfield Area Humane Society (FAHS) works to improve the welfare of animals in our community is through its “Beat the Heat T-N-R” program. TNR stands for Trap, Neuter, and Return, meaning the program involves humanely trapping feral cats, bringing them in for neutering, and safely returning them to their colonies. Not only is this method of cat population control humane, but it has been proven by numerous studies to be much more effective than cruel trap and kill methods.
The Foundation provided a grant of $20,000 from the George and Dollie L. Zimpfer Memorial Fund to purchase materials needed for the program and pay for medications, supplies and labor for the surgeries.
American Red Cross
We can all take steps to mitigate our risk of disaster, but the fact remains that no one can ever fully eliminate their risk. The American Red Cross of South-Central Ohio is working in our communities to mitigate risk where possible and to respond with assistance when disaster strikes.
The Fairfield County Foundation provided a grant from the George and Dollie L. Zimpfer Fund in the amount of $11,995 to fund the purchase and installation of smoke alarms and support local families with disaster relief.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails a free, high-quality book each month to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income. The United Way of Fairfield County has served as the local champion for the program in Fairfield County since 2012.
Since that time, the Fairfield County Foundation has granted nearly $130,000 to the United Way of Fairfield County to help cover the costs associated with raising local awareness, enrolling local children, and funding the wholesale cost of the books as well as the mailing expenses.
Lancaster Fairfield Community Action Agency (LFCAA) Recycling Skid Loader
Recycling has many benefits including the reduction of waste sent to landfills and incinerators, the prevention of pollution, the conservation of natural resources, and the creation of jobs. Recognizing these benefits, the Lancaster Fairfield Community Action Agency began its recycling program in 1980. Forty-five years later, the LFCAA Recycling Center processes more than seven million pounds of material annually.
To help the agency meet the growing demand, the Foundation provided a grant for $25,000 from the Robert A. Schatz Fund to purchase an additional grappling skid-steer loader.