It's Happening at the Claremont Community Foundation!
The chance for success is greater when we as individuals are involved and interact with one another in a community. It takes a village to maintain a village and the Claremont Community Foundation, and its members, understand the importance of making social improvements at the grass roots level. We were fortunate enough to interview a caring and dedicated member for seventeen years, the Executive Director Nickia Cleaves.
What Does the Claremont Community Foundation Do?
The Claremont Community Foundation is a carefully orchestrated organization which focuses its efforts on philanthropic activities designed to make a positive impact on the community and preserve its culture by hosting displays of artistic expression. The Foundation was initially established in 1989 as a way to organize the many charitable donations which were made to the city of Claremont.
"We are a very small foundation..." said Cleaves; "we really only have myself and one other part time assistant. So, the person who basically plans and runs the fundraisers that raise the money for the grants that we give, that would be me, the executive director, with the help of my board of directors."
The main aim is to maximize the positive effects of proper allocation of project funding and member involvement within the community while keeping operation costs to a minimum. The Foundation relies on annual contributions from kind-hearted donors to operate and continue funding community projects, so its members continue to encourage citizens of the Claremont and surrounding communities to get involved and support this tradition of giving to enhance the community for later generations.
Why Should the Local Community Give Support?
The caring citizens and gracious donors supply the Claremont Community Foundation and partnership foundations with the ability to keep nurturing the needs of and empowering the local community while ensuring that costs of internal operations and costs of internal organization are minimized. So, you can be sure that each donation is being optimized at the Claremont Community Foundation. With the carefully planned financials and a focus on "Community Impact and Arts," this foundation is of choice when deciding how to contribute toward a better future for the local community.
This focus allows Cleaves and the members of the board to invest more time, energy and funding into the beneficial projects of most need such as:
Fund-raisers
Theatrical and musical performances
Artist of the month showcases
Public Sculpture Program
To see the charity events going on with the CCF, visit their events page at http://www.claremontfoundation.org/news/events/
I am excited to be working with Nickia and the foundation, I love what they stand for and what they do. Cleaves also expressed that she is"thrilled to have this concert!" She said, "I’m looking forward to the program. It is a dynamite show!"
The grants funded mainly impact Claremont, and there also are other organizations across the Inland Valley area which are able to benefit from this financial community resource. To hear more inspiring stories, take a look what the community organizations had to say about the foundation and its efforts at http://www.claremontfoundation.org/grants/testimonials/
Being involved with this foundation proves to be a truly rewarding experience as Cleaves explained.
“Oh, I love it! I would not have stayed here and worked for so long, so hard if I hadn’t totally believed in what we’re doing. I know that we make small differences, but those small differences matter to people. So I feel that the role of a community foundation is very important and I really have dedicated myself to that for some years now."
We are grateful when individuals step forward to try to make a positive impact on and difference in the community. To learn more about this impressive foundation you can visit www.claremontfoundation.org
(source: http://www.claremontfoundation.org/)
Take care,
Michael
