The Community Foundation of Washington County is holding their next monthly promotional event tomorrow.
Foundation Fridays are being held at various businesses throughout the county, where promotional materials on the foundation are being distributed to inform the public on the services the foundation provides in establishing endowments or donating towards those existing. Foundation Director Millie Youngquist says the public can also make tax-deductible donations to the foundation at any of the participating businesses, “And our main purpose is to grow endowments. An endowment is a fund that’s permanently invested so that the principal is never spent but every year it’s invested in stocks and bonds and very responsibly. And we work with the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, they have a company, a firm that does all their investing and so the money is pooled with other moneys so it enables it to grow faster and the fees are less so there’s advantages to that.”
As the Community Foundation of Washington County cancelled their annual fundraiser last fall due to COVID-19, they’re finding new avenues to fundraise and spread awareness of their organization through a new monthly promotion.
The non-profit public charity is hosting “Foundation Fridays” on the fourth Friday of each month beginning on January 22nd, where various businesses in the county will be offering promotional pieces for people to learn about what the charity does. The community foundation is an affiliate of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation which offers permanent endowments to give funds to local organizations and initiatives to ensure that gifts given through the foundation will last forever. Executive Director Millie Youngquist shares some recent endowments made through the foundation include the Chicaqua Izaak Walton League Outdoor Education Fund for the Friends of Lake Darling, the Mike Orris Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Washington County Fair Board,