Survey of values to guide Washington County foundation in allocating funds

July 08, 2008|By ANDREW SCHOTZ

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The Community Foundation of Washington County MD wants to know what causes the public values most.

The foundation is holding its annual survey as a guide to figure out which nonprofit groups should receive grants, Executive Director Bradley N. Sell said.

Each year, the foundation gives away grants from unrestricted funds it manages.

This past spring, about $90,000 was split among several area organizations. The pool of money included $40,000 from the Pauline Anderson Foundation, which is separate from the four unrestricted funds that provided the rest of the money.

The largest grant was $15,000.

Sell said the foundation expects to give away a bigger sum in the next round of grants.

The 30 categories on the foundation's 2008 Community Needs Assessment Survey include career training, obesity, elder care and substance abuse treatment.

Sell said that for the last few years, the highest scores have been under the heading of what he called "family security," such as teen pregnancy, domestic violence and child abuse.

The foundation tries to match its grants to categories the community considers most important, he said.

The survey is being sent to about 6,000 people on the foundation's mailing list and is posted at its Web site, www.cfwcmd.org.

Responses are due Aug. 1.

The foundation's grants committee will meet Aug. 12 to go over the community survey results.

The foundation will accept grant applications in October, Sell said.

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