Program areas at CCF
Connecting donors and causes: donor advisors contributed over $3 million to various types of donor funds established at Cobb Community Foundation. Likewise, donor advisors awarded just under $4 million in grants in 2023 to 329 charitable organizations serving in the areas of health, human services, education, Community service and the arts. This year, over 50% of the total dollars granted were to Cobb nonprofits and nearly eighty percent of all dollars granted were granted to metro atlanta area organizations.
Scholarships: Cobb Community Foundation held 14 scholarship funds in 2023. Five of these were established by families and friends in memory of a loved one. Several were created by companies for their employees and dependents of employees, and the remaining scholarships were created by area social clubs and organizations. Fifty-three scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 were awarded to students attending twenty-nine different schools in ten states.
Strategic impact: ccf has been working throughout the Community to develop Community resource centers ("crcs"). A crc is a physical location owned or operated by a trusted Community partner at which multiple services are provided by multiple organizations. The services provided are driven by the needs of the Community. Ccf is working with several nonprofit partners to make the needed services available in the areas where they are most needed. The organizations receiving strategic impact grants are offering services in Community, instead of to Community, and are focused on childcare and early learning, trauma-informed care, mental health, food distribution, and/or poverty reduction. In addition to grants made to organizations providing these services, grants have also been made to newly established field of interest funds to ensure that funding is available for these purposes in the as well as to provide vehicles for third-party contributions in support of these causes.
Certified nonprofit professional program: ccf's 2019 needs assessment clarified the need to help smaller nonprofits providing services in south Cobb to build their capacity. Ccf and united way of greater atlanta nw metro region partnered to identify, develop and fund programs that would be most beneficial to selected organizations. In 2024, ccf and united way partnered with kennesaw state university to fund participation in the certified nonprofit professional program, the only nationally recognized credential in nonprofit management that provides learning and real-world experience. The credential is obtained through a 6-month online course plus four (4) in-person workshops, facilitated and hosted by ksu. Following completion of the program and workshops, each participant will receive a $10,000 unrestricted grant for the program. These grant dollars (included above) have been set aside in a field of interest fund and will be distributed upon program completion in 2024.
Cobb thrives gift guide: ccf introduced the Cobb thrives gift guide in 2023, a new opportunity to create Community support for 30 nonprofits to help them get difficult year end wishes fulfilled. Nonprofits were selected to participate in the guide based on a competitive grant process. The catalog was distributed online and in print via regular mail and a distribution courtesy of our local paper. A total of $71,254 in contributions, including $18,084 made by ccf, were made to designated funds established for the organizations and were distributed in full in early 2024. Organizations benefited not only from the dollars received but from the visibility created.
Other donor funds: these are grants made from non-donor advised funds including designated funds, employee assistance funds, field of interest funds (other than those referenced above), and other unrestricted funds.
Nonprofit education fund: ccf created a field of interest fund to ensure the availability of funding for nonprofit education programs in the future. Ccf intends to add to this fund over time as well as encourage third-party contributions.
Nonprofit awards: consistent with ccf's emphasis on collaboration in the nonprofit Community, ccf also funded awards for outstanding collaborative spirit.
Staff discretionary grants: these are grants that are made from ccf's unrestricted funds that are meeting an immediate Community need that is not necessarily strategic but is nevertheless prudent. Discretionary grants also include those that are awarded in honor or in memory of someone close to the organization.