Community Foundation President Karen Shannon
The Greene County Community Foundation handed out its largest amount of grant funds in its over 16 year history.
The foundation awarded $208,255 Monday night to 18 projects in Greene County. The Sierra Community Theatre received the largest grant with $33,500 and board member Mike Piepel explained that they will use the funds toward exterior lighting and a new marque. Another project, which was one of three that was solely funded by the foundation’s endowment, went for the Greene County Action Resource Center for $32,227. Manager Shirley Haupert spoke about how they will use the funds.
“This is for solar panels and you’d say, ‘That’s kind of crazy.’ But this is a long term gift because this will keep giving us back to the tune of probably about $4,000-$5,000 per year from this wonderful energy that we get everyday that the sun shines. If you bank that on 30 years, we’re looking at probably $150,000 is what this is going to end up giving us back.”
Community Foundation President Karen Shannon gave her impression about the event and giving away over $200,000 in grants.
“It’s a wonderful treat to be able to give money back to Greene County and there’s so many people who are willing to give time to making projects happen. They may not have the funds, but they have the ideas, and they have the drive, and they have the commitment to the programs that they’re passionate about. So it’s just a wonderful opportunity for us to give them just that little boost that they need to be able to fund and make some of their ideas and dreams become a reality.”
The foundation receives its funding from Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation, the non-profit gaming license holder for Wild Rose in Jefferson, as well as its own endowment. Click the link below to see the full list of grant recipients.