(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Approximately 60 people attended a reception Friday night where Community Connections announced its years-long effort to build an endowment fund to help provide services for children, adults with disabilities, and seniors for years to come.

Community Connections is a nonprofit human service organization that assists individuals from birth through their senior years. The endowment is expected to generate $40,000 to $50,000 annually to support Community Connections’ services.

“We’re proud to be a part of this, as members of the Board,” said Alonso Escalante, Community Connections Board President. “This fund is here because we’ve been strong and conservative stewards of our money over the years.”

He said a lot of that is due to the hard work of program managers, current and past, and the Executive Director Bess Clark.

“They have been able to carefully save funds, while at the same time, deliver amazing programs,” Escalante said. “By establishing this endowment, Community Connections will have sustainable revenue to ensure that our clients receive the care they need for years to come.”

Community Connections has partnered with The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) to protect and grow its initial contribution. Only the interest earning from the fund will be distributed annually to the organization, leaving the principal of the endowment intact.

Community Connections serves individuals with developmental disabilities, adults with physical disabilities, elders, very young children who experience or are at risk for developmental delays, and children with mental health and behavioral health needs. The organization serves roughly 600 people annually in Ketchikan, Metlakatla, and Prince of Wales Island.

Community Connections selected The Alaska Community Foundation to manage its endowment because of ACF’s 23 years of experience working with nonprofits, donors and communities around the state of Alaska.

ACF, a public non-profit organization, manages nearly $90 million in philanthropic assets in more than 490 funds for the benefit of Alaskans. It has awarded more than $65 million in grants to Alaska nonprofits since its inception.

“We’re excited for this opportunity to self-fund some of our services. We still rely heavily on state support, of course. This endowment will only provide for a small portion of our services. The goal is really to enhance our services, and fill in the gaps for programs that have experienced state cuts,” Clark said.

Established in 1985, Community Connections was created to respond to the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities. Since then, they have grown to serve folks of all ages. The goal is to help those individuals develop independence, learn new skills and live in the community of their choice.

“This new fund will strengthen our mission and create lifelong support for the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Clark.

Editing by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News:

Community Connections
www.comconnections.org

 

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