The Platteville Community Fund will host its Philanthropy Week Celebration, awarding more than $14,000 in support of programs and projects in the Platteville community, in the Community Room of the Mound City Bank Motor Branch in Platteville, Thursday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Local philanthropist Cindy Tang will receive the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin Spirit of Philanthropy Award. Sheila Kelley, chair of the PHS Scholarship Fund, will speak about philanthropy and spreading the philanthropic spirit.
The public is invited.
“I am overwhelmed with the generosity of the Platteville community,” said Dr. Alison Bunte, one of the newest PCF board members.
Deceased Platteville residents Bob and Marian Graham can be credited for fall 2012 grant awards totaling just more than $9,000, available from the earnings on endowed monies they left to benefit Platteville. The Grahams were long time residents and business owners in Platteville.
When they retired in 1976, they wanted to give back to the community that had been so good to them for so many years. They decided the best way to have the gift go on in perpetuity was to endow the funds. Only the interest generated by the initial amount of $100,000 is awarded each year. The Grahams hoped that the money would give others the opportunity for cultural experiences in the town they lived in and called home for over 50 years.
Organizations and projects that received funding include Family Advocates, for the Kids in Transition project; the Grant County Historical Society for UV mitigation shades for the Laura Rountree Stone Cottage; the Platteville Chorale Inc, in support of the Platteville Children’s Choir regional tour; the Platteville Community Arboretum to purchase GPS devices for the environmental education lending library, a self-propelled field and brush mower, and signage for the arboretum trail; the Platteville Holiday project to fund new books for each child; Platteville Main Street, Inc for build a bike rack competition; Southwest Opportunities Center to upgrade their Human Services vehicle; and Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Foundation for computers for the Platteville Outreach Center.
The Platteville Community Fund announced its fall grant cycle in early August. A total of 18 grant applications with requests totaling $37,223 were received by the September 15 application deadline.
“We were able to make 10 awards with the $21,200 that was available,” said PCF Board Chair Eileen Nickels. “The review process, completed by the PCF advisory board members, was detailed and exhaustive. It was a very difficult task, considering the tremendous community need.”
The Platteville Community Fund, a component of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, Inc., is a tax-exempt public charity. The Platteville Community Fund’s growth and success depends on community members who share a commitment and are able to invest their resources in the Platteville community to enhance art, education, health and human services, the environment and historic preservation.
PCF accepts grant applications twice yearly. The PCF provides a means for individuals, organizations and businesses to support their unique charitable community interests for good, for ever.
For more information about the Platteville Community Fund, contact Eileen Nickels, advisory board chair, 778-2959, or Barb Daus, donor services representative with the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, 778-3344, barb@cfsw.org. Community members interested in making a donation may send a check to the Platteville Community Foundation, P.O. Box 46, Platteville, WI 53818, or visit www.cfsw.org to donate online.
