Florida

The Orlando-based Central Florida Foundation (CFF) has announced grants totaling $1.5 million in support of 28 local nonprofit organizations from Austin Russell’s AKR Foundation Fund. The unrestricted grants are funded by a commitment from Russell and CFF announced in October, with recipients chosen based on recovery needs, disaster resilience, and readiness, as well as potential for general positive impact for the central Florida community.

Illinois

The DuPage Foundation in Downers Grove has announced the appointment of Michael R. Sitrick as its president and CEO, succeeding David M. McGowan, who retired at the end of 2022 after leading the organization for 25 years. Sitrick has served as the foundation’s executive vice president for advancement since 2013. He initially served as its first full-time development staff member for several years starting in 2003, before leaving to study and practice law.

The DeKalb County Community Foundation in Sycamore has announced the creation of the Friends of Jon Fund, established by the siblings of Jon Wrenn, who experienced a traumatic brain injury as a result of a car accident days before his high school graduation in 1988. Despite the dramatic change this brought to Wrenn’s life, he managed to live a relatively full and active life. The fund aims to enhance the lives of those living with a traumatic brain injury.

Louisiana

The Houma-based Bayou Community Foundation (BCF) was recognized for its 10 years of service by Lafourche Parish president Archie Chaisson at a recent council meeting, the Lafourche Gazette reports. Established in 2012, the foundation has awarded $8 million in grants to local nonprofits, including $5 million in support of Hurricane Ida relief and recovery efforts. BCF was created in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita to help capture a portion of the millions of dollars of grants being doled out, enabling it to funnel those grant dollars to local area nonprofits.

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has announced grants totaling $200,000 from its Community Crisis Action Fund to Waypoint in support of resource centers in Rochester and Concord as well as an expansion to provide emergency overnight shelter in Manchester—the state’s first for people ages 18 to 24. According to Waypoint, as many as 14,000 people between the ages of 12 and 24 experience homelessness in New Hampshire in a year’s time.

New Jersey

The Princeton Area Community Foundation has announced that its Fund for Women and Girls has awarded $215,000 in grants, including support for five local nonprofits working to help new mothers, mothers in recovery, single parents, families with young children, and children who have been removed from their homes. Recipients include Freedom House, the Puerto Rican Community Center, RISE, and the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey.

New Mexico

The Santa Fe Community Foundation has announced grants totaling $445,000 to 38 nonprofits as a part of its 2022 fall grants cycle. Recipients include the Horse Shelter, Moving Arts Española, NMCan, and Breakthrough Santa Fe. 

West Virginia

The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation has announced the creation of an endowment fund for the Fort Belleville Cemetery from the estate of Mary Flinn Seligman. In her estate plans, Seligman established the Fort Belleville Cemetery Support Fund, which will make an annual distribution for the preservation and maintenance of the cemetery, and asked friends and family to support that fund in lieu of flowers when she died in 2021.